@knowledgeisnotignorant Thank you! My issue is that my baby never ever slept more than 11.5h in her life! During the transition, she slept 11h at first and now settled on 10.75… it’s tricky, but flip flopping 1/2 nap days is ok I think!
The March to 1 Nap: A Practical Guide to Baby Nap Transitions (4m-18m-ish)
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knowledgeisnotignorant
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@anavah In that case just flip flop until she settles out =) Sounds like y'all are doing well.
Re: night lengthening, my son was like yours before he hit 1yo (longest night was 11.5 hours and gravitated towards 10.5-11 hours, very prone to early morning wakings which drove me nuts), but after 1yo he started pulling off 12.5-13 hour nights occasionally (natural inclination is still 11 hours). So don't bet against her.
2-1 is really accompanied by pretty profound changes in sleep overall, and I found that early morning of sleep REALLY consolidated. The fact that your gal is falling asleep very quickly at bedtime tells me she's pretty tired and there's still a sizable sleep debt, so she should be able to handle some early bedtimes.
FWIW we didn't hit our DWT of 8 most days, but in aiming for it we got kiddo to wake up after 7 most days, which he needed because daycare nap was fixed at 12:30. Your gal sounds a lot like my son and I'm pretty comfortable with the idea that his ideal sleep schedule is just something we aim towards, but we don't actually achieve most days. However, in aiming towards it we are getting more sleep and a better-rested/less tantrum-y kid than we'd otherwise have, so it's worth it to us =)
Re: night lengthening, my son was like yours before he hit 1yo (longest night was 11.5 hours and gravitated towards 10.5-11 hours, very prone to early morning wakings which drove me nuts), but after 1yo he started pulling off 12.5-13 hour nights occasionally (natural inclination is still 11 hours). So don't bet against her.
2-1 is really accompanied by pretty profound changes in sleep overall, and I found that early morning of sleep REALLY consolidated. The fact that your gal is falling asleep very quickly at bedtime tells me she's pretty tired and there's still a sizable sleep debt, so she should be able to handle some early bedtimes.
FWIW we didn't hit our DWT of 8 most days, but in aiming for it we got kiddo to wake up after 7 most days, which he needed because daycare nap was fixed at 12:30. Your gal sounds a lot like my son and I'm pretty comfortable with the idea that his ideal sleep schedule is just something we aim towards, but we don't actually achieve most days. However, in aiming towards it we are getting more sleep and a better-rested/less tantrum-y kid than we'd otherwise have, so it's worth it to us =)
qurious4christ
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@knowledgeisnotignorant Did you ever end up making that blog post?
I’m very close to the 4-3 transition and have so many questions!!
Context: LO will be 16 weeks this weekend. Current schedule is 2/2/2/2/1.75. Bedtime between 8-8:30, wake up 7am. Naps are all assisted/contact, bedtime we do a drowsy but awake with most nights success.
We went through a 2 week regression at 12 weeks with every 1-2h wakes but now most nights we have a wake between 1-3 for a quick feed and back down in a light sleep (will stir but settle within 1-5min), and another wake between 4:30-6 for a snooze feed and needs to be held to keep sleeping (if not he wakes every 15-30min and needs resettling) until I wake us up at 7 for the day. We get the occasional false start after 45min but he’s back to sleep with 2min of rocking the bassinet and shushing
Naps 1 and 2 are between 1-1:30. Nap 3 is 30m-1h depending on previous naps and nap 4 is 15-30min. I generally have to cap the last 3 naps to maintain bedtime. Generally total daytime sleep is right around 3.5h
Questions!
1. What should my wake windows look like when I start 3 naps? If I extend any and stay on 4 naps I feel like that’ll be too much awake time and we’ll end up in overtired territory but moving to 3 will be undertired?
2. I’ve heard of early bedtimes during nap transitions, do babies typically need more sleep during nap transitions?
2. If we end up doing an odd 4 nap day during the transition, do I shorten all his wake windows back down for the day to catch up on sleep?
I’m very close to the 4-3 transition and have so many questions!!
