You know what frustrated me most when my oldest son was a baby and a young toddler?
The fact that just when I’d worked out a nice, predictable daytime sleep schedule, he’d get a little bit older, and that would blow my perfectly-crafted routine to pieces.
I’m positive a lot of you know exactly what I’m talking about (even those of you who’ve never been able to establish a nap schedule.) The first few years of a child’s life are full of changes, and those changes add up to mean ever-shifting sleep patterns and schedules.
This is really apparent when you consider a child’s typical nap schedule from birth to toddlerhood. Newborn babies take 5 or more naps each day; by 18 months, toddlers are taking one nap. That’s a lot of change. And transitioning between all those nap schedules can be a huge headache for little ones and for their parents.
That’s what we’re tackling today. It’s time to talk all about nap-transitions – let’s get started!
When Do Nap Transitions Usually Happen?
There’s no blueprint, of course, that’ll let you know exactly when your baby or toddler is due for a nap transition. However, there’s a general timeline (we’ve shared it previously in this article) that most babies and toddlers seem to follow, and that will be helpful in pinpointing when nap transitions are most likely to occur:
- From 1-4 months, the number of naps your baby takes will be variable, but will hover around 4-5 naps per day, depending on how long his naps are and how long he can stay up between naps.
- By 3 or 4 months old, she will lean towards just 4 naps, rather than 5.
- From 5-8 months, most babies will have three naps per day. They will start to resist the fourth nap, no matter how tired they are. There are a few babies who will only have two naps at a very young age, but those naps are usually long.
- From 9-15 or 18 months, on average, your baby will nap two times a day. Although many people believe most babies can transition to one nap at 12 months, the average age is actually 15 to 18 months.
- From 18 months to 4 years, toddlers nap once a day. The age to transition away from all napping varies a lot, from 2 to 5+ years old, but the average age is between 3 and 4 years old.
The early nap transitions (from five, to four, to three) usually happen quickly and aren’t as problematic. It’s the other nap transitions (from three, to two, to one, to none) that tend to frustrate parents. Those nap transitions take longer, for one thing (my middle son has been transitioning from one nap to none for the past YEAR), and they seem to affect children more noticeably.
Nicole’s Note:
“By far, we get the most questions in the Helpdesk about the transition from 3 to 2 naps and from 2 to 1. The 2 -> 1 transition can be the most difficult, for some, because you now have a toddler who has tantrums and a mind of her own! 😉 It also causes the most sleep deprivation, usually.”
How To Tell If A Nap Transition’s Approaching
How will your baby or toddler let you know that a nap transition is coming? Here are a few signs to look for:
- Your baby or toddler begins consistently refusing a nap: Most parents find that their little one suddenly starts refusing a nap (usually an afternoon one) that, just yesterday, they agreed to without a problem. That tends to be the classic sign that a nap transition is approaching.
- The timing of your baby’s or toddler’s naps begins to change: Other parents discover that before a nap transition, the schedule generally goes crazy. Naptime goes from being predictable to being all over the place. This can interfere with nighttime sleep, too — if the afternoon nap doesn’t happen until late afternoon or early evening, for example, it can interfere with bedtime.
- The length of your baby’s or toddler’s naps begins to change: You may notice that one or more of your little one’s naps are suddenly much shorter than normal. This can be a sign that your baby or toddler is getting ready to drop a nap.
Signs of an Approaching Nap Transition, or Signs of a Sleep Regression?
One thing to remember — not all nap craziness is a sign that a nap transition’s coming on. Let’s not forget about those sleep regressions! Refusing to nap is often a symptom of a sleep regression; in those cases, it shouldn’t be treated as a sign that a nap transition is coming on.
For example, a baby who’s in the throes of the 8/9/10 month sleep regression may start to resist naps. But that’s not a sign that she should downshift from two naps to one — not at all! Most children aren’t ready for one nap until 15-18 months. Similarly, an 18 month old who suddenly starts refusing to nap probably isn’t giving up naps altogether — he’s probably just going through the 18 month sleep regression.
