Naptime 101: How (and When) to Drop Naps
Tell me if this sounds familiar: you’ve finally got your little on a consistent nap schedule (Woohoo!), BUT the bubble bursts and things start going awry. Your little is suddenly battling you at bedtime, waking up more throughout the night, and starting their mornings before the sun.
As your little grows and develops, their daytime sleep requirements will change. And if you can rule out hunger, room conditions, sickness, teething, travel, a developmental milestone, or even a quick snooze that happened on the go as the reason for a disrupted nap, then it might be time to drop a nap.
Dropping a nap helps create an age-appropriate sleep schedule and prevents bedtime battles later. So, here’s how to know if it really is time to drop the nap and how to do it successfully.
When to Drop a Nap
First of all, here’s a guide to the number of naps your little needs a day by age (give or take a month):
Newborn → 5 to 6 naps
4 to 6/7mos → 3 naps
8 to 16/18 mos → 2 naps
18 mos to 3/4yrs → 1 nap
4/5 yrs + → no nap
So, if your little is around those transitional months, you’ll likely be in the clear to drop a nap – if they’ve skipped a nap for 10-14 consecutive days (or if they’ve skipped that nap for five days out of the week for two weeks).
It’s important to note though, just because your little is skipping or fighting their naps, doesn’t mean they’re necessarily ready to drop one. If your little is skipping their nap because of a milestone – which can be anything from rolling, to pointing, to babbling and talking – and it’s not time for them to drop a nap yet, they’ll get back on track with their napping schedule within two weeks.
Two other signs that it might be time to drop a nap are if your little consistently keeps waking up bright and early and/or if bedtime gets later and later. Early morning wakings and falling asleep much later than usual can be the results of too much daytime sleep. Dropping a nap during the day can be the answer to helping your baby be tired enough to take long, restful naps and nighttime sleep.
How to Drop a Nap
So, if you’ve decided that it’s definitely time for your little to drop a nap, here’s how to approach it.
When dropping from 3 naps to 2 naps, I recommend starting with dropping your little’s last nap, which is typically that shorter catnap, but if you’re going from 2 naps to 1 nap, you’ll be dropping the morning nap and keeping the afternoon nap. Whichever nap is dropped, you may need to move bedtime a little earlier, as your little adjusts to the new schedule..
At first, the early bedtime might be the norm for a bit until your little gets older and can stay up later or until the naps get a little longer. When you reach that point, you can gradually stretch your little to stay awake just a bit longer between the last nap of the day and bedtime – without letting your little get overtired (a tricky balance sometimes). And ‘gradually’ is the key here. You can slowly add to their awake time in 10-15 minute increments. But again, I always err on the side of starting with an earlier bedtime as your little one is transitioning from dropping a nap.
While you’re adding to your little’s awake time, make sure you watch out for sleepy cues. When you see them rubbing their eyes, yawning, giving blank stares, and getting fussy, it’s time to get them to bed.
Finally, and maybe most importantly, keep your little’s sleep routines consistent! Consistent sleep routines let your little know what’s coming and get them ready for a restful sleep.
And if you want to know three nap-transition mistakes you really want to avoid, check out this Instagram post. (And make sure you’re following me – @healthylittlesleepers!)
If naptimes have always been a struggle or you need help setting up an appropriate naptime schedule for your little, we have the solution for you! Download the Healthy Little Sleeper's Ultimate Nap Transition Guide here!