3-2 Nap-Time Rules
Why are nap transitions so scary? If they are not for you, then, tell me how it feels to not have anxiety?
For me, once I am in a routine I hate having anything change. What I needed to know and understand, as a first time mom, is that baby sleep is NOT linear. Sleep for little one’s is constantly changing and that is why implementing healthy sleep habits from day one is so important.
No matter if you have a sleep trained child, or not you will still have a little one who needs a nap transition. There are four major nap transitions that happen in a child’s life. The first transition being 4-3, the second being 3-2, the third being 2-1 and then, the No-nap transition.
I see many families come to me asking for help with their little one’s ages 5.5 months - 7.5 months. Usually their child is still on a three nap schedule and either needs more awake time within that schedule, or they need to drop a nap.
Many families hold on to that third nap because they believe that their little one couldn’t ever stay awake longer than 2.5 hours. My answer is always, “oh, yes they can!” Sleepy cues are not always a predictor that a child is tired after four months of age. I yawn multiple times a day, but that does not mean I could fall asleep if given the opportunity, or if I did have the opportunity the nap would not last very long.
So, that is what I am seeing. Parents who see their child yawn, or rub their eyes so they lay them down for a nap and then, the child only sleeps 45minutes. When usually, they’re sleeping 90 minutes or more when offered a nap. This little one is in need of more awake time. Their energy is not being used and therefore they are not needing that sleep, as early as they are receiving the offer of a nap.
So, instead of watching sleepy cues around the age of 6 months (could be a few weeks before or few weeks after) I want us to look at the 3-2 Nap Transition Rules below!
Rule #1 When committing to the nap transition, commit fully. Offering two naps for three days, and then, a third nap after that will only confuse your child. So, be sure you are ready to commit.
Rule #2 Keep track of your little one’s nap and bedtime behaviors for 7-8 days. Here I want you to write down the time the naps were offered, how long it took them to fall asleep, how long they slept, and their behaviors after the nap. You will do this for each nap. Also, I want to know their behaviors before bedtime, the time bedtime was offered, how long it took them to fall asleep, if there were night wakings, the time they wake-up and their behavior before their first nap.
If your little one is on three naps and for 7-8 days you see nap protesting (not falling asleep, taking longer than 12 minutes, waking early) then, it is time to think about adding more awake time, or dropping the nap.
If your little one is on three naps and for 7-8 days they are having multiple night wakings (new behavior) and they are waking earlier each morning then, we need to add more awake time to their days, before naps are offered, or drop a nap.
Rule #3 If your little one is 5-6 months try stretching the wake windows gently before fully dropping the third nap. Increase the wake windows, and shortening the nap-times before committing to that full drop.
Example Below: The first example schedule has shorter Wake Windows which resulted in the child waking from their naps early, or never falling asleep for that period. For the second schedule you will see that the Wake Windows gradually got longer and the naps shorter. The third nap is only thirty minutes long. This is a cat nap to make it too bedtime. This adjusted wake windows helped the child receive more awake time which resulted in more sleep needs.
Before Stretching Wake Windows:
Wake at 7
Nap at 8:45-9:45
Nap 2 at 11:45-12:45
Nap 3 at 2:45-3:45
Bedtime Routine 6
Bedtime 6:30
After Stretching Wake Windows:
Wake at 7
Nap at 9- 10:30
Nap 2 at 12:45-1:45
Nap 3 at 4:15-4:45
Bedtime routine 7:10
Bedtime 7:45
Rule #4 Cold turkey drop the third nap if the child is older than 6 months.
Your little one is 6 months or older and you see that they are beginning to fight their naps, or have more night wakings then, we want to drop the nap. Cold Turkey is the best option and knowing that it could take 7-8 days to see the full progress needs to be understood. Your little one will be used to you offering the nap so soon, and so they will show some fuss or have a more high needs personality. This is okay, change is hard. Once they are adapted to the change they will fall back into their sleep habits.
Now that we know the 3-2 Nap-Time Rules let’s discuss what day 1 of making the change will look like:
Pushing Wake Windows: If we are 5-6 months we are going to push wake windows. So, if your little one has wake windows of 1.45, 2. 2.15, 2.5 then, we are going to do 2, 2.15, 2.5, 3. We will do this for 7-8 days and see if there is change in the nap protesting or bedtime/night wakings. We will focus on 11-12 hours of nighttime sleep and no more than 3-3.5 hours of daytime sleep. It is okay if bedtime looks different every night. It is dependent upon the naps and the wake window. If the Wake window ends at 7pm one night and 7:30 the other, that is okay. We just do not want to see more than a 60 minute difference on bedtimes.
Cold Turkey: If we are 6 months and older and see that our little one is struggling with falling asleep for naps or protesting bedtime and waking early then, we are dropping to two naps with Wake Windows that look like on day 1,
8am wake, Nap 1 10:30-12, Nap 2 3-4:30, Bedtime 8pm (After Morning DWT nap is offered 2.5 hours after waking, Nap 2 is offered 3 hours after DWT from Nap 1 and Bedtime is 3.5 hours after DWT of nap 2)
When on a two nap schedule I like to offer a set schedule so even if the child wakes from their first nap early, I still only offer that second nap at the designated time.
The only time I end a wake window early is before bedtime. So, if their naps were crap for the day I offer bedtime 35-45 minutes earlier than the designated time and then, only get them out of bed at the designated time the next morning, which in this schedule scenario is 8am. So, if 8pm was the designated bedtime and they needed an early bedtime of 7:15 they still stay in their bed until 8am the following morning. Which then, you follow with the set schedule in place, so nap at 10:30am.
If naps are short during this transition:
Leave them in their safe bed space. Give them time to practice their sleeping skills.
Offer an early bedtime if naps are crap.
Nap Transitions can take a good 14 days, but if we are not seeing progress around 7-8 days we want to take a deeper look into your little one’s schedule and the way they are falling asleep.
How to stretch Wake Windows:
Sing to your little one; place them in front of a mirror and sing to them.
Walk outside; right before their usual wake time is ending take them on a walk to the mail box (stay away from strollers or carseats) and let them soak in natural light.
BATH; My girls loved daytime baths and this would always give us an extra 20-25 minutes to make it to our next wake window closing.
I hope this helps and takes some nap dropping anxiety away!
For further assistance email: support@therestingbee.com.
Sleep Bee-utifully,
Brooke
