Nap transitions refer to times when your child’s overall sleep schedule shifts and the number of naps that they are taking changes.
A lot of the nap transitions will happen in our baby’s first year of life.
As newborns, our babies are taking many naps a day. Generally at least four or more naps. As our newborns grow, we will start to see some more consistent naps. Often between 4-6 months we will see the nap schedule transition to 4 regular naps and then to 3 naps. Around 7-9 months the transition from 3 to 2 naps will generally happen. Once babies have transitioned to two naps, you get a little bit more time before another nap transition will happen. The 2-1 nap transition commonly occurs somewhere between 14-18 months.
After all of these transitions to getting to one nap a day as a toddler, the schedule will then be relatively consistent for a good stretch of time. The transition of dropping naps completely has the widest age range for when it generally occurs. I have seen this transition to no naps happen anywhere from 2.5 years all the way up through 5 years.
Wondering if it is time for your child to transition and drop a nap?
Here are some signs that it is time:
- There isn’t enough time for all of the naps in the day
- Your child is getting enough day sleep with fewer naps, so for example one of the naps (or more depending on how many naps your little one takes) is getting longer
- The last nap is getting in the way of bedtime – either pushing bedtime too late or making it hard for baby to stay or fall asleep
- Nap has been rejected for at least ten days
- Sudden night wakings or early risings can also be a sign
- It is takes a long time for your child to fall asleep for their last nap
The transition from 4-3 and 3-2 naps tends to happen naturally.
You’ll find that your baby is tolerating staying awake for longer periods of time and often the last nap of the day will become a cat nap to bridge the gap until bedtime. If you are following awake windows, you can gradually extend their awake windows and this will push the naps later.
The transition from two naps to one is a little different.
It is the same that the awake time is going to increase, but it is going to be stretched more than during the previous nap transitions. With this transition, I like to start by pushing the first nap later, say by thirty minutes. Then, depending on how long they nap, you may need to do a second cat nap or a much earlier bedtime – as early as 6 pm even.
When your child is transitioning to no naps, I suggest offering quiet time.
Quiet time is a time in their room where they can rest their body. I usually suggest having some quiet activities available like looking at books or some stuffed animals they can play with. When introducing quiet time you definitely want to prepare your child for it and set the expectations. During the transition to no naps, there may be days where your child will fall asleep during quiet time and that is okay. This is another transition where you may find a much earlier bedtime to be helpful.
These transitions generally take some time.
Don’t be concerned if the number of naps your little one is taking fluctuates from time to time. I always recommend watching your child’s sleepy cues, their behaviors, and following their lead during these times. Sometimes, you may think it’s time to transition to a lower number of naps only to find out that it was too early. That happens and it is okay. If you find that it’s too soon, it’s okay to go back to offering more naps if that is what your child needs.