Context: LO will be 16 weeks this weekend. Current schedule is 2/2/2/2/1.75. Bedtime between 8-8:30, wake up 7am. Naps are all assisted/contact, bedtime we do a drowsy but awake with most nights success.
We went through a 2 week regression at 12 weeks with every 1-2h wakes but now most nights we have a wake between 1-3 for a quick feed and back down in a light sleep (will stir but settle within 1-5min), and another wake between 4:30-6 for a snooze feed and needs to be held to keep sleeping (if not he wakes every 15-30min and needs resettling) until I wake us up at 7 for the day. We get the occasional false start after 45min but he’s back to sleep with 2min of rocking the bassinet and shushing
Naps 1 and 2 are between 1-1:30. Nap 3 is 30m-1h depending on previous naps and nap 4 is 15-30min. I generally have to cap the last 3 naps to maintain bedtime. Generally total daytime sleep is right around 3.5h
Questions!
1. What should my wake windows look like when I start 3 naps? If I extend any and stay on 4 naps I feel like that’ll be too much awake time and we’ll end up in overtired territory but moving to 3 will be undertired?
2. I’ve heard of early bedtimes during nap transitions, do babies typically need more sleep during nap transitions?
2. If we end up doing an odd 4 nap day during the transition, do I shorten all his wake windows back down for the day to catch up on sleep?
knowledgeisnotignorant
New member
@qurious4christ I did make it, but there was a formatting error and when I corrected it I lost it. Honestly I'm just gonna do it on Substack bc I just don't trust Reddit anymore.
Re: 4-3, honestly I think the easiest is to go with the flow. Your current bedtime and DWT all sound good. The key thing is to not let bedtime get pushed any LATER by the 4th nap, and to cap the 4th nap ruthlessly and shorten the last WW when you notice bedtime resistance. Your current schedule looks good. As you get closer to the transition just let your kid take the lead and decide whether it's 3 or 4 naps for any given day. His wake windows will naturally lengthen with age and honestly you don't need to do too much to force it other than keep an eye on the last nap, last wake window, and bedtime.
One trick I find helpful is to allow baby sleep in in the morning when you want to try a 3 nap day. With the late start it's much easier to make it to bedtime on 3 naps, giving you the chance to test out a 3 nap day.
Re: 4-3, honestly I think the easiest is to go with the flow. Your current bedtime and DWT all sound good. The key thing is to not let bedtime get pushed any LATER by the 4th nap, and to cap the 4th nap ruthlessly and shorten the last WW when you notice bedtime resistance. Your current schedule looks good. As you get closer to the transition just let your kid take the lead and decide whether it's 3 or 4 naps for any given day. His wake windows will naturally lengthen with age and honestly you don't need to do too much to force it other than keep an eye on the last nap, last wake window, and bedtime.
One trick I find helpful is to allow baby sleep in in the morning when you want to try a 3 nap day. With the late start it's much easier to make it to bedtime on 3 naps, giving you the chance to test out a 3 nap day.
qurious4christ
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@knowledgeisnotignorant Hi again! Back seeking more advice 
I think we started delving into some sleep debt on the schedule we had above. I had to cap all naps after the first one to maintain bedtime and LO would wake up so cranky from those naps. Bedtime was still going quite well but we’ve been having a very dramatic wake up ~3-4h after bedtime that takes about 20-30min to soothe back to sleep and he needs to be in a DEEP sleep to be placed back down or we start all over. Also having more frequent wakes through the rest of the night but those are a quick feed and back to bed and able to self settle from drowsy at those.
The last couple days we’ve been able to sleep in until closer to 7:45 and tried some 3 nap days hoping to recover the sleep debt with less TWT, ww have been 2h10m, 2h10m, 2h20, 2h20. First nap has been 45m, second nap close to 2h, and 3rd nap capping at 30min for 8pm bedtime. He’s waking from his naps much happier and still falls asleep easy at bedtime but night sleep is still the exact same as before.
Do you think I should keep pushing through with this schedule and hope the sleep debt recovers in a couple more days?
He had his 4m vaccines today so I’m throwing it all out the window for today and hoping to get back on track tomorrow
Really appreciate your help!!
