Nap transitions are no fun, and the 2-1 nap transition is no exception.  You feel like you have EVERYTHING under control as your baby is finally on a great sleep schedule.  Then your baby’s daytime sleep needs a change and he begins to drop a nap.  ARG!

The 2-1 Nap Transition- The Lowdown

Most babies are not ready to transition to one nap until they reach the 15-18 month mark.  I typically assume that a baby needs two naps, unless she proves it to me otherwise.  Transitioning a toddler to a 1 nap schedule before he’s ready has the potential to cause INSANE amounts of overtiredness and wreck havoc on nighttime sleep.  Ladies and gents, trust me on this one- DO NOT try this at home! If a baby is falling asleep nicely in the morning and appears to be tired, he probably needs a 2 nap schedule for a bit longer. There are a few different circumstances that will trigger the necessity for a one nap schedule:

1. If your baby is taking longer and longer to fall asleep for his morning nap, or not falling asleep at all in the morning, this might mean it’s time to get rid of the nap.  But before you do, make sure that your toddler has a big enough wake window before going down for this first nap.  You also want to try capping the morning nap at 45-60 minutes maximum so that there’s enough sleep pressure to nap again in the afternoon.
2. If it starts takes your toddler so long to fall asleep for the afternoon nap that bedtime ends up being ridiculously late.  Or perhaps he doesn’t fall asleep in the afternoon at all, even if the morning nap is short.  Then it’s likely time to push him onto a one nap schedule.

Definitely get a copy of my FREE sleep chart outlining my suggested wake windows and sleep totals HERE! A mother in My Sleeping Baby Facebook Community group was wondering if her 14 month-old was ready to drop down to 1 nap.  Here was my response to her given over Facebook Live: