What You Need to Know About Nap Transitions
If there’s anything I’ve learned about nap transitions, it’s that you should never assume it’s time to drop a nap after a few rough days. GIVE. IT. TIME.
Learn from my mistakes!
When my son was around 12 months old, he started refusing his morning nap. He was also starting to walk. At the time I wasn’t aware these two things (a sleep regression caused by a physical milestone development) were often correlated.
After 3 days or so, in my naivete, I decided okay, lets go to one nap.
After about a month his sleep was SO messed up! I was reverting back to giving him bottles to sleep because I didn’t know how else to get him to sleep. We were going backwards, and I was panicking!
Ironically, at the time, I was going through my sleep consultant certification program. This topic came up and I was asking so many questions. As I learned about what was actually going on with my son, I literally backtracked and put him back on two naps a day until he was really ready for that nap transition at 18 months.
Just think - we had 6 MORE months on the two-nap schedule! His little body was so out of whack when I tried to make that transition way too soon.
So, amigos, I want you to learn from my mistakes so you don’t do the same thing with your baby, and that’s what this blog post is all about!
All Nap Transitions
A transition is a time of change. There may be days, for example, if your 9 month old is going through the 3-2 nap transition, sometimes they take two naps and sometimes they take three. This is okay. You can’t expect it to be so black and white that one day your baby simply just only needs two naps.
Your main goal is to prevent overtiredness heading into bedtime, so if you need to bridge the time from the last nap to bedtime, it’s okay to offer a catnap to get there. OR, in opposition, if the timing of naps is just awkward during this time of transition, it’s okay to bring bedtime earlier.
Some nap transitions happen naturally and are pretty seamless, while others can take weeks.
Follow your baby’s lead and if they’re tired, opt for that catnap or an early bedtime. After a few weeks, they should be fairly consistent with their new schedule and you’ll know they’ve made it through the nap transition.
It’s kind of like when your child goes through a growth spurt - you may notice that they’re hungry more or taking longer to nurse or having an extra ounce or two of formula here and there. If they’re hungry, you’re going to feed them. With the nap transitions, if they’re tired, you’re going to offer them sleep. Before you know it things even out or stabilize again, both with feeding and with sleep.
The 4-3 Nap Transition
When the 4-3 Nap Transition Normally Happens
Around 3-4 months, you’ll notice your child’s awake time stamina is increasing. They’re becoming more aware of their surroundings and aren’t as sleepy as they were during the newborn stage. They’re maternal melatonin has worn off and their wake windows are increasing.
Signs to Watch For & How to Do the 4-3 Nap Transition
Due to this increase in awake time stamina and the stretching of wake windows, you’ll notice there simply isn't time for a fourth nap anymore, unless you want bedtime to be too late.
When your baby was a newborn, it was normal for bedtimes to fall between 9-11:00 p.m., but now, you should be shooting for a 7-8:00 p.m. bedtime, based on the ending of their third or fourth nap.
If they’re taking three solid naps during the day and they’d be due for their next sleep between 7-8:00 p.m. go ahead and call that bedtime! And, if they’ve done three short naps and you want to try to squeeze in a short fourth nap in to get bedtime a little later, that’s perfect too.
You may notice both of these scenarios playing out over the course of a few weeks until your baby naturally falls into a three nap schedule that looks like two, longer and more consolidated naps followed by a third catnap.
The 3-2 Nap Transition
When the 3-2 Nap Transition Normally Happens
From 6-9 months you may have noticed your baby is fairly comfortable on their three nap schedule.
Signs to Watch For & How to Do the 3-2 Nap Transition
Suddenly, you’ll notice they simply aren’t as tired between naps one and two, and you find yourself pushing their wake window a bit because if you don’t they’re taking super short naps and are up and ready to party after only one sleep cycle.
You’ll also consider offering the third nap, but realize if you do, bedtime is going to be pushed way later than normal. This is your sign that the 3-2 nap transition has begun.
This transition can be tough for sensitive sleepers, and you may be in for a few weeks of a mix between three-nap days and two-nap days. Eventually, your child will totally drop the third nap and the other two will fully consolidate. Your child will likely be getting 2.5-3.5 hours of day time sleep between these two naps.
The 2-1 Nap Transition
When the 2-1 Nap Transition Normally Happens
From about 9-15, and maybe even 18 months, your child will take two naps per day. Most children will be ready to go to one nap around 15 months, but there can be quite a range. The earliest I’ve seen children make this transition successfully was 15 months (not in my son’s case!), and the latest 18 months. My best advice is to hold on to that second nap as long as possible.
Signs to Watch For & How to Do the 2-1 Nap Transition
You may notice your child taking two short naps or refusing one of the naps.
For this nap transition and the next one, especially, it’s important to MAKE SURE that it’s really time. Give yourself a solid two weeks of sticking to your child’s normal two-nap schedule. If 10 out of 14 days you’re experiencing a nap refusal, super early mornings, or the sudden fighting of bedtime because your child just doesn’t seem tired, it may be time to make the transition. By giving it a full two weeks, though, you’re able to rule out a regression due to something else, and can confidently be certain that your child’s body is really ready to make this change.
Once you know that, yes, it really is time for this nap transition to happen, you can start by pushing both naps a bit later in the day. Do this for a few days.
Then, push to one nap a bit later, and bring bedtime earlier. Do this for a few days.
Finally, put the nap time right in the middle of your child’s day and gradually push bedtime later again as they’re nap begins to consolidate into one nice, long nap.
This transition can take up to 4-6 weeks for some children.
The 1-0 Nap Transition
When the 0-1 Nap Transition Normally Happens
Most children will be ready to drop the nap between 3-4 years, but some may continue to nap until they go to school full time. It can vary from child to child, and my best advice here is to hold onto the nap for as long as your child really needs it - it’s good for their brain development.
Signs to Watch For & How to Do the 1-0 Nap Transition
As with the 2-1 nap transition, you’ll want to do the same thing - give it a solid two weeks to MAKE SURE it’s really time to drop the nap. If you’re seeing a short nap or a nap refusal for at least 10-14 days, it might be time!
There also may be days during the transition where your child needs a nap, and other days where they don’t. Follow their lead. If they’re tired, offer a nap. If they’re tired later in the day, offer an earlier bedtime. We don’t ever want to withhold sleep from a tired child, and, trust me, the last thing you want to do is battle an overtired child at bedtime.
What about “quiet time”?
This is actually something I don’t have much of an opinion on. If you want to do it, great! And if you don’t, great!
When my son was done napping, I didn’t force quiet time. My daughter was just born, and since she was taking a lot of my time and attention, I used this time of day to spend some quality one-on-one time with him while she was sleeping. It worked well for us and he wasn’t overtired.
If you do want to introduce quiet time instead of a nap, you can simply have your child spend some time in their bedroom, reading books, doing puzzles, coloring, or some other quiet, low-key activity.
Have questions about your child’s schedule or think they might be nearing a nap transition? Reach out to me if you need help or support!
