2 years old nap

[lady321]

Hi I'm looking for some advice for my 2 years old son. He wakes up early every day, at 6 am- 6:30am. He has long nap during the day usually from 11 am- 1pm-1:30pm. Usually he is sleeping for 2-2:30 hours during the day. Sometimes even 3 hours. He goes to bed around 8:30-9 pm. I know that I have to cut his nap during the day but I have a 3 months baby which is giving me hard time with crying and carrying him mostly od the time and I'm not feeling still ready to cut his nap. However we received 15 hours free in nursery from September and I contacted the local nursery that is 5 min walking but they are giving only afternoon classes for 2 years old 12:30-3:30. The other nurseries are a bit far, walking 30 min or i have to take a bus because I'm not driving. But when i think from September the horrible weather plus with my other baby i have to go and pick up my older son i think travelling with bus is not a good choice.
I'm thinking for the first option the closest nursery but I don't know how my son will be with dropping his nap.

I’m sure he’ll be fine with no nap. Especially if he’s kept busy at nursery. My just turned 2 year old probably naps 3 days out of 7 and it’s fine. Just goes to bed earlier on the no nap days

23 month old nap times and bedtime help!!

Help! My little boy, 23 months, has started waking at 5:30am. I'm 27 months pregnant and exhausted! He currently naps between 12:30 and 2pm and then bed at 7pm where he takes about 20 mins to go to sleep. I tried 1-2:30 yesterday and it didn't work. He took 30 mins to go to sleep and up at 5:30! Would love to know routines that are working for you! Thank you!

@RKW40 do you have things like blackout curtains in the room? I favour both blackout blinds and curtains in babies room, because blinds bleed light around the edges.

I wouldn't suggest changing your daytime nap, 12.30-2pm is spot on. You might need to make bedtime a bit later though - 10h to 11h overnight sleep is in the relmes of normal at this stage.

Does your child wake in the night ever? How do you get him back to sleep? And you mention that it takes 20 mins or so for him to go to sleep at bedtime, what is happening during that time while he is going to sleep?

Hi, yes, I have black our blinds and curtains. His room is pitch black with white noise. He just chats to himself during that time. Sometimes will cry for a minute. I don't go in. He doesn't wake in the night. I was thinking of doing nap a bit earlier so bedtime doesn't get pushed too late. X

Hmm, that’s a bit of a dilemma for you OP. Without the nursery issue, I’d be asking why do you feel you need to cut the nap? I think many children need the nap til closer to 3, although my first dropped it before 2 (which was sad.

Is driving an option on the horizon for you? Do you want to learn? 30m trip is a lot for only 3hr session. Like pp has said, he’d probably cope without the nap if need be, for the closer one. But they may have nap provision there? He would probably sleep a shorter time but could go down 1ish after he’s arrived. My 20m old gets up at 7-7.30, naps 1/1.30- 3/3.30, and goes to sleep at 8. But would mean if he slept longer at nursery, he’d just be going there for a nap for the first few months!

@RKW40, ours was an early walker until the clock change last year. We just kept the body timings, ie stayed with bedtime at 8, when it used to be 7, and it totally fixed it - defo think later bed is worth a go.

I was thinking of doing nap a bit earlier so bedtime doesn't get pushed too late

I thought early waking was the main problem? Your nap is fine and moving it anywhere within the 11.30am-3.30pm window won't make a jot of difference.

A later bedtime is what is needed.

Not rediculouly late, but an 8pm bedtime with the aim to be asleep by 8.30pm ish.

@Merename the only reason that i said about cutting the nap is because of starting nursery from September otherwise I wouldn't. I don't know about a nap when he comes come but I'm afraid if is late until we come home, he will need something to eat and 4:30 pm will be nap time. Do you think that I should try to put him about one hour for a nap and then i will keep bedtime a bit later until 9pm.
Everything depends what time he will wake up in the morning he always wakes up very early, so if he keeps waking early i can try even nap time before nursery at 10 am for a hour.
The second option for the other nursery I'm afraid it's not a good choice, it's not completely free i spoke with them on Friday and they said i need to be around £210 monthly. And also driving is not a option in the moment so if I want to send my son in nursery needs to be the closest one from 12:30-3:30

@RKW40 My son is always waking up early, doesn't matter what he goes to sleep. Until the lockdown my husband was at home and we decided to try keeping him later to sleep so he was going 9:30-10 pm but again he wakes up at 6 or 6:30 max. Even he sleeps intil 7 am wow that's something that will happen once in a while and I can't believe that is happening that he is sleep until 7. He has days now he wakes up at 5 as well, 5:30 and there is no way to put him again to sleep. I tried everything with him to put him earlier at bes then a little bit later but again he is up at 6 am. I completely understand you because i was pregnant and had to wake up early with him and I wasn't able to sleep good. But be prepared the worse thing is coming when u will have the baby you have to feed the baby a few times in the night and then at 6 am to be awake. I'm exhausted too the last few months I'm not able to sleep at all. Wish you that he will change and you can get rested.

Let him have a short nap 11-11.45, quick lunch eg sandwiches and you can still set off for nursery at 12.20.

A short nap and tiring afternoon at nursery will probably move his bedtime nearer to 7.30. Then when he drops the nap entirely you’ll probably get him to stay in bed a bit later in the morning.

What happens if you cut the nap time down? You could let him sleep for an hour and a half then wake him up for lunch?

The closest nursery to you will be fine. There are so many things to do the time will fly by and he'll be too distracted to sleep. The nursery will provide a snack and a drink if you find you have to rush through lunch and you think he'll still be hungry. My son went to the afternoon session and there were occasions when he was eating a sandwich or his crisps in the pushchair on the way because we didn't have time for lunch. You may find that if you walk home with him in a pushchair he will fall asleep in that. I used to wake my son up when we got home and he'd go to bed at his usual time of 7pm.

@lady321 when my children first got their 15h free nursery place (At aged 3 for my children), nap routine was so important to me that I was prepared to decline an afternoons nursery place and wait until a morning place came up.

Luckily I got a morning (9am-12pm) session with all four of my children. My youngest two children both kept daytime naps until past 4th birthdays. So if I think about what was best for the children (rather than most convenient for me) it was that they went to nursery 9-12, came home and had lunch and then slept 1-3pm, waking ready to go on the school run for older siblings.

I had told nursery that if they offered me an afternoon session that I would decline and wait on the waiting list for a morning session. As a SAHM, I could do this. Given you're home with your baby, this could be something to consider?

If 2 year olds only have afternoon sessions that means missing out on a lot of funded hours meant to benefit the child.

@FATEdestiny i know that this is the best, I want as well morning session for my son, then he will come home and have a nap but unfortunately the closest nursery are not providing morning sessions for 2 years old just afternoon. I was thinking to keep him home this year until he is 3 and then they have morning classes but I'm feeling bad when i think that my son can go there and have a 3 hours playing with the kids having a lot of activities and I'm keeping him at home. I think I should try to see how it goes if he is happy and not tired, to see if we can manage with short morning or afternoon nap. If i see he is not coping well and he is unhappy i will keep him home until he is 3 .

Our little boy is 2 on 23rd July and we let him nap between 1hr 45 - 2 hrs...he naps from around 12.30/12.45 until around 2.30pm...we take him up to bed around 7.30pm and he goes to sleep around 8/8.30pm...90% of the time he's sleeping through till around 7ish...I've read up a lot about sleep and it's normal for toddlers to wake between 6-7am...I don't let our little boy sleep past 7.30am or the nap routine goes out the window...if your little boy goes to nursery surely they will stick to nap routines to suit you xx