When is it Time to Drop a Nap?
Everything is going GREAT
Do you ever find yourself breathing a sigh of relief knowing that your child has finally gotten into a rhythm with sleep? You know when they will go to sleep and when they will wake up. You finally can predict nap times, awake windows, and then finally some “me time” — AKA do the laundry, make dinner, pick up the house, take a bite of a leftover waffle, heat up your coffee for the 10th time, etc.?
Then ALL OF A SUDDEN
Then all of a sudden… your baby throws you a curveball (once again). Your little angel might start skipping a nap. Then they might begin waking up early. Maybe they take a longer time to fall asleep at bedtime. Perhaps they have a hard time falling asleep for naps as well. Maybe they all of a sudden are having shorter naps. If your child is dealing with any of these issues, it might just be time to drop a nap.
5 SIGNS TO LOOK FOR
As mentioned above, there are usually 5 signs that it is time to drop a nap. Sometimes your baby exhibits one or a few signs, or they might do all of them. I tell parents that just because any of these signs happen once or twice, they shouldn’t automatically think it’s time to move on to the next nap stage. However, if they consistently do these things over a period of 1-2 weeks, it’s time to drop that nap.
FIGHTING THE LAST NAP OF THE DAY
One indicator of your child letting you know it’s time to drop a nap is frequently skipping a nap or fighting the last nap of the day. Your child might get extra cranky and whiny when you head to the nursery and might just end up playing or being sad the whole time that they are supposed to be napping. They simply aren’t tired. They have most likely had adequate daytime sleep. Your baby should only take about 10-15 minutes to fall asleep after the bedtime routine. If they start lengthening that time, they have gotten too much sleep during the day. As they grow, their daytime sleep decreases. Pay attention to their age and the amount of sleep that they are getting—if they are exceeding the amount of sleep that they should get in a 24-hour period, it might be time to drop the nap.EARLY MORNING WAKE-UPS ARE MORE FREQUENT
Just when you were able to drink your cup of coffee without reheating it several times, your baby has started waking up early. Ughh! If this keeps happening, some obvious things to rule out would be any light coming in (room should be totally dark), sound machine has stopped working, or your baby has wet through his diaper (nighttime diapers are ideal, or even diaper inserts for preventing leaks). If you have ruled out these things, it might be time.YOUR BABY IS WITHIN THE AGE RANGE TO DROP A NAP
Typical ages are as follows:0-3 months old: 4+ naps per day
~4 months old: 4 naps per day
~5-7 months old: 3 naps per day
~6-9 months: 2 naps per day
~11-16 months: 1 nap per day
~2.5-3 years: No more naps
Please keep in mind these are VERY general. Some babies start dropping naps sooner, and some take a longer time. There is no magic number, but these are fairly common. If your baby is napping beautifully and sleeping well at night, don’t change anything!
FALLING ASLEEP FOR NAPS IS TAKING LONGER
Having a hard time falling asleep for naps is similar to having a hard time falling asleep at bedtime. If you find that your child has trouble falling asleep during naptime, the first thing you will want to check is to make sure that their awake window is accurate. If too much or too little time has passed for their next nap, your child might be over- or under-tired. If you have ruled this out, and your child tosses and turns, whines, or cries during naptime and nothing has changed in their routine, it is time to drop the nap.BABY'S NAPS ARE GETTING SHORTER
If your baby has gone from napping for a certain amount of time to suddenly waking up after 20-30 minutes, this is an indicator that they need to drop a nap. Too much sleep, or too little time in between sleep, can cause your little one to start taking shorter naps.
Nap Statistics
Around 4 months of age, babies start to take approximately 4 naps a day for a total of 4 hours.
Around 5-7 months, your little one will drop a nap and start taking 3 naps a day for a total of 3.5 hours.
Nearing 6-9 months, your child’s awake windows will stretch, and they may go down to 2 naps a day. These are typically 1.5 hours each (morning and afternoon).
Around age one, your child will start napping once a day in the afternoon for about 2-2.5 hours.
By age 2, this will decrease to about 1.5-2 hours.
WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?
As your baby gets older, their sleep needs change. They are growing and changing daily. As they get older, the amount of sleep they need will decrease and start consolidating into longer stretches at night and less daytime sleep. An infant will sleep a total of 14-17 hours in a 24-hour period, whereas a 2-year-old only needs 11-14 hours. As a result, their naps during the day might need to decrease so that they can get better sleep at night.
DEALING WITH NAP TRANSITIONS
So, now what? How do you deal with these nap transitions? Nap transitions can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to establish a new nap routine. Following appropriate awake windows will help determine when that next nap will be. Paying attention to awake windows will be your best friend.
Once you’ve determined that your child might be ready to drop a nap, follow these suggestions to make the transition easier:
CONSISTENT BEDTIME/NAPTIME ROUTINE
If a consistent bedtime and naptime routine isn’t happening already, you will need to make sure that this is in place so that your baby knows the signs that it is time to sleep. Make sure that you are consistently implementing your bedtime routine during nap times as well. Use a sound machine, blackout blinds, and a swaddle/sleepsack.PUSH AWAKE WINDOWS 10-15 MINUTES LONGER
Start by pushing naptime 10-15 minutes later. Every few days, push that time by another 10-15 minutes until you get the ideal time for your child. As you start to see sleepy signals (rubbing eyes, fussiness, blank stares), you will want to change your activity to distract your child.EXPOSE THEM TO LIGHT
Going outside can help signal your baby’s body that it is time to be awake. Be careful if you put them in a stroller or carrier, as this might lull them to sleep.BE FLEXIBLE WITH BEDTIME
While your child is transitioning naps, their bedtime might be a little off. If your baby typically goes to bed around 7 PM, they might have an earlier bedtime due to nap transitions, and that’s okay.
If your baby is showing signs that it’s time for a nap transition, go for it! With patience and time, your child will soon be on their new nap schedule.