I think we started delving into some sleep debt on the schedule we had above. I had to cap all naps after the first one to maintain bedtime and LO would wake up so cranky from those naps. Bedtime was still going quite well but we’ve been having a very dramatic wake up ~3-4h after bedtime that takes about 20-30min to soothe back to sleep and he needs to be in a DEEP sleep to be placed back down or we start all over. Also having more frequent wakes through the rest of the night but those are a quick feed and back to bed and able to self settle from drowsy at those. The last couple days we’ve been able to sleep in until closer to 7:45 and tried some 3 nap days hoping to recover the sleep debt with less TWT, ww have been 2h10m, 2h10m, 2h20, 2h20. First nap has been 45m, second nap close to 2h, and 3rd nap capping at 30min for 8pm bedtime. He’s waking from his naps much happier and still falls asleep easy at bedtime but night sleep is still the exact same as before.
Do you think I should keep pushing through with this schedule and hope the sleep debt recovers in a couple more days?
He had his 4m vaccines today so I’m throwing it all out the window for today and hoping to get back on track tomorrow
Really appreciate your help!!
knowledgeisnotignorant
New member
@qurious4christ 3 nap schedule sounds good. If you're still getting night wakings then stop capping the third nap and see how short last WW wants to get. Pretty common for WWs to shrink when kiddo has a lot of sleep debt. They'll get longer when kiddo is caught up on sleep.
Whenever you think you're in an overtired rut, the first thing I always do is stop capping naps. If the last nap pushes bedtime too late, then you can cap that last nap. I haven't found it necessary to cap any nap other than the last nap.
Whenever you think you're in an overtired rut, the first thing I always do is stop capping naps. If the last nap pushes bedtime too late, then you can cap that last nap. I haven't found it necessary to cap any nap other than the last nap.
qurious4christ
New member
@knowledgeisnotignorant Thank you so much!
How will I know once we’re out of overtired territory and to start extending those ww again? Just the typical nap fighting and maybe EMW?
I tried a 3 nap schedule a couple weeks ago without properly extending his wws and ended up with a very happy undertired baby at 530am lol
How will I know once we’re out of overtired territory and to start extending those ww again? Just the typical nap fighting and maybe EMW?
I tried a 3 nap schedule a couple weeks ago without properly extending his wws and ended up with a very happy undertired baby at 530am lol
knowledgeisnotignorant
New member
@qurious4christ Nap fighting. “Undertired” doesn’t cause EMWs. EMWs are super common this age developmentally. As long as bedtime is appropriate you just deal w EMWs and move on.
qurious4christ
New member
@knowledgeisnotignorant Ok good to know! If we do get an EMW, should I swap back to a 4 nap day to make it to bedtime, or stick with 3 naps and have early bedtime?
I don’t love the idea of keeping him up until first nap time based on DWT
I don’t love the idea of keeping him up until first nap time based on DWT
knowledgeisnotignorant
New member
@qurious4christ Generally it’ll be better if you can get 3 long naps and make it to usual bedtime. That’s not always possible so just do w what feels right to you at the time. Just don’t let bedtime get pushed later by the 4th nap, if you end up using it.
Keeping kid up until first nap time by DWT is total rubbish and makes no sense. Just go for the nap time that will get you the longest first nap. Usually that means an earlier nap for my son, esp right after a nap transition.
Keeping kid up until first nap time by DWT is total rubbish and makes no sense. Just go for the nap time that will get you the longest first nap. Usually that means an earlier nap for my son, esp right after a nap transition.
qurious4christ
New member
@knowledgeisnotignorant I totally agree, thank you!
One more question/seeking advice (I feel like I should be paying you at this point!)
With regards to the early mornings, any wake up after 4:30/5 and he definitely needs to be held to link his sleep cycles and stay asleep until 7-8am, I think I’ve had one morning his entire life where he stayed in his crib until 7 lol. I know that this is very developmentally normal until 6-7months. If I do decide to fully sleep train before that time, should I try to sleep train these wakes or just keep assisting him until he’s older?
One more question/seeking advice (I feel like I should be paying you at this point!)
