Is your baby between 12-18 months old and you’re wondering when and how to transition from 2-to-1 nap? Then I’m glad you’re here! You’ve made it through your baby’s first birthday, they may be walking and talking and being a busy little baby… but now they may be protesting their second nap, taking longer to fall asleep at bedtime, taking shorter naps than before or waking earlier in the morning. Let’s dive deeper into the third big nap transition you and your baby will experience. 

As a little disclaimer, this style blog is meant to guide your sleep journey if you’re looking for ways to make change. If your babe is cruising on a different nap schedule for this age range and everyone is living their best life, onwards! Think of blogs like a buffet; take what you need, leave what doesn’t look good for you. Your baby has unique sleep needs that may not align with the general information shared in a blog and this is ok!

What you’ll learn from this blog:

• Signs your baby is ready to drop a nap
• How to make the 2-to-1 nap transition smooth
• Problem solving on a short nap day
• Next steps for solid daytime sleep

Signs your baby is ready to drop from 2-to-1 nap

Besides being in an age-appropriate range (12-18 months, average age between 14-16 months) for this nap transition, here are a few additional signs your baby may display when they are communicating it’s time to drop a nap.

• Consistent protest for nap 2 and nap length is suddenly much shorter than previous weeks
• Taking longer to fall asleep at bedtime after 2 chunky daytime naps (maybe a bedtime battle!)
• Sudden and unexplained early morning wake-ups (with 2 chunk daytime naps)
• Increased night wakings that are unusual for your child’s unique sleep pattern
• After 2 chunky daytime naps, their bedtime is too late for your family routine

How to make the 2-to-1 nap transition smooth

Dropping a nap can be tricky for many babies so if you feel like it’s a wild ride, you’re in good company. When dropping from 2-to-1 nap, or any nap transition throughout your baby’s life, bedtime may be as early as 6:00pm! 

This nap transition may also coincide with a daycare transition which may throw an extra curve ball into your sleep journey. If it works for your schedule and your baby, you can continue to offer 2 naps on a weekend if your baby is signalling they need that schedule. You can read more about daycare sleep tips here. 

Having just mastered this transition with my daughter (we transitioned between 17-18 months), I know this can be a tricky one to navigate, but you have some options! 

When on a 1-nap schedule, ideally we are looking for 2-3 hours of daytime sleep and that your baby can comfortably handle 5+ hours of awake time! This will of course fluctuate based on your child’s individual needs.

Option 1: Just go for it

• When you’re confident they are ready to make the switch, keep morning wake time the same, drop nap 1 and bump nap start to ~11:30am.
• If their nap is shorter than 2 hours, offer an earlier bedtime to make-up a bit of extra sleep.
• Keep practicing, shifting nap start time by 15-30 mins every few days until they are comfortable with a 12/12:30 pm nap time and getting a chunk mid-day nap. 

Option 2: Slow transition

• Shorten up the morning nap (this means you will wake them up!) and move up nap 2 starting by ~15 minutes and let them sleep for nap 2 as long as they need. Continue to shorten nap 1 every 2-3 days by 15 minutes until eventually it’s gone and nap 2 starts midday
• Alternatively, you can push the start of nap 1 forward by 1 hour (e.g., rather than 9:30am start, push to 10:30am start) and then cap nap 2 of the day. Gradually change timing by 30-60 minutes every 2-3 days until there is only 1 nap happening mid-day. 
• Practice and monitor night sleep to help you decide where a revision is to be made.

When we make sleep changes, we want to give them a few days to adjust and before we panic and start making another switch. If a sleep hiccup happens, a one-off isn’t anything to be concerned about and definitely not a reason to start tweaking things. Allow your baby to communicate to you their needs by giving it a few days, if you begin to see a pattern of a hiccup, then you know you can make a revision.

Another tip for a smooth nap transition

If you haven’t already, one way to help ‘schedule’ daytime sleep and encourage the body clock rhythm, is to wake your baby in the morning within a 30 minute range. For example, if your baby is usually waking around 6:30 am and then one day is still sleeping around 7am, it’s ok to wake them (exception to this would be if they were sick!). By striving for a more consistent wake time, your baby’s internal clock will begin to regulate and sleep can become more predictable. 

The last component to consider when it comes to making a smooth transition is to evaluate how your baby is falling asleep. If your baby is being supported to sleep somehow this can sometimes be negatively impacting their sleep (which ultimately means your sleep too). At this stage, you may consider gently guiding them to independent sleep skills. Independent sleep skills often means longer consolidated naps for many babies which will make any nap transition easier since they will have chunky daytime sleep occurring already. 

Problem Solving on Short Nap Days

If your baby is struggling with a short nap during this transition, there may be a few variables to consider.

1. Environment: cool, dark and optimal noise. This blog will help guide you through creating an optimal sleep environment.
2. Assistance to sleep: your baby may *not always* struggle with connecting sleep cycles for a chunky daytime nap if they are assisted to sleep in some way (e.g., rocked to sleep, pacifier, always a stroller nap, etc.) We wake after every sleep cycle. Your child may awakening searching for the specific conditions they had to fall asleep to begin with, this may cause a hiccup in the nap (or night).
3. Timing: if a short nap has happened, you have an option to try a mini cat-nap later in the day and push bedtime out OR move bedtime up much earlier to compensate for the limited daytime sleep.

Next steps for daytime sleep during 2-to-1 nap transition

There is no set timeline for how long this transition will take. For some, they transition easily at 12-months without any hiccups. For others, transitioning too early may result in more sleep challenges than previously faced. And some families may notice that their baby dabbles in 2 or 1-nap days for weeks (or months!). There is no right or wrong way to approach this nap transition, or anything related to your baby’s sleep, just what is working for you and them. 

Have a question about this nap transition (or any nap transition)? Book a support call with me and let’s navigate this chapter of your sleep journey!

A 1-nap schedule really opens up the day for activities, visits and outings so once you’re there, enjoy! The 1-nap schedule will be the longest schedule your baby sticks with until… NO NAP SCHEDULE! :O stay tuned for a blog on how to drop nap time entirely and transition to quiet time.

Wishing you a smooth sleep journey!

Chelsea

 

Chelsea is Mom of 2 young kids and a Certified Baby Sleep Consultant supporting families within Hamilton and beyond using gentle, effective, evidence-based strategies. She has a Masters of Professional Education and over 10 years of professional experience in parent coaching. She works collaboratively with families to empower them with the confidence and tools they need to reach their unique sleep goals. Hear what other rested families are saying about the process and Book a free call with Chelsea to discuss how she can support your family’s sleep journey.