Good Morning, friends!
I've got a mom question, and I thought I'd bring it to the blogosphere to get your two cents!
Here's the deal...
For the longest time, Riggins has taken a morning nap from 9-10(ish) and an afternoon nap from 1-3(ish). Although we've had a few days in the last month where he has chatted through that morning nap, we've also had days where he sleeps two hours in the morning; and, of course, plenty of days where he sticks to his usual 9-10.
But next week, all of our fall activities begin--Bible Study Fellowship (BSF), our church's bible study, and MOPS--which means that at least three mornings a week we have a morning activity that begins around 9:30. So I'm not sure what to do about that morning nap.
It seems like my options are:
(1) Keep putting him down at 9:00 when our morning allows (the four days a week without a morning activity) and hope for the best on the other days. We have had a few days when we've skipped the morning nap for an outing. He seemed to do fine, and picked right back up with the morning nap the next day. I guess the only issue is that our activities are three days in a row.
(2) Attempt to phase out the morning nap and transition to one post-lunch nap. My only hesitation with that plan is that I would prefer to follow his lead when it comes to his schedule, and since he seems content with his current nap routine I hate to mess with it. But, I wonder if it would be best to have the same nap routine every day. And selfishly, on the days when he hasn't taken a morning nap, he has still napped from 1-3, not longer. I would be really sad to lose a whole hour of nap time! Does that afternoon nap get longer once it is more established?
(3) Wait and see how he handles the first few weeks of our new routine and decide later.
So any wisdom you have to share when it comes to transitioning to one nap is much appreciated! Comment away, friends!
8 comments:
Ooo, that's a tough one. I transitioned Sean when he no longer seemed sleepy in the mornings. And also the morning nap became so short we eliminated it all together. He now takes about a 2 hour nap after lunch, sometimes longer. Personally I would let him nap when he needs it, and on the days he can't just hope for the best! I like schedules but I want a flexible child. I bet on the days he can't nap in the morning he'll take a nice long afternoon nap.
I'm starting BSF too! My first time, I'm super excited!
My son was about 18 months when we transitioned from two naps down to one (9am and 1pm). The main reason being that he wasn't sleeping very long/deep on either nap... And he wasn't as tired at night.
So, I moved it up to 11:30am... and for about a year, he would sleep almost 3 hours. He was ready for bed at night by 7:30 and wasn't as cranky.
Good luck!
First time commenter! I'm delurking. :)
My son just turned one and I am a working Mom. At daycare the he moved up to a new room when he turned one - and that room just did one nap a day and on a cot. (I freaked!).
Needless to say, he was more ready for it than I was. He gets up in the morning at 545 and he stays up all the way through lunch and goes down around noon and sleeps until 2 or 3. I pick him up around 330 and then we have a great evening together before he goes to bed (which has moved up about 30 minutes since doing the one nap a day).
So You could try and hold him off and see if he's ready for a nap smush - or just see if he'll be flexibile for you. I don't see anything wrong with just flexing him around and hopefully still getting your hour of bliss in the morning on days you are home!!
Nap transitions are so tough! My two cents: Since he's able to do one nap and be okay, give it a go on your busy days and just feel out the days you are home. Don't feel like every day has to be exactly the same--even two consistent though different routines are better than total chaos. :) And he's getting to the age where he can be more flexible (like you said) so it's totally fine to take advantage of that--you aren't being mean or pushy, you're just living!
Good luck, friend. I know it's tough.
Leighton kind of weaned herself from the morning nap over the course of a week around 16 months(when she was on vacation from daycare). She was perfectly content and not displaying any of her usual sleep cues, so I just went with it...and we've never looked back. I "try" to keep her schedule about the same as it is at daycare (naps at 1pm), but there are days she's ready to go down at noon, before she's even had lunch. Kind of depends on the day's activities, etc. If he's been able to get through the morning w/o a nap, I'm sure he'll do fine on those busier days and he'll probably take an extra long in the afternoon for you! Good luck!
I would just go with the flow. If you're home then you can try to put him down. If not then just do an afternoon nap. If he starts phasing out his nap on his own then you'll know. I wouldn't stress about it too much. Right now I'm dealing with an almost four year old that is somewhere between needing his nap and dropping it. On school days, he always gets a nap, but on the weekends we sometimes skip it. The upside is he goes to sleep between 7:00 - 7:30 if he skips his nap, but I still love those few quiet hours in the afternoon. Don't feel guilty there isn't a mom who doesn't love nap time.
I can feel ya on this one Leslie. It is the recurring question of how we balance the structure with the freedom of intuition. Because Heath is in daycare we have been placed on their schedule. In AR they let him nap when they thought he was tired- which was usually two times, one in the morning about 25 mins and one in the afternoon about 40 mins.
When we moved to VA this summer, at 14 months he was in a classroom with group nap time on a cot. They eat lunch at 11 then nap at 12-2. Heath usually falls asleep by 11:45- they said a few times it has been at the lunch table! He has never been a great napper so here he's been doing about 1 hr and a half and that is huge! On the weekends we try to follow that post lunch nap schedule and he is usually good for it, sometimes holding out a little longer until 12:30 or 1.
I agree that Riggs will adjust with you as needed, I'm amazed by their flexibility. But also with that you may also be amazed that offering one nap instead of two may be right up his alley too. Have fun with your new fall adventures!
I missed this post somehow! Anyway, I agree with your pals who told you to sort of wing it for awhile. See how he handles the different days, and then maybe you'll get a clearer picture of what he needs now. Sounds like he is in transition mode, for sure.
We kind of played it by ear for a few weeks, until it was obvious that her afternoon nap was getting shorter due to her unnecessary morning nap. She went from napping at 9am and 1pm to one nap around 11:30 or 12. After about three weeks of working out the kinks, watching her cues (like when she was a teeny baby--sob!), and figuring out my own schedule, we never looked back! Hope it all comes together soon for your cute man!
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