[akleven]

My son is 10-months old and sleeps anywhere from 9.5-12 hours at night. At daycare he takes a great morning nap (1-3 hours) but then gets tired in the afternoon but won't conk out (except if he takes a 3 hour nap, then he is good, but that is rare!). I pick him up at 4pm and sometimes he falls asleep within a few minutes in the car. But if I let him take a nap, his nighttime routine is off and he may stay up until 9pm and then he starts a vicious cycle of not getting enough nighttime sleep...
I hate the thought of letting him cry it out for an afternoon nap. Any suggestions? My daycare person is open to ideas, but not sure what to do. My son sleeps w/ me at night and naps usually in the swing at daycare. THoughts?

 

[Ellien C]

Try eliminating the morning nap and just doing a longer afternoon nap. It's a little early "by-the-book," but your son may be ready for 1 nap a day.

 

[cyncyn]

DD started moving toward one nap a day also at about this age. It's a PITA getting through the transition, but we were all much happier after that. We started with an earlier lunch/big snack and nap immediately after, gradually moving lunch to noon. Maybe your dcp can take him outside (not in a stroller, maybe on a blanket?) during the a.m. when he usually naps, then come in, feed him and then let him go down after that, it might help. Few babies will fall asleep outside because there is so much to look at, smelling that fresh air, etc. You might think about trying to get him to nap somewhere besides the swing, lying down on a mat or in a playpen or crib? He will have to transition out of the swing eventually anyway and might rest better in a prone position?

 

[Fiercemama]

ITA with the last poster. Sounds like he is making that PAINFUL transition from 2 naps to one. This too shall pass...

 

[kerc]

when my daughter dropped a nap she dropped the afternoon nap (it was never as consistent as the morning one). So we let her nap longer in the am and for about a year her nap was like 1030/11 to 1or 2ish. Now she's adjusted and most days it is more like 1pm to 3.