Morning nap v/s afternoon nap? Mom's only please...?

Question

My son is 10 months old. I'm trying to figure out if he is ready to get rid of his morning nap. He goes to bed at 8, wakes up at 9. I used to put him down for his nap at 10 when he was waking up at 8 and it worked out great. Now he is sleeping in, so I don't lay him down until 1. Here is the kicker...when he gets a morning nap he will sleep for 2 hours. When I wait until 1, it's only for an hour.
It doesn't make much sense. Does your baby do this or something totally different? What is your nap schedule like?

Crap...yes fathers please answer!

Answer 1

why can't fathers answer? I had a good answer, but since you asked for Mom's only, I'm not answering.

Answer 2

My oldest daughter used to take a mid morning nap and an afternoon nap. I nixed the morning nap when it became a problem to get her to lie down for it. She would want to stay up and play. She'll soon be 3 and has almost worked herself out of naps completely. Only when she's been playing hard, will she lie down for an afternoon nap-and like your son, it's only long enough to recharge.

I wouldn't worry about the 1 hr naptime, as long as he sleeps through the night and doesn't appear to be too cranky. Try it for a week and if he appears to have behaviorial changes, you might have to wait a bit longer.

My sister in laws both have 3 years old. One takes two naps a day, the other takes a nap when she's tired. I guess all kids are different.

(My youngest is 5 months and takes two long naps, one hour each in the morning and afternoon. She only catnaps for about 15 minutest at a time 3 other times during the day.)

Answer 3

10 months is around the age my son started taking one long nap instead of morning and afternoon. it's usually about 3-4 hours after he wakes up in the morning and then he'll sleep for about 2 1/2 hours (which i prefer to the 2, hour long naps..you get more done!). my son is now 11 1/2 months and this has really worked for us..also it helped in the fact of getting him to bed on time, b/c he's really tired at the end of the day...before when he took an afternoon nap, he wouldn't fall asleep until 12pm or even later, now with just the one nap i can get him to bed around 10:30 and he wakes up at 9am.

Answer 4

My kids are all different (I have 3). The oldest took 2 naps until he was 1 and then just took 1 until he was 3. At that point his younger sister then 1 and he 3 stopped taking naps altoghether for the most part. I have a baby now and he naps in cycles. 1 or 2 short naps on one day, and 2 nice long naps the next!

Answer 5

My daughter started to be ready for only one nap sometime after turning a year old, maybe closer to 16 months. If your son sleeps pretty late in the morning it seems he probably may be ready for only the one nap. It's true they seem to sleep differently at different times of the day, but with only the one nap he will probably continue waking up later in the morning. You can also be guided by how he is acting. If he just doesn't seem tired until afternoon, he may not need the two naps. It seems like he is getting most of his sleep at night.

Answer 6

If he goes to bed at 8 and wakes up at 9, have him take a nap around 2 or 3, maybe at 1 he isn't that tired therefore only sleeps for 1 hour instead of 2. The morning is too early. Babies don't have sleeping patterns unless you provide them. Babies eat, poop, sleep.

Answer 7

I have a 10month old too. She usually goes to sleep around 8pm and wakes up between 7-8am. She goes down for her first nap about 2 hrs after waking in the morning and it usually only lasts for an hour or so. Her second nap is usually between 1pm-3pm and lasts 1-2 hours.

Some babies actually sleep better when they are well rested. That may be his reason for taking a shorter nap later in the day, because he is overly tired. I would just put him down as soon as he shows signs of being tired, regardless of how much sleep he got that night or how long its been since he woke up.

Answer 8

Hi....my son just turned 6 months old...and he will sleep 3-4 hours for one nap and then a small cat nap of a half hour, the 2nd time. i will not let him sleep anymore than 30 minutes for the 2nd nap as i want him in bed, no later than 730 p.m. at night..then my 8 yr old daughter goes to bed at 8:30-9p.m. then it's MY time without kids to do whatever i want!!! I would put your son to his nap whichever is the longest. mom's need that kind of break...an hour nap just goes too fast. We need a break as well and thats when i get most of my stuff done is when my son is in bed for his nap. If i go out during his nap, anything goes...he takes cat naps outside...he will not sleep what he normally would at home.

Answer 9

He is at the age that he is starting to transition from 2 naps a day to 1. Some days it will be one, some days it will be two. Morning longer or afternoon longer. Keep up his nighttime routine and follow his cues for when he needs to nap during the day. By 13 months, he should be consistently at 1 nap a day.

Answer 10

My son had a morning and afternoon nap until he was about 16 months. If he didn't he got really cranky and it was harder to get him to go to bed at 8pm. He has one nap in the early afternoon now and most of the time he is in bed between 8-830 pm and sleeps until 7-8 am

Answer 11

My 12 mo. old does this. She goes to bed between 7:30 - 8 and sleeps until about 9:00a.m. I give her breakfast, then she plays for awhile. I feed her lunch between 11:30 - noon and then put her down for a nap about 1:00. Sometimes she sleeps for an hour and other times she sleeps for three hours. Try to keep your son's room cool and as dark as possible. This way, he just may sleep longer. Good Luck!