Screaming and a fussy baby was always a sign I knew it was time to put them down for a nap. It was an easy daily routine to follow with two naps during the day. However, as my baby got older and moved out of the napping stage by waging a mini revolt I knew it was time to get rid of the naps.
It might be tricky figuring out when and how to make the move and leaving the naps behind. Even leaving those few precious moments of quiet time to reenergize ourselves for the rest of the day might be lost too. However, just follow this blueprint and dropping one of your kids daily snoozes will be a smooth transition.
Know the signs
Sometimes a napping schedule just needs a tweak. Understanding the signs when your children need to readjust their naptime can help a lot. If your kid is waking up earlier before their nap is over or just doesn’t seemed interested. Consider dropping the nap and having one nap or just not a nap at all. Children grow up and start to transition into a time where they aren’t needed to take a nap, but on a regular sleep pattern at night.
Try switching the schedule before anything
Before taking away the nap time for your child consider changing their nap time schedule. Determine whether your child sleeps better with a morning or afternoon nap. Perhaps your child doesn’t need to sleep for a very long time, change a two-hour nap to 90 minutes. Don’t cut it under 45 minutes because that will not complete a sleep cycle for your child.
Make steady changes
Making drastic changes from two naps to one can be pretty hard. If your child is also growing out of the one nap to no naps, think about this as well. Try pushing the nap back about 15 minutes every couple of days. If your child wakes up during these changes, try helping them back to sleep if it’s under two hours.
There will be rough times
Your child during this time might be more irritable due to being sleep-deprived. Try to establish a time for quiet time by reading or doing something they like if you already have a quiet time. You might also consider making dinner and putting your child to bed earlier for the night too.
What are some napping tips or your experience with your little one’s transition from less nap time? Share below with us!