Help with nap routine

[Mmmmcheese]

DS is 12mo and until recently had 3 naps a day: 9-10, 12-1.30 and 4-5 then bed at 7.

He's just started sleeping longer at lunchtime and goes from 12.30 - 2.30 so I tried cutting out his 4-5 nap but he gets really tired. He's manageable and not too grizzly but I don't like seeing him so tired. I don't want to put his bedtime any earlier as he has a disability and needs physio every evening from 5.30 - 6.30.

Would a 30 min nap be a good idea or is it too short? I can't see any other way of him getting a bit more sleep without him being asleep all afternoon!

I think if he needs to be alert for that 5.30-6.30 slot it may be best to keep the late afternoon nap in the mix. My experience with waking children from a nap when they're not ready is that it's like poking a tiger with a stick!! Are you worried that he's not sleeping long enough at night?

I know, I don't usually wake him as the only time I tried he cried for ages!

I'm not worried about night time as he sleeps from 7pm - 7.30am and doesn't usually wake up.

I just don't like the idea of him only being awake for an hour and a half in the afternoon! It just seems like too much time asleep and not enough playing/developing.

I think if a child'd tired, they're tired. Sleep is an incredibly valuable part of development.... we experience things when we're awake and then when we're asleep our brains keep on working, building neural pathways and making sense of what we've discovered. He'll gradually be more awake than asleep the older he gets. Enjoy it while it lasts :)

It sounds like he has a great routine. The key for me is always a) are they happy? and b) are they sleeping at night. And it seems that your little one both of these sorted. If he needs that third nap, so be it. He'll no doubt drop it when he needs to.

I have the opposite problem (little miss no naps!). It's so hard to feel you are getting things "right" but it sounds like you are doing a grand job.