Transitioning your baby or toddler to one nap a day can be a daunting task for parents. It marks a big developmental milestone in your child’s life and can come with adjustment challenges. However, with the right signs of readiness and a step-by-step plan, you can help smooth the transition process and set your little one up for success.

Signs of Readiness

• Your little one is able to tolerate longer wake windows
• Difficulty settling to sleep for naps/bedtime, taking 20 + minutes  (but not necessarily unhappy about it)
• Short naps (often the PM nap but waking happy)
• Cranky and tired by the end of the day 
• Early mornings (again waking happy)
• Split nights (prolonged waking overnight, again seemingly happy)

*These are pretty standard indicators that not enough sleep pressure has been built up and a different balance needs to be achieved. 

Some less common signs:

• You are having to wake your child from every nap in order to preserve the proper balance of daytime sleep and overnight sleep
• You often have to wake your child in the morning
• Your child is waking cranky and tired, they seem like they would benefit from a longer more consolidated mid day sleep. 

Once you’ve identified that your little one is ready, it’s time to make a plan.

The Plan

The key is to gradually shift to one nap rather than making the switch abruptly. This will allow your child’s body to adjust gradually to the shift and will help you avoid an overtired child. An overtired toddler will usually take short naps, have multiple night wakings and early mornings (and this is where the transition can be tricky!).

Step 1: Push your baby or toddler’s morning nap later in 15-30 minute increments every 3 days.  

If you notice your child tolerates the longer wake window well and continues to have a long nap you can shift by 30 minutes every 2 days. 

If your child starts taking a short nap and is waking cranky, stick with 15 minute increments and every 3 days to allow their body to adjust. 

Step 2: Use an afternoon cat nap during the transition to bridge to bedtime (again you want to avoid your child going to bed overtired). 

Step 3: Cap the afternoon nap at ~3:30PM to plan for a 7:30/8PM bedtime (depending on age and wake windows)

*If your child fights the cat nap, opt for an early bedtime. 

Step 4: Once the morning nap extends past 1PM, I would ditch the cat nap and opt for an early bedtime of ~6PM (depending on the child and their sleep needs)

Step 5: Continue to move the morning nap until you land between 12:30 & 1PM for the start time. Cap nap at 3PM for a bedtime between 7-8PM. 

Step 6: Be patient and consistent! The transition can take 4-6 weeks for your little one to be really comfortable in this new routine. 

Through the transition, try to keep your routines as consistent as possible and prioritize your childs sleep needs (nap and bedtime) to ensure they get enough rest. Make sure their nap environment is conducive to sleep by ensuring it’s quiet, dark, and cool. This will help set them up for successful daytime sleep.

Maintain a consistent bedtime routine to help your child understand when it’s time to wind down for the day and do not be afraid of an early bedtime through the transition.

It’s important to understand that the transition to one nap can come with some challenges such as early morning wakings or fussy behavior. Be patient through the process and adjust your plan accordingly if your child needs more nap time or rest breaks. It is common to see things get worse before they get better.