The 2-1 Nap Transition
- Laura Thompson | 10th February 2021 -
Are you ready for another nap transition? Your baby is probably becoming a toddler now and their sleep needs are once more changing so let’s talk about …
2-1 Naps
The next nap transition your little one will go through is the 2-1 transition. This means they will be dropping their morning nap and keeping now just one long nap after lunch time.
When will it happen?
Again there is a big range as to when children will be ready for just one nap but it will usually fall around 15-18 months of age as their wakeful window also starts increasing to 4-6 hours.
So how will I know when they are ready?
There are a few key signs to look out for in determining if your little one is ready to start dropping their morning nap;
1. They won’t settle for their morning nap.
At some stage children just go past the point of being able to settle for a morning nap – this could be a sign!
2. They still take their morning nap well but then struggle to settle for an afternoon nap and/or the afternoon nap is not as long.
This can become an issue as there is then too long a stretch of awake time before bedtime. When this starts to happen is usually time to start decreasing the morning nap so we can protect the afternoon one!
3. Bedtime becomes difficult, you get new night disturbances and/or early rising.
This could be a sign your child is getting too much daytime sleep and it is time to start the transition.
Could it happen earlier than 15 months?
It could but I would be super cautious here and certainly would not start the transition before 13 months. In the majority of cases babies are not ready until at least 15 months. Often at around 12 months of age naps can start to become a bit more challenging. Remember there is SO much development going on at this age as babies are working on walking, talking and generally exploring the world. They probably need that extra sleep even more right now so I would encourage you to hang onto that morning nap a little longer!
Ok, I think it’s time. How do we do this?
1. Take your time!
This transition really is one that takes time, typically around 4-6 weeks!
2. Start decreasing the morning nap time.
Start waking your baby from their morning nap 10-15 minutes earlier every few days. You may find that you can decrease the morning nap and that is enough to get everything back on track – in which case stop here!
2. Be flexible!
Once the morning nap is 20-30 minutes long you can be flexible! Some days they may still need this morning power nap and other days they’ll manage without so just go with the flow and ready your little ones signals.
3. Split lunch
On days you have dropped the morning nap altogether you will need to bring the afternoon nap earlier. That probably means a nap slap bang in the middle of lunch time! Try giving them a bigger snack or ‘half an early lunch’ before their nap so they don’t wake early through hunger. When they wake you can give them a second snack/ half lunch. Remember this is only temporary!
4. Use an early bed time!
You NEED to use early bedtime with this nap transition – it’s a really big adjustment for babies! Bring bedtime 30-60 minutes earlier depending on how naps have been throughout the day. Once you’re in an established routine you can gradually push bedtime back to normal time again.
The good news is this nap will be around for at least a year now before things change again so hang in there – it’ll be worth it!
Need more help?
I have a comprehensive PDF guide to making this transition in my resource shop, including step by step how to approach the change, sample schedules and all your ‘what if’ questions answered! Take a look here
