Navigating the 2-to-1 Nap Transition: What to Expect and how to manage it

As your baby grows into a toddler, you may notice their once-predictable sleep patterns becoming more erratic. This can be particularly true during the transition from two naps to one. It’s not uncommon for babies to start waking early, skip one of their naps, or struggle to fall asleep at their usual times. These changes can leave parents wondering if their little one is ready to make the big leap to just one nap a day.

The Science Behind the 2-to-1 Nap Transition

Most babies transition from two naps to one between the ages of 12 and 18 months, with most children transitioning to one nap around 15 months. This shift occurs as your baby’s ability to stay awake and handle homeostatic sleep pressure increases, allowing them to consolidate their daytime sleep into a single midday nap. This transition is a natural part of development, but the timing can vary greatly from one child to another.

Research on nap transitions has shown that this period of adjustment can be linked to changes in sleep architecture. For example, the greater sleep pressure that comes with your child staying awake for 5-6 hours straight will lead to deeper sleep during naps. This often results in the midday nap being longer than each nap on a two nap schedule, with the single nap typically averaging 90 minutes to two hours.

How Do I Know If My Child Is Ready for One Nap?

It’s important to recognize that age alone isn’t a definitive indicator that your child is ready for the transition to one nap. Instead, look for signs of instability in their sleep patterns, such as:

• Early Morning Waking: Your child may start waking up earlier than usual, even if they previously slept through the night.

• Skipping a Nap: Your baby might occasionally skip either the morning or afternoon nap, even though they previously took both naps consistently.

• Difficulty Falling Asleep: Your child may struggle to fall asleep for one of their naps or at bedtime, signaling that they’re not as tired as they used to be.

If you’re noticing these signs, your child might be ready to start the transition to one nap.

What Approaches Can I Use to Help My Child Adapt to One Nap?

Every child is different, so an approach that works well for one baby might not work well for another. If you aren't sure what option will work best for your child, it's ok to try different approaches for a few days to find the best fit.

Important note! We almost always recommend waiting as long as possible before making this nap transition because if you try to do this before your child can consistently handle being awake for 5-6 hours straight you could end up with nighttime sleep issues including more frequent night waking and split nights. If your child is doing ok on two naps, stick with it. It's really hard to manage when daycare forces a baby to one nap too early, but we've compiled strategies to help with that issue here.

Here are three methods to help guide your child from two naps to one:

1. The Alternating Nap Method

This method involves switching between one-nap days and two-nap days. This is an approach that works well for most babies because it allows your child to ease into taking one nap full time.

• Choose one day a week when you will proactively offer your child one nap. This might be a morning when your child sleeps later than usual or a day that works well with your schedule (like when you have a morning appointment or class).

• Keep your child distracted and entertained in the morning. Aim to put your child down for a nap after they’ve been awake for about 5-6 hours.

  • It's best for naptime to be centered in the day so bedtime doesn't get pulled too early.

  • Example one-nap schedule:

    • Wake up 6:30 am

    • Nap 12:00-2:00 pm

    • Bedtime 7:30 pm

• If your child does well with one nap, offer another one-nap day a few days later.

• If your child didn't do well with one nap (like the nap was too short or nighttime sleep was disrupted), revert to two naps for the rest of the week before trying a one-nap day again.

• Gradually increase the number of one-nap days each week until your child consistently takes just one nap every day.

2. The Afternoon Catnap Method

For this method, you'll gradually shorten the afternoon nap to prepare your child for the transition to one nap. This approach works well for babies who are waking early because it allows you to keep bedtime later while shortening nap sleep.

• Put your child down for their second nap later in the afternoon (often ~4 hours after waking from the second nap)

  • Wake your child after 20-40 minutes to keep bedtime stable.

  • Example schedule:

    • Wake up 5:30 am (likely shifting later with shorer naps)

    • Nap 1 from 9:30-11:00 am

    • Nap 2 from 3:00-3:30 pm

    • Bedtime at 8:00 pm

• As your child starts to wake later in the morning, push the morning nap later. Once your child begins to refuse the afternoon catnap, switch to one longer midday nap (or combine with method 1 above).

3. The Morning Nap Shortening Method

For this method, you'll gradually shorten the morning nap to encourage your child to take a longer afternoon nap, which will become the midday nap. This method works well for babies who take one solid nap but fight or refuse the other nap.

• Wake your child from the morning nap after 20-45 minutes to allow your child to have higher sleep pressure in the afternoon.

  • Your child will likely take a longer afternoon nap.

    • Wake up 6:30 am

    • Nap 1 from 9:30-10:00 am

    • Nap 2 from 1:30-3:00 pm

    • Bedtime at 7:30 pm

• Once your child starts fighting the short morning nap, switch to one midday nap (or combine this with method 1 above).

Note that this approach can backfire if you shorten the morning nap and your child still refuses the afternoon nap. If that happens, its time to switch to one nap.

Need more help?

f you need a little help to figure this out or if you are facing other challenges, then please check out our other blogs, our newborn class, and sleep training class. We have blogs on schedules, naps, travel, toddler issues, and more! If you just need to talk to someone who can help you devise a sleep plan, then feel free to book a one-on-one consultation with us. We are always happy to help!

References

Staton, S., Rankin, P.S., Harding, M., Smith, S.S., Westwood, E., LeBourgeois, M.K. and Thorpe, K.J., 2020. Many naps, one nap, none: A systematic review and meta-analysis of napping patterns in children 0–12 years. Sleep medicine reviews, 50, p.101247.

Kurth, S., Lassonde, J.M., Pierpoint, L.A., Rusterholz, T., Jenni, O.G., McClain, I.J., Achermann, P. and LeBourgeois, M.K., 2016. Development of nap neurophysiology: preliminary insights into sleep regulation in early childhood. Journal of sleep research, 25(6), pp.646-654.

Nakagawa, M., Ohta, H., Nagaoki, Y., Shimabukuro, R., Asaka, Y., Takahashi, N., Nakazawa, T., Kaneshi, Y., Morioka, K., Oishi, Y. and Azami, Y., 2016. Daytime nap controls toddlers’ nighttime sleep. Scientific reports, 6(1), p.27246.

Siren-Tiusanen, H. and Robinson, H.A., 2001. Nap schedules and sleep practices in infant-toddler groups. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 16(4), pp.453-474.

Mason, G.M., Kurdziel, L.B. and Spencer, R.M., 2021. The memory benefits of two naps per day during infancy: A pilot investigation. Infant Behavior and Development, 65, p.101647.