2-1 nap transition help

[waitingforsomething]

DS is a week away from 13 months and has got to the stage where it's impossible to settle him twice a day so we're moving him to one nap.

He is miserable, however, by about 11am but won't sleep because he's not too far off hungry. I feel like 11am is a bit early for lunch, and a bit early for a nap because he'd be up by around 1 and then would struggle towards the end of the afternoon. But this time is really hard for him.
DD didn't have too much trouble being able to hang on until around 12.30. What have others done? let them sleep 11-1 and deal with the evening grumps? just offer super early lunch?

I would give lunch at 11am. Having a meal will help keep him awake when he starts flagging. It should get you to 11.30 as he eats and maybe you can push for an extra half hour with the energy boost that lunch will provide - so helping him stay awake until 11.30am-12pm

Yes, it's super early. It will probably mean adding in an extra snack when he wakes up, to help him get through to dinner time without being too starving hungry.

11am doesn't strike me as ridiculously early for a toddler lunch. It is early, but not massively so. You just have to fit meals around naps at this age. It wont take long until you can start holding off lunch for a little bit, then a little bit longer and soon it will be 11.30am lunch. Then 12pm lunch and a 12.30 nap - which is much more reasonable.

There may be evening grumps for a bit while you are transitioning. You might find that after a few days of evening grumps that he starts self-regulating by sleeping for longer at lunchtime. When my DD transitioned from 2 to 1 naps, she had some days of 3.5 or 4 hours lunchtime nap (mammoth naps like that didn't last, it was just during the transition).

I guess the key to all of this is to view it as a transition - so it's not the perminant way things will be. You wont be making lunch at 11am forever more and you wont be dealing with evening grumps from now onwards - bt just for a bit until DS is used to the new routine.

Thanks Fate great advice. Today he had lunch at 11.15 then as you said this gave him an energy boost to keep him going for another before he went for his nap.
He's quite a hungry boy anyway so I think he'll end up on a very large snack on waking to take him to dinner time. I hate these transitions!