Dropping the last nap of the day 

Dropping from 3-2 naps is a significant milestone for your little one, usually happening between 6-8 months of age. It can be a total game-changer and a huge relief for you too!

Here are some signs that your baby might be ready to make this change and some tips on how to do it smoothly:

• If they take forever to fall asleep or outright refuse the nap, it might be time to bid farewell.

• Shortening lunchtime naps? That's a sign too! They might be waking up earlier, knowing they'll catch up on sleep later.

• Resist bedtime? A longer awake window in the afternoon could be the solution. If your 6-8-month-old is fighting bedtime, it could be a clue that they need more awake time to build up some sleep debt.

Ready to make the transition? Gradually trim back the last nap by 10-15 minutes until they adjust. And once you've entirely dropped the nap, bring bedtime forward by 15-30 minutes for a few weeks to avoid any overtired fussiness. 

Dropping the morning nap

Typically, this transition happens between 15-18 months, but some babies might resist naps around 12 months due to the 12-month regression, which usually lasts about a week. If your little one starts nap striking between 11-13 months, stay consistent and continue to offer the nap, even if they choose not to sleep.

Signs it's time to drop to 1 nap:

• Your baby resists the morning nap for 1-2 weeks. 

• They have their morning nap but protest their second nap. 

• Early morning wake-ups become more frequent. 

• Your little one happily has 2 naps, but they start waking for long periods overnight, causing a split night.

• The lunch nap becomes shorter and shorter.

To start the transition, try shortening the morning nap by 5-10 mins every 3-4 days. Your baby might need a short 15-minute morning nap for a few weeks while they adjust. Once you have dropped the morning nap, aim for that one nap to be as close to midday as possible for better sleep!

Dropping the nap altogether

it's a sad, sad day.

This transition will generally happen between 2.5-3 years of age, and it can be a biggy. If you are like us, you will look forward to that break to give everyone a needed break during the day.

First, we need to ensure we protect their night sleep and not let toddlers sleep too long during the day. Night sleep is restorative and rejuvenating, so we want the bulk of children's sleep at this age to happen during the night. 

Some signs that your toddler might be ready to drop this nap altogether:

• They're struggling to fall asleep at bedtime: This delayed onset of sleep in the evening means your child is under tired and is struggling to fall asleep. When their bedtime gets later, they are only getting 9-10 hours of sleep at night, which means they will need that nap the next day to catch up, and the cycle continues.

• If your toddler starts rising early in the morning: You might start noticing some early starts creeping in if your little one is having too much sleep during the day. That daytime sleep will rob their nighttime sleep, causing an early wake-up and the next day, they will be so tired they need that nap to get through.

• Split nights: When children have too much sleep during the day, this can cause a split night. This might mean your toddler wakes at 1 am and is wide awake until 3/4 am. Your child might fall asleep easily at bedtime, but their nap has caused them to be under-tired, so they don't have enough sleep drive to get them through the night.

• Or your little one might do this independently and flat-out refuse to nap.

We would start by cutting their nap back as a start. For example, if your toddler has a 1.5-hour nap, you could start by cutting it back to 1 hour,15 mins and see if this helps. If they have 1 hour, you could try 45mins. Then, continue cutting it back by 10-15 minutes until you are happy with their nighttime sleep.

When it's time to drop their nap altogether, you could offer them a 20-30-minute nap every second or third day to help get on top of that overtiredness. Good Luck :)