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If you’re navigating the tricky transition from two naps to one, this episode is for you. In this short and practical episode, Allison breaks down when babies are actually developmentally ready to drop to one nap—and why making the switch too early can disrupt night sleep.

Allison addresses a growing trend she’s seeing with families of 10–12 month olds being told (or feeling pressured) to drop to one nap, often due to daycare policies or sudden nap resistance. She explains why most babies aren’t ready for this transition until closer to 15 months—and sometimes even later—and how to protect your child’s sleep in the meantime.

You’ll learn:
— The ideal age range for transitioning from two naps to one
— Why early nap transitions often lead to night wakings and regressions
— What to do if daycare moves your baby to one nap early
— How to use early bedtimes and weekend schedules to protect sleep
— Why nap resistance doesn’t always mean readiness
— Simple schedule tweaks that can help preserve two naps

If your baby is under 15 months and naps suddenly feel harder—or sleep has gone off the rails—this episode will help you understand what’s normal, what’s not, and how to move forward with confidence.

Wondering if your child is getting enough sleep? Allison’s free guides take the guesswork out of bedtime. Learn the optimal sleep ranges for every age so your little one can feel their best—day after day. Get your free copy now: 0-2 Years Old or 3 to 10 years old

From baby sleep to toddler sleep, daycare naps to sleep training—How Long ’Til Bedtime? is the podcast for parents who want practical, guilt-free sleep tips they can actually use. Hosted by pediatric sleep coach Allison Egidi, each episode delivers real solutions for every stage—from navigating newborn sleep struggles and weaning night feedings to helping your 3-year-old fall asleep independently (and stay asleep!). Whether you’re trying to make sense of daycare sleep patterns, craving your evenings back, or simply need a working mom podcast to keep you grounded, you’re in the right place.

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Scroll down for a full transcript of this episode.

226. When to Transition Your Baby to One Nap a Day
Allison Egidi: Before we dive in, I want to ask you a quick favor, and it’s one that’s really important to me. If you have found this podcast helpful, would you please take a moment to rate and review How Long ‘Til Bedtime? I can see our listener numbers growing, but very few people actually stop and take that less than a minute it takes to rate and review the podcast. And listen, I get it. If the podcast that I listen to didn’t ask me, I wouldn’t even think to rate and review even my favorite podcast. So I’m asking, if you’re listening right now, please tap that five star button wherever you are currently listening. Your support truly helps us continue creating and sharing this free educational content for parents. Okay, on to today’s episode.

Today is a shorty episode all about the transition from two naps to one. If you have a child under 15 months and you’re wondering whether it’s time to drop a nap or you’ve already made the transition and it has thrown sleep off or triggered a regression, this episode is for you.

Hey there, Allison here. Welcome back to How Long ‘Til Bedtime. Lately, I’ve been feeling really drawn to talk about the topics that are coming up most often with my clients. And one of those topics is a premature transition down to one nap a day. I’ve been hearing from more and more parents of 10, 11, 12 month olds who were either told it was time to drop to one nap or felt pressured into making the transition because their baby was suddenly struggling with one or both of their naps. But after making the switch to one nap a day, these families suddenly found night sleep in a new challenging position. So today I want to talk about when babies are actually developmentally ready for this nap transition and what to do if your baby isn’t ready but is struggling to hold on to two naps.

While every baby’s development and circadian rhythm changes are unique, I have found time and time again that keeping two naps until as close to 15 months as possible is the best way to support a smooth transition to one nap and to protect good night’s sleep. That said, there are two very common reasons parents end up making this transition earlier than is ideal. Number one, their child’s daycare transitions them down to one nap because that’s their policy. And number two, their child starts resisting or skipping the second nap.

So let’s talk about the daycare situation first. Many daycares in the United States transition children to one nap at 12 months. And I have found over the last year for some it’s even earlier. If that’s your situation first, I just want to tell you you’re not alone and we will get through this. If your daycare has moved your baby to one nap and keeping two naps there isn’t an option, because you can always explore that, there are two things that you can do to help your baby stay rested and avoid that nighttime sleep regression.

First, prioritize the earliest bedtime possible on the weekdays. A bedtime between 6 and 6:30 may be ideal to help them catch up on a little bit of sleep, but I realize for some families that’s not going to be an option because they aren’t even getting home until 6 p.m., which was the case when my girls were this age. So if that’s the case, I would encourage you to aim for no later than 7 p.m.

Second, continue offering two naps on the weekends, assuming your baby will still take them. Occasionally, maybe one in 10 I work with at this age group struggle to have the two different schedules, but the vast majority of the time we can keep two naps on the weekend until closer to 15 months. And this allows your child to refill their sleep tank and go into Monday well rested.

And if they won’t take two naps on the weekends, keep on listening. If your little one is under 15 months and suddenly starts refusing that second nap, which is actually very common, or you’re trying to keep two naps on the weekend when daycare only offers one, but your little one is struggling to do that, then I want to talk through a plan.

But before I do that, I want to explain why this 12 to 15 month window can be tricky for some kids. Before 12 months, most babies are going to thrive on three to four hours of total daytime sleep, which often means they’re taking a one and a half to two hour first nap. Between 12 and 15 months, total daytime sleep needs actually do decrease and they typically shift from being in this three to four hour window into a two to three hour total need. So if you have a baby who’s taking a long solid first nap, say an hour and a half to two hours, they may not have enough sleep pressure for that second nap because they’ve already gotten most of their daytime sleep needs met now that they’ve moved into needing a little bit less day sleep. If this is happening, however, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re ready for just one nap. It means that the schedule likely needs to be tweaked.

So here’s what I recommend doing. Step one, cap that first nap at one hour of sleep. That single change often brings back nap two pretty seamlessly. If capping the first nap at one hour doesn’t do the trick, move on to step two, which is to keep that first nap capped at one hour and push the start time of the second nap out later. It could be as late as 2:30 PM for babies who are under 15 months. I tend to find that two one hour naps is usually going to be more restorative and beneficial than one two to two and a half hour midday nap. So even if that midday nap gets them a little bit more sleep, if they’re not ready for one nap, having two one hour naps is going to allow them to stay rested.

So here’s what I want you to take away from this episode. If at all possible, try to support two naps a day until as close to 15 months as you can. And I should note that some babies will stay on two naps a day until closer to 18 months. So we don’t need to jump the gun if things are going well. And if things get a little sticky along the way, particularly in that 12, 13, 14 month window, small schedule adjustments can often help you protect keeping two naps and protect good night’s sleep.

If you found this episode helpful, again, I’d be so grateful if you would take a moment to rate and review the podcast. We put a lot of care and time into creating this free educational content and rating and reviewing and sharing the episodes you love is the very best way that you can support this work. Thanks so much for taking a minute to do that. It truly means the world.

As always, thanks for listening and I hope you’ll come back again next week. Bye for now.