5 Signs & Solutions to Baby Dropping the Morning Nap! From 2 Naps to 1

Depending on who you ask and on your actual child, babies tend to drop their second nap, transitioning from 2 naps per day to 1 per day somewhere between 12-15 months of age.  I have 3 kids, and each of them were not ready for the transition at the exact same time frame, so I always advise that moms pay attention to THEIR child's behavior closely over something like a calendar or what one of their child's peers is doing.

Moms all know how important sleep is, especially baby's naps.  We're a crazy mess most days, and I've blogged before about how having an actual schedule can be nearly impossible for me, but I have my non-negotiable items for each day:  one thing I hold sacred for my boys is their nap time - seriously, I will not mess with it unless absolutely necessary or no other options are really available.

I am sharing 5 Signs to look for and pay attention to that can signal your little one is ready for the 2-to-1 nap transition.  You'll know when to start paying attention when your baby suddenly just starts refusing to sleep at their regular times or just wants to play.  You've just got to be certain that they are not refusing to sleep because of all those other baby issues - like teething, a cold, a new location, etc.

5 Signs to Look For when Baby is Ready to Drop their Second Nap:

1. Baby starts fighting one of their 2 usual nap times 
2. Baby is taking longer than normal to settle down and fall asleep
3. Baby is waking up earlier OR later than usual in the morning
4. Baby isn't tired at their regular bedtime in the evening
5. Duration of one of baby's naps is unusually shorter than normal

Now, I'll be honest and admit that by the time my twins were 11 months old, their day time sleep patterns started to get a little wacky and out of routine.  And in desperation (and especially because dealing with 1 nap instead of 2 would help simplify my life dealing with twins plus one), I tried to get my twin babies to drop that second nap by pushing back their morning nap.  And, let's just say, it was an epic fail and a great reminder of who was in control here - the twins!  I reverted back to 2 naps during the day after 8 days of feeling like nap failures, and then suddenly a week after the boys turned 1 year old, they started really showing ALL of these 5 Signs I identified above.

Now, here is a list of the "solutions" I've experimented with to help me ease the boys into their 1 nap transition.  The solutions I have listed really come from my own trials with the boys, some of my pediatrician's tips, and grandma's too, of course!  This does not mean that these will all work for every other mom, but I'd say these are definitely some points to keep in mind as you figure out what works for your baby.

Solutions to Helping Baby Transition from 2 Naps to 1:

1. Push your child's morning nap by 15 minutes each day to help wean them off of the morning nap until the second nap is gone
2. Move bedtime up a little earlier (by about half an hour in the evenings)
3. Put baby down for "quiet time" instead of nap time during their usual second nap time, so that they have some time to just lay or sit quietly in a darkened room or listening to some white noise or soft music
4. Make sure baby is sleeping a total of 10-12 hours per day 
5. Accept that some days as we help baby transition from 2 naps to 1 that we may still need 2 naps on some days, OR we may need to revert back to 2 naps for a while altogether because we aren't ready for the transition yet

Once you've got this adjustment made and figured out, I can tell you that the 1 nap per day will stick around for quite some time (until age 3 for my eldest son).  So, no more nap transitions for a while!

Here's what happens when mom messes with our naps!

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