Nap Transitions
Your child is finally napping and sleeping on a consistent schedule when suddenly they begin to resist bedtime, wake in the middle of the night, or begins to wake up early in the morning. Ugh!
What is happening? The first thing to do is to make sure their schedule is still age appropriate (see Age Appropriate wake windows at the bottom of this post).
Ages for Nap Transitions:
3-5 months: 4 to 3 naps
6-8 months: 3 to 2 naps
12-16 months: 2 naps to 1 nap
2.5-4 years: 1 to no naps
Please remember that the age ranges listed above are averages and that each child is different. It is important to look for the signs of readiness instead of just going by your child’s age.
How to tell when your child is ready for a nap transition:
4 to 3 and the 3 to 2 nap transitions (3-5 months and 6-8 months):
Usually what you will see with both of these nap transitions, is that the length of your child’s naps will increase, leaving little to time to squeeze in the last nap of the day and still have the appropriate wake window before their regular bedtime. You could try to push their bedtime back but doing so would disrupt the desired bedtime of between 6:30-7:30 PM.
2 to 1 or 1 to no nap transition (12-16 months and 2.5-4 years):
You might see that your child takes a long time to settle at their regular nap time and are just not tired for their next nap.
All of a sudden, your child may become resistant to napping (when this was not previously an issue). They may even begin to refuse to nap completely. You can try to push the nap back to see if that helps but if not, it could be that they are no longer needing as much day sleep.
Short naps can be the culprit:
This can happen when your child has not had a long enough wake window causing insufficient sleep pressure. Short naps also happen when your child stops needing as much day sleep signaling the need to check their nap schedule.
When your child has too much sleep during the day, they may not be tired at their usual bedtime:
They may go into their crib without much resistance but then they stay awake playing, talking or crying. They also could begin having middle of the night wake ups or wake up earlier than normal in the morning. This should begin happening with some regularity not just a one off.
When your toddler begins to transition to a no nap schedule, you might consider using that time (60 minutes) as quiet time for your child to play in their room (have a box of quiet time toys and books). Be consistent with this time every day. It is best to not have them use electronic pads during this time. This can be helpful to avoid late afternoon meltdowns and moodiness.
Getting a handle on your child’s naps is one of the most consistently challenging aspects of parenting and one that elicits the most calls for help from Baby Snooze Coach. Should you need help or advice, don’t hesitate to contact us!
Age Appropriate Wake Windows:
0-3 Months: 30-90 Minutes
4-6 Months: 1.5-2.5 Hours
7-13 Months: 2.5-3.5 Hours
13-18 Months: 3-4 Hours
18-24 Months: 4-5 Hours
24-36 Hours: 5-6 Hours