The Great Nap Transition

In the past, nap transitions haven't been too much to report. The first real transition (as in, happening past the bleary-eyed newborn phase) was from 4 naps to 3. Basically, one day he just started fussing instead of going down for that nap. I tried for about a week and then figured he was dropping it. And that was that. The transition from 3 naps to 2 was more drawn out. For a couple of months, sometimes he would take 3 naps, sometimes he would take 2. There was no rhyme or reason to it, and it didn't seem to affect other facets of his life, like fussiness or nighttime sleep. There was more confusion with this transition, but mostly just because I didn't know what to expect on any given day so it was hard to make plans.

He was "supposed" to transition to one nap around a year. It didn't happen. As the months went by, I became more anxious for him to drop his morning nap. All of his friends had, so scheduling play dates and attending meetings became increasingly difficult. Even getting to church became a struggle because he was often still asleep or just waking up when we needed to be leaving, and we missed several weeks in a row as a result. As much as I enjoyed that relaxing morning snuggle with him asleep in the wrap on my chest, I was ready to only have to schedule around one naptime instead of two.

Just before Christmas, he began fighting his afternoon nap on occasion. Not every day, but he went through a period of crib strikes where the only way I could get him down for an afternoon nap was to wear him. While we were in Atlanta for Christmas, he had a couple of one nap days due to scheduling. So I expected that the transition would soon be upon us. However, once we returned home, he gradually seemed to get over his crib strike and fell into a pattern of 1.25 hour nap in the morning and 1.25-2.5 hour nap in the afternoon. Until a couple of weeks ago. Out of nowhere, he began fighting his morning nap. This had always been his favorite nap and rarely a struggle to get him down. But suddenly, it wasn't enough to sway with him in the wrap; I had to walk with him. Then I couldn't just walk with him in the wrap; I had to sing. Then I had to rock him in the nursery with his sound machine on. Then I had to have the projection on (which he never uses any other time). Then I had to nurse him to sleep. And even then sometimes he just wasn't having it.

The week before last, he fell into a pattern of taking only one nap every other day. But this transition didn't just affect his daytime sleep. He hadn't yet figured out to take a long nap for that one nap, sleeping for only 1.25 hours, and he was fussy and cranky the rest of the day and slept poorly that night, either waking around 1-2 and refusing to go back to sleep in his crib or up for the day at 5. As a result, he needed both naps the following day. This past Sunday, we decided to continue his pattern and plan for a one-nap day. Apparently this was a mistake because he was beyond cranky, wouldn't go down for his nap, and ended up only sleeping 45 minutes all day long. That night was the worst.

After that crummy day, Ethan took two naps on Monday and Tuesday to recover. Then a miracle happened. On Wednesday, he refused his morning nap so I put him down after lunch with baited breath. And he slept 2.5 hours. On Thursday, he slept just over 3 hours, probably his longest nap ever, AND he slept the following morning until 7. Maybe he was finally getting it! Yesterday, he slept 2.5 hours! BUT... then he was up at 1:50 this morning and, despite climbing into bed with us, didn't go back to sleep until 3:40 and woke for the day at 6:40. So apparently he hasn't figured this one-nap routine out in its entirety.

Today was another 3-hour nap, so we'll see what tonight holds. All I can say is that I'm glad there is only one more nap transition ahead of us and hopefully that won't come for another year or two. And yes, I miss our morning cuddles and getting to wear him for a nap at least once a day, but I feel sure I'll still have to wear him for a nap on occasion and the morning nap was becoming a bit of a chore of late with all his fussiness over it.

So wish us luck as Ethan continues to adjust to this new schedule! And if my posts seem more rambling than usual in the meantime, you know what to blame.