When Do Infants Drop to 2 Naps?

Infants drop to 2 naps round 8 months outdated, on common, although it will probably occur anytime between 5 and 10 months. Listed here are a couple of tricks to transition your child to 2 naps primarily based on my 10+ years of expertise as a child sleep advisor.

New child infants will take 4-5 naps a day however by 5-6 months outdated, most infants are taking 3 naps a day. Nonetheless, the third nap is usually a 30-45-minute catnap that can go away very quickly. Let’s speak about the most effective time to drop the third nap.

Table of Contents

When Do Infants Transition From Three Naps to Two Naps?

Virtually all infants drop to 2 naps by 9 months outdated after they can deal with 2-3-hour wake home windows. A “wake window” is the period of time between sleep durations. As well as, infants on a 2-nap schedule typically want to remain awake as much as 3 to 4 hours earlier than bedtime. This could make it tough for some infants to transition to 2 naps too younger.

In the event you suppose your child is perhaps going by way of 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 a couple of 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 every week?
Is your child skipping one in all their three naps no less than 4 instances every week?
Are all 3 naps out of the blue brief catnaps after they had been over an hour every?

Each state of affairs is completely different so relying on what particular points you’re having, you might or could not wish to drop to 2 naps however these are good indicators it might be time. We don’t count on to see ALL of those indicators. It’s extra more likely to be only one, possibly two, of them.

In my expertise, the most typical solution 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 normally time to drop it.

Methods to Swap to Two Naps

The massive query is how one can efficiently change to 2 naps that gained’t trigger different sleep issues!

First, be ready that every 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 best factor to do! However, in case your child continues to be struggling after 2-3 weeks, you would possibly wish to make some modifications.

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’ll be able to enhance their wake window by quarter-hour day by day or each different day.
Hold your child in mattress for no less than one hour to assist lengthen the nap. When you transition to 2 naps, every nap must be no less than 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 in opposition to early waking.
Provide three naps a few times every week. Being on a 2-nap schedule for sooner or later or a couple of days is one factor however day by day is one other. Many infants will begin to get chronically overtired over a interval of a number of days. Catch up for sooner or later after which get again to the brand new schedule the following day.

Dropping to 2 naps might be difficult so don’t count on it to be good or clean. As soon as your child has adjusted, they are going to 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 durations. Except your child is taking a 2-hour morning nap, they are going to 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. Be sure you take a look at our 2-nap sleep schedule for concepts.

I hope this publish has helped you resolve when your child ought to drop to 2 naps. Dropping from 3 naps to 2 naps isn’t all the time simple however your child will alter with time! When you have any questions, we’re right here to assist!

Need FREE sleep assist which you could put to make use of immediately? Obtain a duplicate of our free information, 7 Frequent Napping Errors! The information is offered to obtain immediately, which implies you can begin utilizing the strategies in it as early as in the present day. So obtain now, and be taught why your child just isn’t napping – and what you are able to do about it.