Hey mamas!
So my DD just turned 11 months old (on sept. 4th) and I've been having a hard time getting her to take her 2nd nap. Its usually around 430pm and she would wake up between 530pm or 6pm. Anyway, lately she has been fighting this nap. She will just scream and cry. I've left her laying in her crib for about an hour in hopes that she would fall asleep but nothing. So, isn't it too early for her to transition to one nap?? Her first nap is at 1130am and wakes up at 1pm or 130pm. She wakes up in the morning at 9am. And at night she sleeps 11-12hrs. So all that is good. but then since she hasn't been taking her 2nd nap she's up from 130pm till 9pm. And she's pretty content but I worry she's not getting enough sleep during the day. Anyway, should I try transitioning to one nap? And how would I do this? Thanks in advance and sorry it got so long!
My kids were about a year when they switched to one nap.If anything bedtime might be a little earlier than usual.Sometimes if my kids were really active that day they would just crash for like an extra 30-60 mins themselfs.I think its totally fine to let her have one nap...Seems like shes trying to let you know that she is ready :) Fun times lol Good luck with it!
My daughter transitioned to one nap around the same time, and it was the same thing with her - the second nap just wasn't working. She didn't cry, she just stayed in her crib and waited until I came to get her. She also slept fine at night. I think as long as your little one is getting enough sleep at night, and she's not cranky during the afternoon, her body is just naturally telling her that second nap isn't needed.
You can move her single nap so that it's a little later in the day, like after lunch. That worked great for me. When my daughter turned 3 in April she was already losing her only nap (the time change in March killed that!) and she's been fine without it since then. She just goes to bed earlier (around 7-7:30) and sleeps about 12 hours. Kids kind of just let you know what they need and as long as it's working I wouldn't think twice about it. You'll be on a new schedule after a day or two and you'll probably find that it works better for you anyway. Good luck, it sounds like you have a great little sleeper!
In addition to the responses you've received I would just add that in total I believe at this age they are supposed to get ~14 hrs. So regardless of how many naps, in total it sounds like she is on target since you are worried if she is getting enough sleep. I would make the move - can't wait until I can! My son is turning 1 on the 29th. Eventually his schedule will be wake at 7 am, one nap at 1:00 (lasting 2 hrs) and bedtime 7:30- 8:00 pm. He is still on a two nap routine and still needs it. Good luck!
I highly recommend the book "HEALTHY SLEEP HABITS, HAPPY CHILD". It is by Dr. Weisbluth ( I probably spelled that wrong). It was a huge, huge help for me and my kids. My youngest had colic, and with the help of this book he now takes a 2 hour nap every day, and goes to bed each night at 8pm, sleeping until about 7:30. This book is no joke!
Try putting her to bed at 7pm. Really, it works!
I'm having the same experience as you - my son is 14 months old - and it started around 11 months. At my son's one year appointment his pediatrician said that this transition from one to two naps can take up to a year. Some days we get two naps and other days we only get one. His first nap is from about 11 until about 12:30 and if I'm lucky I get a second mini nap from about 4:30 until 5:30. If I miss a second nap I put him to bed early (7:30ish) and he goes to sleep just fine and doesn't wake up any earlier than usual (about 8am). Leaving your DD to cry for an hour in the crib seems like a long time to me. I usually give it 15 minutes and then just decide he's not going to sleep (because usually that's the case) and plan on putting him to bed earlier than usual (usual is about 8:30). Hope this helps.
We didn't transition our first to one nap until about 15 months but each kid is different. You could always try it and see how it goes. What I would do is just start pushing that morning nap back. Its already pretty late since she sleeps in it seems (which is nice I'm sure :) ). I found that if we were just at home it was really hard to keep him up later in the morning but if we were out and about doing something it was easier. I would just push it back until 12:30 or so and see what happens. You also probably want to start an earlier bed time. 9 is so late and on one nap it does seem she'll need to go down before then. Plus, even though I'm sure its nice now that she sleeps in until 9 when you get to where she's ready to start preschool it will become an issue. Two of my good friends are going through this right now, their kids go to bed late and wake up late and now that they have to be up at 7 for school its causing huge issues. So if you can gently ease to an earlier bedtime/wake time that might help. In fact, that might even allow you to still do two naps since they'd be at 10 and 3 or so. Just some thoughts, good luck!
My daughter transitioned to one nap at age 1. It isn't unusual.
You could move the afternoon nap to 1 or 2 pm, and she'll be good to go to bed at a reasonable hour.
