Transitioning from 2 to 1 Nap
This blog follows the previous blog about “5 signs your baby is ready for nap transition.”
This particular transition from two naps to one nap happens between the ages of 13-18 months old, and is most commonly seen between 14-16 months old. This is not an easy transition, and is usually one of the hardest transitions for babies because their wake windows double in length. This transition can take around 2 weeks to complete and for the child to fully adjust to the new schedule.
There are a few key points to keep in mind prior to beginning the transition process. First of all, at around 12 months of age, your baby will go through a sleep regression which might give you the false impression that they are ready to transition to one nap. It is important to wait at least two weeks and explore other sleep training options before you are confident that the regression has passed and your baby is truly ready to transition to one nap. For example, it is possible that they are very tired during the day and not able to make it to bedtime on one nap and, therefore, may not be ready for this transition.
Secondly, it is possible that this transition might have to happen sooner than expected if your child is going to daycare where they may be required to be on a one nap schedule.
Before you consider transitioning from two to one naps, make sure you have a plan in place to maximize your child's wake windows. This transition is all about longer wake windows and so preparing your child to be able to tolerate this amount of awake time is important. Some examples include new activities and more outdoor time.
Total Sleep
At this age, and with a one nap schedule, the ideal range for day sleep is between 2-3 hours. If you are struggling to link sleep cycles in this nap, consult my blog on short naps for tips to lengthen this nap.
Wake Windows
In a one nap schedule, as previously mentioned, the wake window in the morning is typically 5 hours while the wake window before bed should be around 4 hours. The latter will extend to 4.5 hours at 18-24 months, depending on the child’s sleep needs.
Option One:
This is my go-to option to slowly transition babies to one nap. This is the more practical and common approach for most sleep scenarios.
When a baby is on a two nap schedule, their wake windows are not very long (2.5-3.5 hours during the day and maybe 4 hours before bed). In a one nap schedule, the goal is to stretch the first wake window, after they wake up in the morning, to 5 hours before their first and only nap of the day. As you can see, this is double the time from what they are used to experiencing. This is a huge change for them and it is important to slowly ease them into it by taking a gradual approach.
In order to do this in their current two nap schedule, I would recommend pushing their morning and afternoon naps back by 10-15 minutes each day. This helps their body adjust to the change of wake windows and slowly moves the first nap to the middle of the day, while squeezing out the second nap.
The following is an example of a 7:00am wake up time with the goal of moving to a single nap at 12:00pm. This can be adjusted based on your child’s wake up time and desired nap time:
Day 1 - Sample : two naps originally starting at 9:30 am and 1:45 pm
Wake up: 7:00am
Nap: 1: 9:45- 10:45am
Nap 2: 1:45 - 3:30pm
Bed: 7:00pm
Wake Windows: 2hr 45m/ 3hr / 3hr 30m (total daytime sleep 2 hrs 45m)
Day 2
Wake up: 7:00am
Nap 1: 9:50 - 10:50am
Nap 2: 1:50 - 3:30pm
Bed: 7:00pm
Wake Windows: 2hr 50m/ 3hr / 3hr 30m (total daytime sleep 2hr 40m)
Day 3
Wake up: 7:00am
Nap 1: 10:00 - 11:00am
Nap 2: 2:00 -3:45pm
Bed: 7:15pm
Wake Windows: 3hrs/ 3hr / 3hr 30m (total daytime sleep 2hr 45m)
Day 4
Wake up: 7:00am
Nap 1: 10:15 - 11:15am
Nap 2: 2:15- 3:45pm
Bedtime: 7:15pm
Wake Windows: 3hr 15m / 3hr / 3hr 30m (total daytime sleep 2hr 30m)
Day 5
Wake up: 7:00am
Nap 1: 10:30 - 11:30am
Nap 2: 2:30 - 4:00pm
Bed: 7:30pm
Wake Window: 3hr 30m / 3hr / 3hr 30m (total sleep 2hr 30m)
Day 6
Wake up: 7:00am
Nap: 11:15am - 2:15pm
Bed: 6:15pm
Wake Window: 4hr 15m / 4hrs
**Day 6 is a significant milestone. Lunch will be earlier on this day and it is important for them to eat before the nap so that they are satiated before sleeping. Also, eating lunch will likely help to lengthen their nap. Furthermore, the second nap is removed and the wake window before bed is extended so do what you can do to keep your child entertained. This means getting outside, changing up the activities they are playing and avoiding the car or stroller so they don’t fall asleep.**
Day 7
Wake up: 7:00am
Nap: 11:30am - 2:30pm
Bedtime: 6:30pm
Wake Window: 4hr 30m / 4hrs
**Moving forward, the next part of this transition is to push back the start time of the single nap, closer to the middle of the day or towards whatever desired nap time you want to achieve.**
Day 8
Wake up: 7:00am
Nap 1: 11:45am- 2:45pm
Bed: 6:45pm
Wake Window: 4hr 45m / 4 hrs
Day 9 - New one nap schedule
Wake up: 7:00 am
Nap 1: 12:00-2:45pm
Bed: 6:45/7:00pm
Wake Windows: 5 hrs / 4 hrs - 4hr 15m
On a final note, depending on how well your child napped during the day, you can move bedtime by 15- 30 minutes (or a maximum of 1 hour). As an example, if they did not get at least 2 hours of sleep during the nap, then you move up the bedtime to prevent them from being overtired.
Option Two:
This option is typically used for children who are refusing the second nap altogether, despite trying contact, car, or stroller naps. In this case, a gradual change in schedule is not required. You can simply begin the transition on Day 6 of the aforementioned schedule in Option 1.
If you are struggling with the transition to one nap, or early morning wake ups as a result of this transition, reach out and I can help make things go more smoothly. Together we can help get your baby down to one solid restful nap during the day and/or prepare them for daycare.