With regards to the early mornings, any wake up after 4:30/5 and he definitely needs to be held to link his sleep cycles and stay asleep until 7-8am, I think I’ve had one morning his entire life where he stayed in his crib until 7 lol. I know that this is very developmentally normal until 6-7months. If I do decide to fully sleep train before that time, should I try to sleep train these wakes or just keep assisting him until he’s older?
knowledgeisnotignorant
New member
@qurious4christ You can do either.
If you do decide to sleep train (we did that), then it is possible that he wakes up at 6 and doesn't go back to sleep by your DWT of 7. You have two options there: 1) go in a bit before DWT and rock kiddo back to sleep for 15-30min, so you can make it to your usual first nap time; 2) get kiddo up, move first nap up, and hope that it's long. You generally have to work really hard on getting long naps in that case.
If you assist, you can get longer night sleep, and therefore have a bit more wiggle room on the naps. But you sacrifice your own sleep in the early morning.
If you do decide to sleep train (we did that), then it is possible that he wakes up at 6 and doesn't go back to sleep by your DWT of 7. You have two options there: 1) go in a bit before DWT and rock kiddo back to sleep for 15-30min, so you can make it to your usual first nap time; 2) get kiddo up, move first nap up, and hope that it's long. You generally have to work really hard on getting long naps in that case.
If you assist, you can get longer night sleep, and therefore have a bit more wiggle room on the naps. But you sacrifice your own sleep in the early morning.
stageandgrace
New member
@knowledgeisnotignorant Hello! I need to reiterate the sentiment on this post, you are truly incredible!! And definitely should come out with a book or podcast or something because your posts / comments have been the most helpful thing in this sleep journey. And not just for me/my son but for me helping other mums in my mum group with their babies sleep! Truly incredible.
I have a question about the 2-1 transition. I’m so torn on what to do. I’ve posted a few times in this sub but I know sooo many are posting here everyday. You’ve helped me before on a separate post with my sons sleep last yr
My son has always been super high sleep needs, pretty much slept 16-15hours a day until 10months when he dropped to 15hours and now he’s 13months it’s dropped to 14hours. We were able to drop to 2 naps early at 6months on 2/3/3 because he slept so much. But now we’re coming to the end of 2 naps and he doesn’t do well with less than 14hours total sleep, but he’s been fighting both his morning and afternoon nap (sometimes it takes 20-30minutes to get him down in the afternoon >.< and then he only sleeps 45mins). He’s currently doing 3/3.5/3.5. I’ve tried capping his morning nap at 1hr which doesn’t make the afternoon nap easier so I don’t cap it anymore. He goes down fine at night and sleeps through 8pm-7:30am (I have to wake him up most mornings, on the weekends I let him sleep in until 8am). So he generally sleeps 1.5hrs in the morning and 40m-1hr in the afternoon (If his still asleep, I have to wake him to protect bedtime). It’s just naps that he’s fighting and getting shorter which has been going on for a month now.
Should I persist for an other few weeks/months? I can’t extend wake windows any further without it cutting onto total sleep so I’m not sure what to do, I’m so torn
Im wondering if it’s possible for a high sleep needs baby to get to the end of the 2 nap schedule while maintaining high total day sleep? Or do we drop to 1 nap early and he could go back to sleeping 14-15hrs a day?
I have a question about the 2-1 transition. I’m so torn on what to do. I’ve posted a few times in this sub but I know sooo many are posting here everyday. You’ve helped me before on a separate post with my sons sleep last yr
My son has always been super high sleep needs, pretty much slept 16-15hours a day until 10months when he dropped to 15hours and now he’s 13months it’s dropped to 14hours. We were able to drop to 2 naps early at 6months on 2/3/3 because he slept so much. But now we’re coming to the end of 2 naps and he doesn’t do well with less than 14hours total sleep, but he’s been fighting both his morning and afternoon nap (sometimes it takes 20-30minutes to get him down in the afternoon >.< and then he only sleeps 45mins). He’s currently doing 3/3.5/3.5. I’ve tried capping his morning nap at 1hr which doesn’t make the afternoon nap easier so I don’t cap it anymore. He goes down fine at night and sleeps through 8pm-7:30am (I have to wake him up most mornings, on the weekends I let him sleep in until 8am). So he generally sleeps 1.5hrs in the morning and 40m-1hr in the afternoon (If his still asleep, I have to wake him to protect bedtime). It’s just naps that he’s fighting and getting shorter which has been going on for a month now.