How to tell the difference? Wait a bit. Most regressions work themselves out within a week or two. If the napping issues haven’t resolved themselves within a few weeks, then you can think about making a nap transition.
Nicole’s Note:
“We tend to be cautious about jumping into a nap transition. Our general rule of thumb is to wait until your baby is skipping a nap more than 4 times a week. All situations can have the ‘What ifs’ of course, so we evaluate it on a case-by-case basis. Many times, your baby doesn’t seem to give you a choice and you know what to do.”
Making Baby and Toddler Nap Transitions Easier
For some babies and toddlers (especially those who are highly adaptable), nap transitions are a piece of cake. They only take a few days, and there’s little (if any) “pain and suffering” involved. If that’s the case in your home, then a sort of “cold turkey” approach to nap transitions might work well. Simply cut out a nap, re-vamp the schedule, and endure a few fussy days. Bam. Done.
For others, though, nap transitions are difficult and loooong. If your baby or toddler is in that second category, you’d probably appreciate some suggestions as to how to make those transitions a bit easier, right?
We hear you. That’s why we’ve included so many nap-focused resources in our VIP Members Area. Check them out below!
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Special VIP Members-Only Nap Resources
Mastering Naps & Schedules. For starters, all Baby Sleep Site® VIP members receive unlimited access to all our e-Books. That’s right – for the price of your membership, you can read all our e-Books at no additional cost! That includes Mastering Naps & Schedules. With over 45 sample schedules (all available for you to view in the Members Area), Mastering Naps & Schedules is THE e-Book for tired parents of non-napping kiddos! We tackle all your top napping issues, including how to get your baby or toddler to take longer naps, how to get your child’s naps to be more consistent and predictable, how to manage nap transitions, how to encourage good napping while traveling – and more! Become a VIP member today, and access the e-Book instantly – no download necessary!
Nap Tele-Seminars — Another great VIP members-only resource? Our tele-seminars. Hosted by Nicole herself, these audio tele-seminars offer you insider-information and our trademark sleep coaching methods and techniques. And guess what? We have a special tele-seminar that’s completely focused on managing nap transitions. That’s right – as a VIP member, you will have access to this coaching session with Nicole! She’ll walk you through the basics of navigating nap transitions without destroying your existing daytime schedule, or ruining night sleep.
VIP Members-Only Nap Articles — And now, we’ve recently added a special members-only article on this very topic: 5 Practical, Hands-On Tips For Managing Common Nap Transitions. Learn our 5 top secrets for how to gently and painlessly navigate nap transitions, and help them happen in a way that preserves your child’s sleep while also preserving your own sanity! 😉
For more details about all our VIP member benefits (including weekly chats with a trained sleep consultant and our Ask the Author feature), visit our membership page. Consider becoming a VIP member today!
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Don’t feel up to working on your baby or toddler’s nap challenges on your own? While our VIP Members Area is great for DIY moms who prefer to tackle sleep challenges on their own, we know that other moms much prefer to go straight to one-on-one help. Well, good news – we offer that, and you can start getting the personal help you need TODAY!
Browse our list of consultation package options here.
Once you make your choice and purchase, you will immediately receive an e-mail with your Helpdesk login information. You’ll be able to log in and start your Sleep History form right away. It’s that simple!
Emily DeJeu says
@ Kim — Victoria’s right; don’t play the blame game with yourself! It sounds to me like you’re doing everything you can to help your son nap, and that he’s just off his game lately. Which is normal, of course — in those first 2 years, our babies change so much, and so often, that just when we get them into a nice sleep groove, they grow out of it.
Also, SO normal that he sleeps well for everyone besides you. As he gets a little older, you’ll probably find that he behaves better for other people (babysitters, teachers, etc.) than he does for you. That’s been true for both of my boys in their toddler years! 😉
Overall, I’d say don’t worry about waking him from his nighttime sleep. The fact that he sleeps 13 hours a night is fantastic! Instead, I’d just try to ride out this stage, and do everything you can to encourage longer naps. But if you’re doing everything possible, and he’s still taking little 30 minute micro-naps, then don’t beat yourself up over it. Odds are, it’ll pass.
