The transition to one nap has a beautiful outcome — one less step in your routine and a move towards more quality sleep. However, changing your toddler’s sleep habits can be a shake up. According to Dr. Harvey Karp, author of The Happiest Baby Guide to Great Sleep, “Children usually go from 2 naps to 1 between ages 1 and 2.” As a real mom in the trenches, I’ve experienced it closer to 12-15 months.
For those of you whose child has stopped sleeping when he used to sleep soundly, I’m here to help!
4 Basic Signs to Look For …
(1) Your child’s age (1-2 years old).
(2) Your child has stopped sleeping during one of his morning or afternoon naps, then is a cranky wreck because he’s sleep deprived.
(3) Your child takes “forever” (15+ minutes) to fall asleep, or plays in his crib the entire nap time.
(4) Your child takes “forever” to fall asleep, and then once he does he sleeps longer than usual and is not ready for his normally scheduled afternoon naptime.
If your child exhibits just one of these sleeping traits for as little as 5 days in a row, it’s time to transition to one nap. This is a scary, unsure time in your parenting career. Up until now your schedule has been somewhat stable. I’m not going to lie — switching to one nap is on par with sleep training, yet worse because it takes months until your child’s brain can learn how to sleep a 3-hour stretch.
Follow these steps for 28 days, don’t give up, and your kid will soon transition to one nap! Noon is a preferable naptime if your child sleeps 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. (adjust accordingly).
Day 1-3: Put him down for his nap 15 minutes later than usual. Keep him awake until then and always put your child down awake in his crib.
Remember you’re messing with his internal clock, so he will start doing wacky things that he may not have done before. During the transition to one nap, maybe he sleeps his normal length, maybe it’s shorter, or maybe it’s 3 hours (your goal nap length).
When he wakes up, have a snack and remember to stay patient through the new routine “grumps.” In the evening, you’ll be putting him to bed an hour earlier than usual (yahoo)!
Unless: He naps a full 3 hours; then he goes to bed at his normal time.
Days 4-6: Again, push his nap back by 15 minutes. Feed him when he wakes. If he’s napping less than 3 hours, put him down to bed an hour earlier because he’s tired (and so are you!)
Days 7-28: Continue with this plan … Day 28! You did it. Noon is your child’s new nap time!
An Outline for Your Toddler’s New Schedule
- 7 a.m. – Wake up & eat breakfast! Then get dressed and leave your house. You have new morning freedom — use it!
- 9:30 a.m. – Snack time
- 11:00 a.m. – Lunch (can’t be too close to nap, or he will be too tired to focus)
- 12:00 p.m. – Transition to one nap – it’s go time!
- 3:00 p.m. – Snack (or whenever he wakes up. Never wake a sleeping child; do you like being woken up?)
- 3:30 p.m. – Head outside or let loose at Bubbles Academy’s Open Play!
- 5:00 p.m. – Dinner
- 6:00 p.m. – Bedtime routine kicks off
- 7:00 p.m. – Leave your child’s bedroom
- 7:01 p.m. – Watch Netflix! 😉
Your next hurdle is to be patient until your child’s nervous system learns to nap 3 hours. This can take as long as 2 months. He will get there, I promise you! And don’t settle for less than 3 hours, mamas; you need and deserve this break and sleep is when your child’s brain and body grows, so respect it.
Tips to Adhere By …
- Only begin the transition to one nap when you’re ready to stick to this plan. Do not give your child mixed messages, and do not quit. COMMIT!
- Your child has to be awake until his designated naptime; no catnaps or you’ve blown it.
- Adhere to the times closely, like military precision time.
- Be armed with activities around naptime because your child may be disoriented and irritated since he’s napping less hours.
In my home with 3 active boys (10, 6, 2) the older two napped until they were 4 years old, and even now on the weekends they are in their rooms by 1 p.m. for quiet time and will sometimes fall asleep. Mommy gets a break, and after that I love being around them even more.
Share your stories of the transition to one nap! Pointers and questions welcome below and @BubblesAcademy @GIT_Mom
Eirene Heidelberger is a certified parent coach, and works with moms in their homes to teach them effective and efficient parenting tools so they can be guilt-free and live their best life.
Does this mean they don’t nap in the afternoon during the 28 days?
What do I do with lunch during the transition time?
Is the “put him down 15 minutes later than normal” to get the babies to the noon start time? My twins’ first nap is usually at 9am. So do we start at 9:15 for 3 days, then 9:30 for days until we have pushed it back to noon?
