When Do Infants Drop to 2 Naps?

Infants drop to 2 naps round 8 months previous, on common, although it will probably occur anytime between 5 and 10 months. Listed here are just a few 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 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 discuss the perfect 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 windows. A “wake window” is the period of time between sleep intervals. 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 troublesome for some infants to transition to 2 naps too younger.

In the event you suppose your child is perhaps going by means 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 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 split night a number of instances per week?
• Is your child skipping one in every of their three naps at the very least 4 instances per week?
• Are all 3 naps out of the blue quick catnaps after they had been over an hour every?

Each scenario is totally different so relying on what particular points you might be having, you might or might not need to drop to 2 naps however these are good indicators it may very well be time. We don’t count on to see ALL of those indicators. It’s extra prone to be only one, possibly two, of them.

In my expertise, the most typical method 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.

The way to Change to Two Naps

The large query is learn how to efficiently swap to 2 naps that gained’t trigger different sleep issues!

First, be ready that every one nap transitions may 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 remains to be struggling after 2-3 weeks, you would possibly need to make some adjustments.

5 Tricks to Drop Child to Two Naps:

1. 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 improve their wake window by quarter-hour day-after-day or each different day.
2. Maintain your child in mattress for at the very least one hour to assist lengthen the nap. When you transition to 2 naps, every nap needs to be at the very least 1 to 1 1/2 hours lengthy.
3. 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.
4. Provide three naps a few times per week. Being on a 2-nap schedule for someday or just a few days is one factor however day-after-day is one other. Many infants will begin to get chronically overtired over a interval of a number of days. Catch up for someday after which get again to the brand new schedule the subsequent day.

Dropping to 2 naps may be difficult so don’t count on it to be excellent or clean. As soon as your child has adjusted, they’ll sleep 11-12 hours at night time and 2-3 hours throughout 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’ll almost certainly 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 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 straightforward however your child will modify with time! In case you have any questions, we’re right here to assist!

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