If you need some practical, hands-on tips for encouraging better nap sleep, you can check out these two posts:
https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-naps-2/why-baby-and-naps-different-than-night-sleep/
https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-naps-2/6-baby-toddler-nap-products-must-have/
@ Victoria — Thank you, thank you for reaching out to Kim! Your suggestions are spot-on — her little guy’s napless-ness could be due to teething, or to the 18 month sleep regression. It could also be that some white noise would help encourage deeper, longer sleep.
I love that you’re supporting a fellow Baby Sleep Site reader through a tough time. That’s what makes our little community so unique, and so special — we’re parents helping parents! 🙂
Thanks again for commenting, Victoria!
Victoria says
Don’t blame yourself Kim! You cannot control what your son does (if only we could!!). But know how you feel, you just wish they could tell you what they want/what is wrong. I would still try to stick with a 1 nap routine about midday, which being halfway through the day seems to work for us as he roughly has 5 hours wake time either side then. Sometimes he is very tired by the time I put him down for his nap and if he doesn’t sleep for long perhaps you could try him for a 2nd quick nap later on or just put him down a little earlier in the night. Do you think he may be teething which isn’t helping, or is something waking him early from his nap? When he wakes do you get him straight away? Have you tried leaving him to see if he settles himself back to sleep, my son very often does this. Perhaps a little noise generated machine may help him go back off when he wakes (it seems he may be waking when going from light to deep sleep etc and can’t resettle himself maybe)? I hope something works for you soon, it really is so frustrating!
Kim says
Thanks so much, Emily and Victoria!
Update – for a good week/week and a half (even over the holidays!) we finally were able to transition to 1 nap, and it was at least one hour long. I was ecstatic! But these past couple of days he seems exhausted earlier and has only taken his one 30-minute nap again. He also seems to sleep longer for ANYONE else other than me 🙁 He still is sleeping 13 hours at night…should I (gasp!) wake him? Is that what is going on, or did I try to transition him too soon? (He is now 17 months, will be 18 months on the 28th of January.) And just recently my husband was offered a job in a town about 5 hours away so now we might be moving too, which would throw another wrench in this whole plan….The worst part is I am once again blaming myself for this, and doubting my parenting skills. Sigh. Why is this so hard?
Emily DeJeu says
@ Victoria — so glad you’ve settled on a routine that’s working for you! Good for you, for following your mommy instincts. 😉 Thanks, too, for offering some insights to Kim. I love seeing our parents use the comment section to collaborate and help each other out!
Victoria says
Just to say Kim, that my 15 month old son recently started to mess around with his daytime sleeps.I decided that he was maybe in sleep transition to just 1 nap a day. At the moment this is now working but did take a couple of weeks to adjust.I would certainly try a midday sleep, as he now sleeps anywhere from 1 and half to three hours and is then ready come 7.30 to go down and now does not ‘play up’ at this time.It hasn’t helped with him cutting about 6 teeth in one go, but is hopefully settling down now.Thank you to Baby Sleep Site for advising and helping me on this one too, I did go with my instincts and 1 sleep seems to be the trick at the moment!!! 🙂
Emily DeJeu says
@ Kim — you could certainly try moving to 1 nap. Trying never hurts! Since the nap times are (as you mention) getting later, your son may be trying to head in the 1 nap direction. And you’re right about evaluating overall sleep. Sounds like he’s sleeping very well at night, and while you should definitely still carve out a nap time during the day, it’s probably not the end of the world if that nap is on the short side every now and then.
However, it sounds like the lack of routine is driving you nuts (and I totally get that — I’m a routine-lover myself!) So trying to establish a one-nap-a-day routine might be just the thing both of you need.
Let us know you proceed with this, and what ends up working/not working for you! And thanks again for commenting, Kim! 🙂
Kim says
Hi Emily, thanks for your response! I have read the free e-book and am also a member on the member area so searched around there, too.
