2-1 Peaceful Nap Transition
Your 14-month-old has been sleeping through the night since you sleep trained at 6 months. Not only were you receiving 11-12 hours of nighttime sleep, but you were able to lay your little one down for two naps a day receiving a solid 1.5 hours of rest from your baby with each nap. Then, all of a sudden, the last two weeks things have been a disaster. Your baby is now protesting their first nap and not falling asleep the entire 1.5 hours they are in their crib. They then, become overtired and are crashing hard for their second nap and it is difficult to wake them up. Once bedtime rolls around they begin to either protest, or crash immediately and then, have night waking’s.
Uh oh. This sounds as if your sweet baby is giving you all of the hints that they are ready to make a change and that change is…. Only napping ONCE….a day. Once a day? But you LOVE the two naps a day and there is just no way that you will be able to keep your little one up for longer than 2.5 – 3 hours before they turn into a monster. Yes, we have all been in your spot and have all felt this anxiety, but that’s okay… The Resting Bee is here to offer some advice and tips to make this transition smooth.
Your new schedule for your baby/toddler will be the following:
Wake at 7
Nap 11:30/12-2:00/2:30
Bedtime at 7
Wake at 7:30
Nap 12/12:30-2:30/3
Bedtime at 7:30
Wake at 8
Nap 12:30/1-3:00/3:30
Bedtime at 8
First, we want to make sure your baby is in the age range of 12-16 months. If they are in this age range lets, ensure that we are tracking how long these nap protest and bedtime protest have been happening. If, they have only been protesting for 3-4 days let’s wait another 4-6 days before we make this huge transition. Begin a chart on the day the protest begins, and each day write down exactly what your child is doing at the supposed nap time and bedtime. If, we see that these behaviors of crying, laughing, talking, taking longer than 5-8 minutes to fall asleep and new night waking’s for 10 days straight… let’s begin that nap transition from 2-1.
It is the first day of the new change and your little one woke for the morning at 8am. Usually you were laying them down for their first nap at 10:30 and they would sleep until 12pm. Now that they are older they are needing more awake time before that nap. What we want to see is that they are being offered a nap by 12:30 and having the opportunity to sleep 2.5-3 hours. Due to them not being used to that long of a wake window we are going to make this transition as peacefully as we can.
Let’s begin this transition and allow four days of peaceful transition before we make the big 4.5 hour stretch. So, let’s go ahead and push them an extra 45 minutes of awake time on this first day of the nap transition. If they are used to their nap being offered at 10:30 let's push this nap time to 11:15. Allow them to sleep 2-3 hours if they are able to.
The second and third day we are going to push their nap time another 20 minutes so, we are going to offer that nap at 11:45. Allowing them to sleep 2-3 hours if they are able to. The fourth day and everyday thereafter we are going to push them the full 4.5 hours and offer the nap at 12:30pm if they are waking at 8am.
Wake at 7
Nap at 11:30
Wake at 7:30
Nap at 12
Wake at 8
Nap at 12:30
During this nap transition allow yourself and your little one some grace. This can be challenging not just for you, but for them. They are learning how to make these big changes while also having developmental changes, as well. New words, walking, and many other developmental changes are also rocking their little worlds.
I know what you are thinking, uh Brooke… What if my little one doesn’t nap 2-3 hours while we are putting this nap transition into place? Don’t worry, I knew that question was coming, and I already have a plan for you. Maybe even two…
Plan A: During the nap transition you may find that your little one is unable to make those sleep cycles connect so 45-60 mins is all that they are able to sleep. What I want you to do in this situation is allow them to stay in their crib another 30-45 minutes. Time in their crib is more restful than time outside of their crib. If they are laying there peacefully just talking or cooing then, allow them to keep feeling comfortable in their own space. They may even fall back asleep in 20 minutes. If they are crying the house down and having an extreme meltdown I still want you to keep them in their crib an extra 30 minutes from the time that they woke.
Once you get them out of their crib I want you to continue with your after-nap traditions. Snacks, outside time, books, maybe even a quick 20-minute show. They will probably be extremely tired and more fussy than usual which is totally normal.
What you are going to do differently is 3 hours before bedtime allow them to take a 20-minute nap outside of their crib. This can be a stroller or car ride. I do not want to see that this nap is longer than 20 minutes and it is not being offered in their crib. If it is offered in their crib this can cause confusion. They may start thinking so… does mom want me to take 2 naps or 1 nap? This 20-minute nap is just enough rest to make it to their bedtime.
Plan B: During the nap transition you may find that your little one is unable to make those sleep cycles connect so 45-60 mins is all that they are able to sleep. What I want you to do in this situation is allow them to stay in their crib another 30-45 minutes. Time in their crib is more restful than time outside of their crib. If they are laying there peacefully just talking or cooing then, allow them to keep feeling comfortable in their own space. They may even fall back asleep in 20 minutes. If they are crying the house down and having an extreme meltdown I still want, you to keep them in the crib an extra 30 minutes from the time that they woke.
Instead of offering the 20-minute nap three hours before bedtime I want you to adjust their schedule and offer an early bedtime. This bedtime can be 60-75 minutes earlier than their normal bedtime. See Example chart below:
Wake at 7
Nap offered at 12 only slept 60-70 minutes
Usual bedtime is 7 let’s offer bedtime at 5:45
No matter the plan we choose there’s always the possibility of night waking’s. Your little one is going to be exhausted and with overtired babies we tend to see more night waking’s. With these night waking’s we want to use the sleep training techniques that you have already used and trust that your little one knows how to sleep and again, show grace.
Allow this transition to be in place a good 3-4 weeks before trying to fix anything. The saying, "one shoe fits all" is not relatable when it comes to children and sleep. Transitions and sleep changes will affect them all differently.
Some Tips and Tricks for stretching those wake windows are spending as much time outside as you possibly can. If it is cold during this transition then spending time in rooms that are exposed to as much natural light and artificial light as possible. Offer snacks abundance and have as many dance parties needed. The possibilities are endless! You've got this!
If you’re in need of further help and guidance reach out to The Resting Bee, LLC via their email support@therestingbee.com.