My son is 14 months and he has been taking one nap for the last couple of weeks. He takes his nap at different times since he wakes up anytime from 7-8am, but he goes to sleep at 7pm. What do you suggest if he doesn’t take a nap at all, if he just stands in the crib?
Hi there! I am going to begin the 2 to 1 nap transition but am worried that putting him to bed an hour earlier will mean he wakes an hour earlier. Does that tend to happen? Then nap is being pushed more due to the earlier wake up.
Hello great advice here but I have to clarify…if my 15 month old currently sleeps 930-1030am and 2-3pm do I first adjust his morning nap only changing it to 945 for days 1-3? Then 10am etc until we reach 12pm? Then what happens with his current afternoon nap? Do we adjust that time too?
Hi. I’ve started this with my son who is 14 months. However he is now waking up at 5am everyday. Hard to stretch that first nap time when he’s up an hour earlier than usual. Advice?
Do you drop the second/afternoon nap completely during this transition? My 13 month old currently takes a 1 hour morning nap at 10am and a 1 hour afternoon nap at 2:30. Thanks!
If you’re putting him to bed an hour early during the transition, won’t he wake up an hour early and throw the whole routine off for the day? My 10.5 month old has been playing in his crib through his whole nap time and then being miserable, so I’ve put him to bed at 6:30 instead of 7, and every day he’s woken up at 6:30 instead of 7.
Hi there, great advice! My little girl is 13 months and we’re beginning the transition. The only problem is putting her down an hour earlier at night- she will always seem to wake up after 12 hours whatever time she is put down, so wouldn’t sleep any extra, and it just means an earlier start for me! Any tips? Can we just make the daytime adjustments? Many thanks Gina and Jessamine x
We are doing this, however my son wakes up screaming after just one hour. He will settle himself sometimes and play in his crib. My question is, do I just leave him for the duration of the nap? So if he wakes up at 1, do I leave him until 3?? That doesn’t sound right. Thank you!
This is a great article. Especially emphasizing the fact that mommas need their time (even sending older boys to their room for quiet time which is awesome and healthy) and the fact that you can teach a baby something new but it takes a while for their brain to catch up. I have an almost 1 y/o exhibiting all these signs for 20 days now – wish I would’ve read your article sooner.
Hi Val,
Thanks for the read! At GIT Mom we <3 sleep, but moms more! Have a great day.
Eirene
Hi! This is awesome advice, but what do you do with a 14 month old kid who wakes up at 5am and is ready to go to bed at 6pm? We’d really love to get her sleeping from 7pm-7am with one nap at noon, but right now she’s ready for a nap at 9:30am, sleeps for 1-2 hours and then is a mess by mid-afternoon (but doesn’t want to nap.) Is she just not ready? Should we tackle getting her wake-up time moved first?
Hi Lee, thank you! She is ready! 7am is attainable by pushing her 9:30a nap back by 15 minutes every 3 days until you reach noon. You must stay strong and not stroll or drive her during this transition period. It’s a lot of work, but this strategy works and her entire schedule will be where you want it. If you need me further I’m at eirene@gitmom.com
Eirene
My daughter is 17 months old and has been transitioning to 1 nap for a couple months now. We are working in 15 minute increments like suggested. My goal is a 7-7 sleep schedule and a 2-3 hour nap during the day. She has been napping around two hours but we are still at 10:45 nap time so she’s exhausted by 5 pm, going to bed at 6. She is waking up around 5:15-5:30 am. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Penny Mae,
You’re doing everything right! This entire transition takes 3 full months to complete so stay consistent and be patient. If you need me further I’m at eirene@gitmom.com
Eirene
Hi All-
Thanks for the great comments and questions! Some of your comments got a bit lost in a spam attack – we’re so sorry! If you still have questions on your little one’s nap transition please feel free to email our guest blogger Eirene at eirene@gitmom.com.
Thanks!
Bubbles Academy
Hey. We have got to 12pm for nap time now but the nap time is still 60-90mins. Do i still put to bed early if not closer to three hours or just do normal bedtime and wait for him to adjust?
Thanks for a great article
We are glad you enjoyed the article! Eirene gave this advice for your situation:
“Continue a 1-hour earlier bedtime until a 3 hour nap is attained.”
Going forward you can work with her 1:1 by contacting her at eirene@gitmom.com.