How To Drop To One Nap

One of the nicest transitions I experienced with my first born was when we decided to consolidate his two short daytime naps into one big one, right in the middle of the day.

I can’t deny it, I loved the time off in the middle of the day. He went from sleeping an hour and a half in the morning, and a little less than that in the afternoon, to sleeping a solid three hours a day, right smack dab in the middle of the afternoon.

This was great for a couple of reasons. First of all, it made planning our day a whole lot easier, since I didn’t have to be hovering around the neighborhood all the time, in order to ensure that he was getting back into bed at the appropriate time. Suddenly, we had the whole morning to go out and do whatever needed doing.

Second, and I must be honest here, that two to three hour break in the middle of the day was absolutely glorious. I could get a whole lot done in that time, or I could take a break, if that was what I needed. I sometimes took a little nap of my own, if I’m being honest.

Now, I’m not one to recommend less sleep, typically, but there’s no getting around the fact that, as babies get older, they don’t need as much shut-eye as they do when they’re infants. But how are you supposed to know when that time has come, and how do you make the transition?

Well, first things first. How do you know that baby’s ready to drop a nap?

If you notice that baby’s doing great in the morning nap, but then fussing or playing for an hour or so before going down, that’s a very strong indication.

“He does that for a few days in a row, but then on day three, he’ll absolutely sack out for his afternoon n