When Do Infants Drop to 2 Naps?

Infants drop to 2 naps round 8 months previous, on common, although it might probably occur anytime between 5 and 10 months. Listed here are just a few tricks to transition your child to 2 naps based mostly on my 10+ years of expertise as a child sleep marketing consultant.
New child infants will take 4-5 naps a day however by 5-6 months previous, most infants are taking 3 naps a day. Nevertheless, the third nap is commonly a 30-45-minute catnap that can go away very quickly. Let’s speak about the most effective time to drop the third nap.
When Do Infants Transition From Three Naps to Two Naps?
Virtually all infants drop to 2 naps by 9 months previous after they can deal with 2-3-hour wake home windows. A “wake window” is the period of time between sleep intervals. As well as, infants on a 2-nap schedule usually want to remain awake as much as 3 to 4 hours earlier than bedtime. This may make it tough for some infants to transition to 2 naps too younger.
In the event you assume your child could be going via the 8 month sleep regression, it’s potential you would possibly merely have to drop the third nap.
Indicators to Transition Child to Two Naps
There are just a few inquiries to ask your self when deciding whether or not to present your child two naps or three:
- Has nighttime sleep dropped to under 10 hours?
- Does your child have a cut up evening a number of instances per week?
- Is your child skipping one among their three naps a minimum of 4 instances per week?
- Are all 3 naps all of a sudden quick catnaps after they had been over an hour every?
Each scenario is totally different so relying on what particular points you’re having, chances are you’ll or could not need to drop to 2 naps however these are good indicators it might be time. We don’t anticipate to see ALL of those indicators. It’s extra more likely to be only one, possibly two, of them.
In my expertise, the commonest approach to drop the third nap is to easily run out of time earlier than bedtime to slot in one other nap. Your child’s wake home windows earlier within the day have doubtless gotten longer and the naps themselves could also be longer. As soon as that late afternoon nap is at 5:00 or 5:30 PM, or later, it’s often time to drop it.
The way to Change to Two Naps
The massive query is the right way to efficiently swap to 2 naps that received’t trigger different sleep issues!
First, be ready that each one nap transitions might be difficult and take 2-3 weeks, on common. In the event you’re having a tough time, it does NOT imply it’s not the correct factor to do! However, in case your child continues to be struggling after 2-3 weeks, you would possibly need to make some adjustments.
5 Tricks to Drop Child to Two Naps:
- Begin growing your child’s wake home windows to 2 to 2 1/2 hours very first thing within the morning after which 2 1/2 to three hours earlier than the second nap. You possibly can enhance their wake window by quarter-hour daily or each different day.
- Hold your child in mattress for a minimum of one hour to assist lengthen the nap. When you transition to 2 naps, every nap must be a minimum of 1 to 1 1/2 hours lengthy.
- If both nap is shorter than one hour, transfer bedtime earlier however no sooner than 6:00 or 6:30 PM to protect towards early waking.
- Provide three naps a few times per week. Being on a 2-nap schedule for at some point or just a few days is one factor however daily is one other. Many infants will begin to get chronically overtired over a interval of a number of days. Catch up for at some point after which get again to the brand new schedule the subsequent day.
Dropping to 2 naps might be difficult so don’t anticipate it to be excellent or easy. As soon as your child has adjusted, they may sleep 11-12 hours at evening and 2-3 hours in the course of the day, on common.
What 2-Nap Schedule Ought to You Use?
The schedule to make use of with a child who takes two naps will rely in your child’s age and the way lengthy they will comfortably keep awake between sleep intervals. Until your child is taking a 2-hour morning nap, they may most definitely want to remain awake 2 1/2 hours earlier than the morning nap and three hours earlier than the second nap to be on a correct schedule. Make sure to try our 2-nap sleep schedule for concepts.
I hope this put up has helped you determine when your child ought to drop to 2 naps. Dropping from 3 naps to 2 naps isn’t all the time straightforward however your child will modify with time! If in case you have any questions, we’re right here to assist!
Need FREE sleep assist which you can put to make use of immediately? Obtain a replica of our free information, 7 Widespread Napping Errors! The information is obtainable to obtain immediately, which suggests you can begin utilizing the strategies in it as early as at the moment. So obtain now, and study why your child is just not napping – and what you are able to do about it.
Click on right here to study extra about the right way to get your free information.
A greater daytime schedule might be only a few clicks away. So don’t wait – obtain now, and begin your journey to raised napping at the moment!