My son turned one at the end of July, so I’m not sure it’s the 12 month sleep regression? I guess if it IS some type of regression, it seems to just be going on a lot longer than I would think it should (3 months). I just don’t know what to do anymore. I guess I thought maybe it was finally time to transition to one since he is sleeping longer at night, naps are all over the place and the nap times are getting later and later? Should I maybe just take the plunge and see if it works out? I know you said not to force it, but I just don’t think this current “schedule” is working. And I hate saying this, but since he is sleeping almost 13 hrs. at night could he maybe just not need a longer nap? I know they are restorative, but I remember reading somewhere on the site to evaluate overall total sleep?
I’m just so lost!
Emily DeJeu says
@ Kim — sounds rough 🙁 So sorry you’re experiencing this! It could be, of course, that your son’s just in a weird phase, and that if you give it a bit more time, he’ll work through it and start to nap more normally. It could also be that the “nap regression” that sometimes happens around 12 months is happening to your son. You mentions that it began in September; would he have been around a year old then? Finally, the switching back and forth between daycare schedule and at-home schedule could be throwing things off, too. It’s perfectly normal for some kids to sleep better for their daycare teachers than they will for mom and dad.
Have you checked out our free guide on toddler sleep? That might help you. You can download a copy using this link: https://www.babysleepsite.com/toddler-sleep-training-secrets-free-ebook/
Thanks for commenting, Kim! Keep us posted on what happens.
Kim says
Oh, I definitely enjoyed this article, especially since my 16 month old son’s naps have been ALL OVER THE PLACE, and for MONTHS! I have felt like he has been transitioning since September, and it’s December! He started with going to two 30-min. naps at home but at daycare 2x/week he would take a 30-min nap in the morning and about an hour nap in the afternoon, so I figured he still needed 2. Just about the same time is when he transitioned to FINALLY STTN, and now sleeps about 12.5-13 hrs/night (crazy!)
For the last month or so if he does take two naps they are still only 30-min naps and he has had several days where he skips his 2nd nap all together (maybe 3x/week) and the morning nap is still only 30 min.! Naps seem to be getting later – we have been able to push him to about 11am, but have also tried earlier, later, EVERYTHING, and no matter what his first nap STILL only lasts 30 min. So if he has a 11am nap we try for 3/3:30pm nap which then starts to get late because of his 6pm bedtime!
SO, SO CONFUSED! Was hoping pushing 1st nap to 11am would get him to one/he would sleep longer but no luck. And it’s driving me crazy that he is all over the place. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!
Emily DeJeu says
@ Ginette — So sorry to hear that you’re struggling with your toddler’s sleep!
A few things to consider:
1. This behavior is perfectly normal for a 2 year old. You can read more about the challenges of 2 year old sleep here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/toddlers/5-things-about-2-year-old-toddler-sleep/
2. While it’s wise to wake your toddler if his nap starts going too late, you may want to allow him more than an hour to sleep. For example, if he doesn’t fall asleep until 2:30, try waking him closer to 4:30 or 5. It may impact bedtime a little, but it’ll ensure he gets the sleep he needs.
I’m wondering if his bedtime battle last night was a result of being overly tired and wound up. It could be that if he starts getting more naptime sleep, he’ll fight bedtime less.
I can say that my 4 year old still takes an afternoon nap about half the time, and his nap is often 2 or even 3 hours long.
3. Don’t get too married to the schedule. If naptime is “supposed” to end at 2, but he doesn’t fall asleep until 1:45 (as you mention), don’t wake him at 2. Let him sleep for as long as he needs, and only wake him if the nap starts to bleed over into the early evening.
4. For busy days — allow the schedule to be flexible then. If you can’t be home until 1:30, lay your little guy down at 1:30 and encourage him to sleep for awhile.
You may also want to download our free toddler sleep guide and read through it, to see if there are insights in there that may help: https://www.babysleepsite.com/toddler-sleep-training-secrets-free-ebook/
Thanks for commenting, Ginette! Keep us posted on your son’s progress, and be sure to share any tips that work for you (so that other parents can benefit) 🙂