Should I persist for an other few weeks/months? I can’t extend wake windows any further without it cutting onto total sleep so I’m not sure what to do, I’m so torn
Im wondering if it’s possible for a high sleep needs baby to get to the end of the 2 nap schedule while maintaining high total day sleep? Or do we drop to 1 nap early and he could go back to sleeping 14-15hrs a day?
knowledgeisnotignorant
New member
@stageandgrace Thanks for the kind words!
Pretty common for total sleep to drop less than kiddo’s actual sleep requirement leading up to a nap transition. The sleep debt basically builds up until kiddo has night sleep disruptions (typically early morning waking), then you start the transition. Typically the more you are able to manage the sleep debt and hold off the transition, the more time your kiddo has to lengthen his WWs and the easier the transition will be.
In your case I think you can definitely do some 1 nap early bedtime days to 1) offset some sleep debt (TWT on these days will be short) and 2) get a feel for the longest WWs he can tolerate. It’ll be pretty easy for you because he sleeps in. So basically:
1) pick a day he sleeps in and you have control over his schedule, and let him sleep in as long as he wants past 8
2) offer first nap on the longest first WW you think he can handle, maybe try 3.5-4 hours, wait 15min before getting him after the nap to give him a chance to fall back to sleep
3) hopefully the nap will go 2+ hours, in which case you can bring bedtime up by 1-1.5 hours. If nap doesn’t go longer than 1.5 hours, it’s a sign that the WW was too long for him and he’s still quite a ways from 1 nap.
On days he wakes up before DWT, don’t get him before DWT but still do 2 naps, cap last nap to protect bedtime.
Pretty common for total sleep to drop less than kiddo’s actual sleep requirement leading up to a nap transition. The sleep debt basically builds up until kiddo has night sleep disruptions (typically early morning waking), then you start the transition. Typically the more you are able to manage the sleep debt and hold off the transition, the more time your kiddo has to lengthen his WWs and the easier the transition will be.
In your case I think you can definitely do some 1 nap early bedtime days to 1) offset some sleep debt (TWT on these days will be short) and 2) get a feel for the longest WWs he can tolerate. It’ll be pretty easy for you because he sleeps in. So basically:
1) pick a day he sleeps in and you have control over his schedule, and let him sleep in as long as he wants past 8
2) offer first nap on the longest first WW you think he can handle, maybe try 3.5-4 hours, wait 15min before getting him after the nap to give him a chance to fall back to sleep
3) hopefully the nap will go 2+ hours, in which case you can bring bedtime up by 1-1.5 hours. If nap doesn’t go longer than 1.5 hours, it’s a sign that the WW was too long for him and he’s still quite a ways from 1 nap.
On days he wakes up before DWT, don’t get him before DWT but still do 2 naps, cap last nap to protect bedtime.
stageandgrace
New member
@knowledgeisnotignorant Thank you thank you so much for your reply!! I was thinking today maybe you should start a subscription group haha honestly, I think I just needed someone to validate what I was thinking and tell me it’s ok to try 1 nap / it’s not too early. He’s always been such a great sleeper thanks to all the information in this sub so I really don’t want to screw anything up but it also feels like something needs to change. I think a lot of my mum friends did the 1 nap transition too late (their babies are 14-16months) and they’ve really really struggled with EMW, false starts, split nights and extremely overtired babies (as in starting the day at 4:30am and sleeping 10-11hrs total in a day >.
honestly, I think I just needed someone to validate what I was thinking and tell me it’s ok to try 1 nap / it’s not too early. He’s always been such a great sleeper thanks to all the information in this sub so I really don’t want to screw anything up but it also feels like something needs to change. I think a lot of my mum friends did the 1 nap transition too late (their babies are 14-16months) and they’ve really really struggled with EMW, false starts, split nights and extremely overtired babies (as in starting the day at 4:30am and sleeping 10-11hrs total in a day >.knowledgeisnotignorant
New member
@stageandgrace Re starting WW2, this really depends on your kid. My son has always had a shorter WW1 and long WW2, so our starter was like 4.5/5.5. But he was able to tolerate 6+ hours no problem at that point—I just knew it wasn’t a good idea.
