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You and your baby worked hard to establish those healthy sleep habits. You have a great routine going, a great schedule and everyone is rested. Your baby has two great naps a day, when seemingly all of the sudden (insert the sound of screeching brakes) your baby is refusing a nap. What’s happening…. NNNooooooo!!!!

“How do I know if my baby is ready to drop the morning nap?” This is a question I hear very often from my clients and transition is not always a simple process, so here are some tips and guidelines on the when and how to drop the morning nap.

When?

• Babies will biologically drop their morning naps between 15-18 months of age. Some may be slightly earlier and some a little later.
• Your baby may start to show signs of transition as early as 13 months, however you want to preserve both naps as long as you can in order to avoid prematurely dropping the nap which can render your baby chronically overtired.
• Do not be tempted to drop the morning nap at the 11-12 month age. There is a common “nap resistance” that we see around 11 months as there tends to be many developmental milestones at this age. Keep offering your usual schedule and compensate with earlier bedtimes to make up for any lost daytime sleep.
• New physical milestones like crawling, standing, walking and talking can also interfere with naps so before you transition, make sure that your baby is ready and it’s not simply a physical milestone causing sleep disturbances.

Signs that “The Big Transition” is upon us!

• Your baby will either take the morning nap as usual but then not fall asleep for the afternoon nap.
• Baby will take a long time to fall asleep for the morning nap and/or the nap will start to shorten.
• You want to see your baby consistently doing one or both of these things for a good 7-10 days straight before assuming they are ready to transition.

How?

• If your baby is taking a long morning nap but then refusing the afternoon nap, you can start capping your morning nap. We always want to make sure they get at least a solid hour, but you can start capping the nap by 15 minute intervals at a time until you find that sweet spot that allows them to take the afternoon nap.

Example- Justin usually naps from 9-10:30. On day one we will wake Justin at 10:15 and see if he will still go down for the afternoon nap. If yes .. great! If not we give it a few days and now we will let him sleep from 9-10. If after a few days he is still refusing the afternoon nap then we can go to the next step!

• Once you have tried capping the nap, you can then make the jump and do what I refer to as “ripping off the bandaid” . You will now skip the am nap and aim to get your baby down for one nap as close to 12 as you can. It is ok to start earlier for the first few days (ie 11am) but don’t get stuck there. Start creeping as close to 12 over several days.

Things to note!

• In the beginning, it is ok to have the occasional “two nap day”. It is a big transition and even though your baby is ready, it is an adjustment period for their little bodies… so we can go slowly, however my advice is not to linger too long. Once they are able to stay awake to your desired nap time, then just push forward. A little overtiredness is expected and it’s best to stay consistent and continue in the direction you are heading.
• Expect short naps at the start. It is very normal for that one nap to be short at first.. it will eventually lengthen and develop as they adjust.
• Early bedtime is key! You will likely need to use super early bedtimes during transition time to help your little one stay rested and avoid becoming overtired during this stage.
• Transition can be a beast! Patience and consistency is key. Give it time and before you know it your baby (now a toddler!) will be taking that nice long afternoon nap and this transition will be but a memory!