Transitioning from 3 to 2 naps with your baby
Transitioning from three naps to two is a milestone that can bring a mix of anticipation and apprehension for parents. The process requires patience, consistency, and a keen eye for your baby's cues. In this blog, I'll walk you through the signs indicating it's time to make the switch, strategies for a smooth transition, and practical tips to ease the adjustment.
What age should you expect this nap transition?
Most babies are around 7-9 months when they are ready to drop the third nap and transition to a two nap schedule. Of course, all babies are unique so not every single baby will fall into this 7-9 month age range. In my experience, I’ve seen some babies ready as early as 6.5 months and some not ready until as late as 10 months
Common signs that your baby is ready for a 2 nap schedule:
Your baby can comfortably stay wake for 3-3.5 hours at a time
Your baby is resisting the third nap for 1-2 weeks in a row
Bedtime is getting pushed later than 8pm in order to fit all 3 naps and appropriate wake windows in
Your baby is taking much shorter naps than usual, and often waking up happy and refreshed from these short naps
Your baby is suddenly having night wakings again
You notice it is taking longer for your baby to fall asleep at bedtime- possibly from too much daytime sleep
Your baby is suddenly having early morning wakings (before 6am)
When looking at these signs, you may not see all of them occurring but you should notice a handful of them and you want to see a pattern of 1-2 weeks before you decide that your baby is truly ready for this transition. If this is happening here or there but not consistently, then that is not an indicator that your baby is ready.
Should I try to hold off a nap transition?
Yes! If your child is not yet 7 months old, it can be extremely helpful to try holding off the transition. In fact, the longer you can reasonably wait to transition, the smoother it will likely go. When your baby is on the older side instead of the younger side for this transition, it means they’ll be able to better handle the longer wake windows needed for a 2 nap schedule. In fact, transitioning too early can lead to issues like short naps, early bedtimes, and increased night wakings.
If you are attempting to hold off a nap transition, the best way to do so is by capping naps. This helps to ensure that your baby doesn’t nap too long during the day on 3 naps. By capping naps you can make room for a third daily nap without pushing bedtime too late.
When cutting naps short, it’s best to start small and work your way up as needed. Start by simply cutting the daily amount of napping by 30 minutes. If nap 1 tends to be a full 1.5-2 hours, you may decide to cut 30 minutes from nap 1. If nap 1 and nap 2 are 1-1.5 hours, you may cut 15 minutes from each. Whatever makes the most sense for your baby’s sleep schedule rhythm is fine.
Try this for a while and if you feel like more capping is necessary, work your way up by 15 minutes every couple of days. I would not recommend capping naps 1 and 2 under an hour but it’s okay if nap 3 is as short as 30 minutes.
How do I transition from 3 to 2 naps when my baby is ready?
The key with this nap transition is to gradually extend your baby’s wake windows. By gradually extending them, it will eventually leave no room for a third nap and voila, you’re done!
However, we don’t want to do this transition too quickly. Taking nap transitions cold turkey can cause unnecessary overtiredness. Instead of jumping right in, aim to increase your baby’s wake windows by 10-15 minutes every couple of days. This keeps things moving along but not too quickly for your baby. The final wake windows that you are shooting on a 2 nap schedule are: 2.5 hours before nap 1, 3 hours before nap 2, and 3.5 hours before bedtime.
Let’s walk through a wake window progression with some sample schedules so you can see what this will look like. When on a 3 nap schedule, you will likely tap out around 2.5-2.75 hour wake windows. After that point, you won’t be able to easily fit 3 naps in without severely capping them. Here’s is what a tapped out 3 nap schedule could look like:
Wake up: 7am
Awake 2.5 hours
Nap 1: 9:30-10:30am
Awake 2.5 hours
Nap 2: 1-2pm
Awake 2.5 hours
Nap 3: 4:30-5pm
Awake 2.75 hours
Bedtime: 7:45pm
Gradually increasing those wake windows every other day would look like this:
2.5/2.5/2.75/2.75
2.5/2.75/3
2.5/3/3.25
2.5/3/3.5
Below is a sample 2 nap sleep schedule:
Wake up: 7am
Awake 2.5 hours
Nap 1: 9:30-11am
Awake 3 hours
Nap 2: 2-3:30pm
Awake 3.5 hours
Bedtime: 7pm
Extra tip: There may be days during the nap transition where bedtime needs to be as early as 6-6:30pm. This is very common and completely normal. Think of it as a way to help your baby “make up” for the sleep they are losing by dropping nap 3 and as a way to help them compensate for the longer wake windows during the day.
How long does it take for my baby to get used to a 2 nap schedule?
Adjusting to a new nap schedule can be a challenging journey for your baby, as transitions often come with their own set of hurdles. It's not uncommon for babies to continue showing signs of tiredness during their previous nap times, such as yawning and fussiness around the time they used to nap. However, rest assured that this will diminish over time. It's important to be patient and allow your baby the necessary time to adapt. Generally, it may take anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks for your baby to become fully adjusted to the new two-nap schedule. Remember, each child is unique, so the transition period may vary. While you wait, the best thing you can do is continue offering your child a consistent schedule, giving them space when they struggle, and using that early bedtime whenever necessary.
Other tips to help you manage this transition:
You may notice that early wakings creep up during this transitional phase- especially if you were already dealing with them as one of the signs of needing to transition from 3 to 2 naps. When this occurs, be very consistent about your child’s ideal wake up time. If you don’t want them to start their day before 6:30am, then you’ll want to keep them in their crib and avoid exposing them to light and stimulation before 6:30am. This will take time but is doable!
If your baby needs to flip flop between 3 nap days and 2 nap days for a while, that is generally okay. This may happen if your baby has an early wake up or has one or two short naps. In these cases, adding a 3rd nap may be unavoidable. But if your baby continues to flip flop after a week or so, then you’ll want to be more consistent with a 2 nap schedule and stop offering a 3rd nap.
This is a great time to revisit your bedtime and naptime routine and make sure your baby is being laid down fully awake each time. This can help them continue to settle themselves to sleep which will aid in any night wakings, early wakings, and short naps.
It may be hard, especially at first, to keep your baby awake for the longer wake windows. Do your best to keep them alert and awake. Get creative and silly with them to help! Sing and dance together, go outside and let them crawl around in the grass or on a blanket, or throw them in the tub for an impromptu bath. Whatever helps them make it that extra 15-30 minutes before naptime, go for it!
As we wrap up, please remember that it’s very normal for this transition to be a little rocky. It’s hard work for your baby to completely adjust their daytime schedule but they will get there! Stay patient and stay consistent and it will come.
Feel like you’re needing more support than this blog post can provide? Schedule a free call with me and we can find the right sleep package to help get your family through this 3 to 2 nap transition!