I think the key is total wake time. My son’s sleep requirement I estimated to be around 13.25 hours around this time, which would translate to TWT 10.75 hours, but he was coming into the transition w a decent amount of sleep debt, and needed TWT 10 hours for a few days before he built up. Your kiddo is high sleep needs so you need to adjust accordingly.
Re timing, you’ll have to see how your son does with the longer WW1. If you were having to wake him up at 1.5 hours on a 3 hour WW1, my sense is you probably shouldn’t start w longer than WW1 3.5 hours on the 1 nap day. My personal stance is to take it easy w nap transitions and not to force it before kiddo is ready. We did a mix of mostly 2 naps but some 1 nap days from 12m onwards, until 15.5mo when my son was lying in his crib for an hour for nap #2 and not sleeping for more days than not. It definitely makes sense to test the waters but I would take it easy. Sounds like your son is an amazing sleeper so as long as you let him lead I don’t think you can go wrong.
I think the key is total wake time. My son’s sleep requirement I estimated to be around 13.25 hours around this time, which would translate to TWT 10.75 hours, but he was coming into the transition w a decent amount of sleep debt, and needed TWT 10 hours for a few days before he built up. Your kiddo is high sleep needs so you need to adjust accordingly.
Re timing, you’ll have to see how your son does with the longer WW1. If you were having to wake him up at 1.5 hours on a 3 hour WW1, my sense is you probably shouldn’t start w longer than WW1 3.5 hours on the 1 nap day. My personal stance is to take it easy w nap transitions and not to force it before kiddo is ready. We did a mix of mostly 2 naps but some 1 nap days from 12m onwards, until 15.5mo when my son was lying in his crib for an hour for nap #2 and not sleeping for more days than not. It definitely makes sense to test the waters but I would take it easy. Sounds like your son is an amazing sleeper so as long as you let him lead I don’t think you can go wrong.
stageandgrace
New member
@knowledgeisnotignorant Hello, me again I have a question… we haven’t tried 1 nap yet as he’s actually been waking earlier and earlier the past week (yesterday 6:45, today 6:10… I do not get him before 7:30) so I haven’t had a chance to try 1 nap on a day where he wakes at 8am or later…and for the past week or so, he absolutely will not fall asleep for his second nap unless I rock / hold him to sleep which takes 10-15mins but eventually I can get him to sleep for the second nap for 45mins-1hr >.< I’m scared I’m creating a hold to sleep association… on Sunday I was out so didn’t hold him to sleep and he rolled around in his cot for 45mins, finally fell asleep and we had to wake him up 15mins later for bedtime and he was miserable…15mins sleep in 7.5hrs. On days he wakes early I slightly stretch ww’s and let him nap a bit longer during the day (~30mins) to get us close to our regular bedtime. I’ve been scared of dropping to 1 nap too early and it causing more issues but I don’t know what to do right now. Feeling a bit lost as something needs to change
I have a question… we haven’t tried 1 nap yet as he’s actually been waking earlier and earlier the past week (yesterday 6:45, today 6:10… I do not get him before 7:30) so I haven’t had a chance to try 1 nap on a day where he wakes at 8am or later…and for the past week or so, he absolutely will not fall asleep for his second nap unless I rock / hold him to sleep which takes 10-15mins but eventually I can get him to sleep for the second nap for 45mins-1hr >.< I’m scared I’m creating a hold to sleep association… on Sunday I was out so didn’t hold him to sleep and he rolled around in his cot for 45mins, finally fell asleep and we had to wake him up 15mins later for bedtime and he was miserable…15mins sleep in 7.5hrs. On days he wakes early I slightly stretch ww’s and let him nap a bit longer during the day (~30mins) to get us close to our regular bedtime. I’ve been scared of dropping to 1 nap too early and it causing more issues but I don’t know what to do right now. Feeling a bit lost as something needs to changeknowledgeisnotignorant
New member
@stageandgrace You're getting super close. At this point some people just go for it, whereas I personally held out for a day when he woke up so early (like 5) that he actually fell back asleep before DWT (make sure room is super dark in the morning).
