When did your DC drop from 2 to 1 naps, and how?

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Hi all,

First time mum here. Advice appreciated! My DC is 11 months old and I'm wondering if they are ready to drop to 1 nap. DC currently sleeps about 40 mins in the morning, about 1.5-2 hours in the afternoon, and 10ish hours at night. (With a few night feedings still unfortunately. I'm still EBF plus solids).

Anyway. It's getting harder / taking longer to get DC to sleep for the afternoon nap. DC resists for quite some time. So I'm wondering if they are ready to drop to 1 nap? I've read on average this happens between 12-18 months... I'd like to keep the 2 naps for a while but doesn't seem like it'll work.

So just wondering when it happened for your DCs and how you went about dropping a nap (I presume it's done gradually??)? Thanks!

Just cut the morning nap shorter. Eventually it will disappear and the afternoon one will come earlier.

My DD was about 13-14 months IIRC. As @LGBirmingham said, cut the first nap down gradually until it’s only 15 mins, then drop it completely. Then perhaps an earlier bedtime if the lunchtime nap is a little earlier.

Your baby sounds like a fantastic little sleeper!

Thank you both! You make it sound a lot simpler and easier than the online guides I've read!! 😂 Much appreciated! Will give it a go!

About 15 months for us but there was a couple of months of sometimes 1 nap, sometimes 2 (this also happened with dropping naps totally which took 18 months to work through!).

I noticed she wasn't really taking the morning nap any more - this one had always been out of the house in the sling or pushchair. But she started falling asleep during lunch at 1pm. So I brought lunch a little earlier to about 12.30, then she would nap 1-4pm.

I must admit it was amazing that year of her having a solid 3 hour nap every afternoon!

We’re coming up for 10 months and since ds could sleep independently for a few hours in the day he’s only ever had one good nap. Any other nap would be a few minutes snatched in the car on school runs. But from previous dc dropping naps I always found it easier to stretch the wake window and put down to bed a bit later for the first nap and if they wake before 1 hour, re settled them back to sleep, thus encouraging a longer nap in the middle of the day. Then if a short nap needed later for a few weeks I always found it better waking up and entertaining til bedtime easier than having a grumpy tired baby earlier in the day. You can also distract and stretch out to an early bedtime with a bath if needed if they didn’t nap in the late afternoon. But mine have always been fairly late risers and also early to bed.