Dropping Naps
When your little one first arrived on this planet, it probably seemed like all they did was sleep…
…well, and eat and dirty their diapers. You’re not totally wrong if it seemed this way, as some newborns can only handle a 30 minute wake window initially. It may have even felt as though that was all you could handle as a new mom too! Mom’s really are incredible, but that’s an entire blog post for another time!
As your little one grows and develops, they can gradually handle longer wake windows, and therefore require less daytime sleep. They start with as many as six naps in a day and eventually work their way down to just one nap before dropping nap time all together. These transitions can be tricky on parents though. It is often hard to tell when they are truly ready for less sleep, or if there is something else going on that is just leading you to believe this prematurely.
So how do you know when it is time to drop one of your child’s naps, and how exactly do you go about doing that?
First let's cover the how do you know it’s time. I’ve listed below the average number of naps by age that we see. However, remember this is average, so your baby might be ready to drop a nap a bit sooner than what’s listed below, or might need to hang on to that extra nap a little longer. But if you’re thinking it might be time to drop a nap significantly before the times listed below, there’s likely something else at play that is leading you to believe your child is ready, when in reality they still need that daytime sleep.
If your child is within the window to drop a nap, look for signs that they are ready. Some of these signs might be that your baby refuses their nap or their nap timing and/or length begins to change. Bedtime may become a battle, or little one’s behavior when the nap is missed remains typical and happy during the wake window.
One important note…
Sleep regressions often lead parents to believe that their child is ready to drop a nap. However, do not be fooled! Sleep regressions are related to developmental milestones and are not indicative of sleep needs. So make sure to ride out a regression and not give into thinking baby needs less sleep. This will lead to an overtired baby, which only causes bigger sleep challenges. One way to avoid this is to give it 2-3 weeks of fighting a nap or bedtime with good consistency before adjusting their schedule. If they still seem like they do not need the extra sleep, then go ahead and try dropping the nap. Other things that can be mistaken for baby being ready to drop a nap is when sleep is disrupted by something like sickness or teething.
Once you are sure your baby is ready to drop a nap, here are some tips for how to go about doing just that…
Begin by gradually reducing the last nap of the day by 15 minutes each day or every few days, and moving their other nap or naps later by about 15 minutes each day or every few days and stretching their wake window by as much. Do this until the nap you are dropping is completely dropped, and you have settled into the new goal schedule for your little one. (Need help figuring out what the new schedule should be click here to schedule a free consultation call with us).
Once you’ve achieved this, congratulations! You did it! If you notice that baby is really struggling with the new schedule, however, you may have jumped on the nap dropping train a little too soon. Feel free to reintroduce the nap if needed. Regardless, always remember to maintain consistency and healthy sleep habits for your little one, and call us if you need us!
~Becca