Is There a Way to Rearrange a Nap Schedule?

Updated on May 01, 2007
E.B. asks from Evanston, IL
6 answers

Hi,

My 17 month old son is and always has been a great sleeper. But, he's always been a morning napper, which I understand is not the norm. On average, he goes to bed at 7:30 pm and gets up at about 7-7:30 am. He's pretty much down to one nap a day, and it's consistently two hours after he wakes up in the morning. He'll typically sleep for two hours. If this is just his body's schedule, then I definitely do not want to interfere. He is a great napper and he goes to bed at all times literally with a smile on his face - we are so lucky. But sometimes I wonder, if he's back to sleep within two hours of waking up, is there a way to encourage him to sleep longer in the morning and then take his nap in the afternoon instead? He does tend to get cranky by late afternoon, but what baby doesn't?

If any of you have experience with this and have any advice, whether it's to just go with the flow or try something new, I welcome it. To give you more info about me, I am for sleep-training and have let him "cry it out" - I don't have a problem with that. Thanks so much!

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So What Happened?

I'm so glad to hear I'm not the only one with a napper like this. I actually like his nap schedule - I can shower then if I don't get to before he wakes up. I agree that it stinks because most activities are scheduled for afternoon nappers. But, I want to do what's best for my little guy and since his am naps don't really pose a problem for us, I'll just stick with it until he tells me otherwise. I was just wondering if a different nap schedule might be healthier for him, but I guess not! Thanks so much!

More Answers

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D.

answers from Chicago on

I am so glad to hear that someone else has a child that does that. My child is now 4 but she did the same nap schedule until she was almost 2 so it might change for you. Same exact schedule to the tea almost. My mom was always telling me there is no way she needs a nap 1 1/2 hours after she just slept the whole night but then she would always surprise her and take sometimes over 2 hour nap and be fine the whold day. I enjoyed it because I would rather have me clean up time or just me time in the morning and have the rest of the day to do whatever. I hate currently that I have to stop whatever it is we are doing to go take a nap. I since now have 2 other children. So I would say enjoy it until it lasts. One day she doesn't didn't want to take a nap in the am and I only went one day without a nap and then we started taking afternoon naps and doing well with them. Good Luck!!

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L.

answers from Chicago on

Hi!
I am with you on the sleep training and "cry it out", and I also have a wonderful, happy sleeper! Yeah us!!

I would try to move the morning nap back an hour each day and see if that helps. I think it is worth a shot to try and see how long he can go in the morning without a nap. I do home daycare and now have both boys(15 months old) on 11:15 lunch and 12:00 nap and they will sleep 2-3 hours for the nap. This has been the schedule since I moved from 1 nap to 2. My son is really not crabby in the evening and goes to bed at 8 and sleeps til 7:30 when the other kids get here(he will sleep longer on weekends). I have found the key is to stick with a switch in schedule for at least a week to see if he'll adjust--and he always does:)
Good Luck!
L.

1 mom found this helpful
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G.M.

answers from Chicago on

I agree with Linda's suggestion. I did pretty much the same thing except stretched my son out like 30 min each day until we found the right afternoon nap time. And during the transition period, he had to go to bed earlier until his afternoon naps were sufficient enough.

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K.K.

answers from Chicago on

Both my daughters were morning nappers...a pain b/c most activities are in the morning. Eventually, due to them being kept up to attend certain activities they did switch to afternoon naps. I would say between 18mo and 2 yr old.
Good luck

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B.

answers from Chicago on

Hi E.,
My 15 mo son is on the EXACT schedule!! He, too, naps in the morning and not again until bed! It definitely is not the norm-Would love to hear about any interesting feedback you get!
Thanks!
B.
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E.W.

answers from Chicago on

E.,
My 18 month old daughter has the exact same schedule- bed at 7 or 7:30, sleep 12 hours, naps 2 hours or so after getting up. If she is doing something fun, like playing with her friends, she will stay up, but in getneral, it is naptime. If your son has a natural schedule, is there anyway to stay a little bit close to it? Maybe as was suggested, just move his naptime back a small amount each day until you are bth happy with the time. The later mine goes for her nap, usually the longer she sleeps- bonus! Good luck, and I look forward to hearing what worked for you.
E.

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