# Do 2 year olds take 2 naps?



## Logan's Mom (Mar 2, 2006)

I'm just wondering how many of you out there have a 2 year old that takes 2 naps a day. Our son sleeps crappy at night, then he is tired early in the am and then he gets tired again around 4pm but he wants to sleep till 5 or so and then won't go to bed at night. Then he doesn't want to wake up till at 8 am. I'm sure some of you are going to say let him sleep what he wants. Here is the deal, I work. I can't let him sleep until 8am. If he gets up at 7am I can get out the door at a reasonable time.

Your thoughts?

oh, and our son will be 2 on 1/24/08 -- so, just turning 2.


----------



## LianneM (May 26, 2004)

What happens if you push him at the 4pmish tired time? That'd be my strategy, I think. Do you have him at that time or is he with someone else? I would go for some kind of snack or activity at that time to keep him going as long as possible, so he's good and tired for bed. IME DS dropped the 2nd nap around 18 mo, I think. Now he is almost three and still takes one nap about 5 out of 7 days. It may last an hour, it may last three. During the transition from two to one, though, he also had some rough nights. Once the 2nd nap was totally dropped he got into the groove and started sleeping better.

As it is now, DS usually gets up between 8 and 9, if he naps it's usually around 3ish. If he gets the nap he goes to bed around 10, and if not, then about 8:30. He usually sleeps all night but will wake to nurse a couple of times a week.


----------



## Himom (May 25, 2005)

My 2 year old takes 1 nap a day from 1-3PM. She goes to bed at night at 8:30PM and wakes up at 6AM. Bless DH for being an early bird as I'm useless before 9AM.


----------



## Logan's Mom (Mar 2, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *LianneM* 
What happens if you push him at the 4pmish tired time? That'd be my strategy, I think. Do you have him at that time or is he with someone else? I would go for some kind of snack or activity at that time to keep him going as long as possible, so he's good and tired for bed.

Well, you called it. The sitter and I were having a discussion or a disagreement. We don't want her to put him down at 4 and have him sleep till 5 or so as its harder to get him to go to bed at night (which to be fair, just started happening). With sooo many factors going on (him being a crappy sleeper many nights) its hard to tell what is really going on with his sleep.

At home, he has 1 nap which we have been trying to push out past 11am so he doesn't wake up around 7am, nap from 11 - 1 then be up from 1-8. It seems like such a long stretch in the afternoon without sleep, I'd like him to take his nap a little later. I'm not sure if its the right thing to do, but it seems like there is such a huge gap between those times.

At her house, he sleeps from about 11-1 then from 4-5 or 5:15 (once till 6 grrr -- his dad had to pick him up that day so it wasn't until 6). He started having a difficult time getting down to bed lately, then again, he has had a difficult time waking up in the am and sleeping at night in general. The 6pm night he didn't go to sleep till 10pm. DH finally told her that we didn't want him to sleep pass 4pm last week. In her defense, he does at times take a snooze on the ride home from her house to our house, so he is tired.

I really don't care how long he sleeps or when he sleeps, I would like him to get the sleep he needs. On the other hand, I don't want to have to wake him up in the morning but I can't have him sleeping after around 7:15 the latest. I know his broken sleep in the middle of the night really effects the whole family. I don't know why he wakes up, he just does. We don't nurse, he never would (I pumped for 15 months and couldn't take it anymore.) He hasn't had anything to eat or drink in the middle of the night for months unless I think he is sick and thirsty or something.

OK. That was really long. Sorry. It went well beyond the whole nap question.


----------



## Aufilia (Jul 31, 2007)

I honestly think that if he's sleeping crappy during naps and at night as well, it means he's not getting enough sleep with his current arrangement. Have you tried moving the morning nap earlier? That might move his afternoon nap a bit earlier, so that it's not disturbing his bedtime. DD is only a few days older than your DS and she typically gets up at 6am, naps at 9, and naps again at 2/2:30, then is in bed around 6:30pm.


----------



## CawMama (Nov 4, 2005)

Ds is 20 mos. He just recently, like last week, has given up his second nap for the day. He used to go down at 10:30 am and then again at like 4pm. And he was sleeping poorly at night. Now that he's down to one nap, he' sleeping from like 8:30 or 9pm until about 7:30 or 8 am.


----------



## cdahlgrd (Sep 4, 2002)

I would ask the sitter to make naptime noon, and NO nap in the pm. It will take a couple weeks for her and your child to work through it, so don't be to upset if it isn't perfect for a few days.

He could also be going through a growth spurt or teething that can interupt nighttime sleep (so don't be suprised if changing the nap schedule doesn't "fix" everything).


----------



## Mrs-Mama (Jul 2, 2007)

My son is 21-months and just transitioned from 2 naps to 1 nap 2-3 months ago. I know he would still take a morning nap around 10:30 or 11 if I let him, but then he would want an afternoon nap, and as you know, that makes bedtime very late. I agree with the PP who suggested the nap start at noon. My son is the sleepiest between 10:30 and 11, but if we're out and about (or outside) it seems not to be as much of an issue. If we're at home, I will cuddle him for a few minutes, but then try to get him interested in another activity. We start lunch around 11:15-11:30 and he easily falls asleep at noon. His nap ranges from 2-3 hours, depending on the day. If your son could get into a routine like that, maybe that would work out better for you. (We had about a week of transition, where he would still want an afternoon nap...3:30-4:30 <YIKES>, but we got through it). Also, maybe a slightly earlier bedtime would help as well. DS typically gets 11 hours at night.


----------



## veganf (Dec 12, 2005)

I have only ever known one 2yo who took 2 naps, and that was because his parents got home late from work and wanted to be able to keep him up and spend time with him then.
I don't think it will take long to adjust to a 1 nap schedule at that age.


----------



## BensMamacita (Mar 13, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Himom* 
My 2 year old takes 1 nap a day from 1-3PM. She goes to bed at night at 8:30PM and wakes up at 6AM.

This is my ds's schedule exactly (he'll be 2 on 12/22).


----------