I wouldn't worry about crutch at this point. We did a ton of contact naps for the third nap during the 3-2 transition and it didn't cause any problems. For the 2-1 transition contact napping just didn't work anymore and we did the one hour in the crib.
I will say that as we got closer to the transition (14-15m for us) my LO wasn't too miserable even if he didn't get any sleep in 7.5 hours. If your LO is acting super tired you may want to put him down for second nap a bit earlier. We stuck to put down at 3 hour pre-nap WW whenever we did 2 nap days until the very end. Since your kiddo is higher sleep needs you may want to try 2.75 pre-nap WW if you haven't yet.
I wouldn't worry about crutch at this point. We did a ton of contact naps for the third nap during the 3-2 transition and it didn't cause any problems. For the 2-1 transition contact napping just didn't work anymore and we did the one hour in the crib.
I will say that as we got closer to the transition (14-15m for us) my LO wasn't too miserable even if he didn't get any sleep in 7.5 hours. If your LO is acting super tired you may want to put him down for second nap a bit earlier. We stuck to put down at 3 hour pre-nap WW whenever we did 2 nap days until the very end. Since your kiddo is higher sleep needs you may want to try 2.75 pre-nap WW if you haven't yet.
stageandgrace
New member
@knowledgeisnotignorant Ah thank you for the reply and the reassurance!!!
He slept in until 7:45am this morning! So we tried 1 nap today. I got him to 11:45am and he slept until just after 2 so 2hrs 20mins (I got him up at 2:30pm, he was happy laying in his cot but didn’t fall back asleep). He’s normal bedtime is 8pm but I’m not sure if he’ll make it. How early should I shift bedtime? And if he sleeps in again tomorrow, do I continue with 1 nap or do 2 naps? My only hesitation is that I don’t want to get into the early bedtime / early wake trap..
Also, perhaps a random question… but when do you offer lunch?! 1 nap is so awkward for meals. He eats breakfast as soon as he wakes up around 8am, so would you offer lunch at 11/11:30am before the nap?
He slept in until 7:45am this morning! So we tried 1 nap today. I got him to 11:45am and he slept until just after 2 so 2hrs 20mins (I got him up at 2:30pm, he was happy laying in his cot but didn’t fall back asleep). He’s normal bedtime is 8pm but I’m not sure if he’ll make it. How early should I shift bedtime? And if he sleeps in again tomorrow, do I continue with 1 nap or do 2 naps? My only hesitation is that I don’t want to get into the early bedtime / early wake trap..
Also, perhaps a random question… but when do you offer lunch?! 1 nap is so awkward for meals. He eats breakfast as soon as he wakes up around 8am, so would you offer lunch at 11/11:30am before the nap?
knowledgeisnotignorant
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@stageandgrace I did bedtime 1-1.5 hours earlier on early bedtime days (we went by cues a bit). You're right that you don't want to shift bedtime too early all the time. I found that early bedtime 2-3 times a week was fine. When we shifted to 1-nap completely we moved bedtime up by about 30min (it was 840 on end 2 naps and has been 800 on 1 nap) and that was fine. You'll get a feel.
Lunch *is* a bit tricky around this transition! Yes we offer lunch before the nap. I found that in the beginning we had to offer lunch a bit earlier, because otherwise he'd get too tired to eat. We also give a cup of milk after lunch in case he was too tired to eat--then he could at least tank up on milk.
Lunch *is* a bit tricky around this transition! Yes we offer lunch before the nap. I found that in the beginning we had to offer lunch a bit earlier, because otherwise he'd get too tired to eat. We also give a cup of milk after lunch in case he was too tired to eat--then he could at least tank up on milk.