16 month old dropping naps and early mornings

[SnowWhite26]

Hi.
My LO is 16 months. She generally naps fir a couple of hours in the morn and could have another hour in the anoon. I am trying to stop the anoon nap in the cot and if she happens to fall asleep in car or buggy in anoon then so be it. The thing is what age do they reduce sleep in day? She has just started walking and I started trying to reduce sleep as she has started waking at 5. We had this prob a few months ago but seemed to stamped that out abd she would wake at 6-6.30. We leave her to chat in her cot till 7 even with 5am wake ups and generally she goes quite for a bit. Anyway does anyone have any idea whether to much day sleep is making eay wake ups or how I can help. She goes to bed at 6.30 and it makes difference if later just a grumpy baby. Thanks. X

is making early wake ups

11 hours sleep at night is normal. With a 6.30pm bedtime, you should expect a 5.30am wake up.

The read on he is knackered by 6.30pm is because of the length of time he's been awake since his main nap.

I would suggest you start limiting his morning nap, by waking him after 1h at first, then 30 minutes.

The idea would be to establish a post-lunch nap of 2 or 3 hours.

Really she sholp as long as 3-4 hours in the day? If we do something in the morn she can go without a nap then i give her an early lunch and she sleeps 2 hours in the middle of the day. She has been going to bed at 6.30 and waking at 6 ans chatting in cot happirly till we get her. But this week we have had some 5ish wakeups which is why its odd. Today she slept 1 hour 30 this morn then 20 mins in car at about 4ish. She is getting a cold and has very swollen gums so think teeth might be happening. Still doesnt explain random early happy mornings. So u think dont drop naps 2 is fine just make longest one in pm? X

Yes, 11 hours sleep at night is normal for an under 18 month old. And 2-4h of daytime sleep is also normal for the age.

A 6.30pm bedtime will give you early morning. It's unusual to have it both ways - all of your evening child free plus reasonable morning wake. Given that 11h overnight is normal, it may be in the range of 10-12h, so a 5am wake up is not unreasonably early, given a 6.30pm bedtime.

The bedtime is your problem. And the read on you struggle to make bedtime later is the lack of afternoon sleep, resulting in her being exhausted by 6.30pm.

So u think dont drop naps 2 is fine just make longest one in pm?

I think she is getting ready for dropping a nap. My point is that it is the morning nap that want a dropping, not the afternoon nap.

Given she currently has a long morning nap, the transition to dropping that nap will be first of all limiting it's length. Then slowly moving the morning nap later, pushing it after lunch.

For example
9am-11am plus afternoon nap
9.30- wake up at 10.30am plus afternoon nap
10- wake up at 10.30am plus afternoon nap
10.30-11 plus afternoon nap
Then...
Early lunch then 11am single nap for as long as possible
Then...
11.30-2/3 nap
12.00-2/3 nap