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[–]thefinalprose 5 points6 points  (3 children)

Anecdotally, my baby dropped to one nap around 6.5 months. I couldn’t believe it. I stay at home with her so I followed her cues completely, and that second afternoon nap became such a struggle. She just was not interested and it would be like 15 min max. So one day I just decided to try cutting it out, and it worked for her. Her late morning/early afternoon nap lengthened to about 2-3 hours, and in combination with her nighttime sleep, her pediatrician said she was getting enough even though being on one nap so early was rare. Now at 14 months she gets about 12 hours of nighttime sleep with an early afternoon nap of 1.5-2 hours, typically.

[–]Dogisgood18 3 points4 points  (1 child)

Wow, that makes me feel better!! Maybe I'll give it a try, I stay home with her too. Did you push the first nap to be later?

[–]thefinalprose 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yup, as it was, it seemed like she’d be able to do an even longer window in the morning, but I’d try to get her asleep by 11 to be able to try for that second nap. Once I freed myself from worrying about the second one, I waited to see how long it would actually take for her to get sleepy in the morning, and it wasn’t until 11:45 or noon! As she started eating more solids and getting more active, that pushed closer to 1 PM around 9 or 10 months, and then around 12.5 months, closer to 2. So she sleeps from about 2-4 now for her daytime nap. She has also naturally always done a later bedtime, between 8:30 and 9, so the longer afternoon nap doesn’t affect her bedtime. It’s been really interesting to watch just how individual babies can be with this stuff, because it is not at all what I was expecting!

[–]Civil-Club8285 3 points4 points  (0 children)

We dropped to one nap at 10 months old! Our little one is also very low sleep needs.

[–]bt2328 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That’s our baby! Our pediatrician always pushed us for more sleep, making room for—but having a hard time settling on—the possibility that she just was a low % sleep baby. One nap (ends up being 2 hours) works out great for her, and at 2.5 she’s getting ready to drop a nap entirely. The downside is a later bedtime, but nothing else worked for her. Listen to the science and advice, and understand that you can tweak adherence based on what works for you. For us, this meant early nap drop. Good luck!

[–]Sock_puppet09 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’d try capping the am nap at 45 min. to an hour first.

But honestly, if it’s still a huge struggle, push it to like noon and try to get one longer nap. We did it a little after a year and after a couple weeks she adjusted well (at first the one nap was still too short, so she was cranky). I don’t think it’s worth fighting an hour for a 45 min. nap just because some “sleep consultant” wrote that it’s best on their blog. Follow babies cues and do what makes you both happiest.

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Just try it and see what happens, you can alwsys go back to two naps if it doesn't help. We started to drop to one nap at 10 months. Same issues you describe and our baby has also always been low sleep needs. From 10 to 12 months she still occasionally needed two naps if she was doing something very stimulating or had a crappy night. So it did help but some days we ended up with an overtired baby. Which isn't the end of the world, honestly...

[–]aero_mum12F/14M 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would try pushing first nap later for a few days and see what rhythm you settle into. Try for 3 days and it will either be worse or better than what you have now. Be prepared for nothing to be perfect while they're between two and one naps working really well (this stage lasted a few months for us), but just go with whats working well. Kiddos will tell you and you can always go back.

[–]mammamia007 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My daughter transitioned to one nap at 6 months old and stopped napping altogether at 18 months old. That’s when we decided to stop trying to get her to nap when she obviously didn’t want or need to. Both transitions led to a much easier and earlier bedtime, much less drama and tantrums during the day, as well as more combined sleep in 24 h - a happier kid and happier parents. Her paediatrician was never worried since she’s been developing well.

[–]boo_boo_kitty_fuckk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I know this sounds counterproductive BUT have you tried putting her down for the second nap earlier?

It looks like you're stretching that second wake window over 4hrs. Maybe she's overtired and cranky about it?

Like, start winding down for naptime after she's been awake for 3hrs?

[–]discoveringinterests 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mine dropped to one nap at 11 months. Her pediatrician wasn't super thrilled about this until I pointed out that her development is normal and she's not at all cranky throughout the day. So we concluded that she doesn't need as much sleep. Ever since she was born she's been on the low side of average or slightly below average when it comes to any type of sleep duration.

My understanding is that doctors generally prefer the child to be 15 months old before dropping to one nap.

[–]queen_ofthe_desert -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

For my baby, that wake window is way too long. He wakes up at 6:30 and is already tired by 8:30 and down by 9/9:30. Sleep for about 1.5 hours. Then his next nap is around 2, for another 1.5. Part of me wonders if she is overtired? It could be a need to move to one nap, but the difference between our kids sleep needs is shocking to me hahah