Napping problems w/ my soon to be one year old?

Question

My son, for the most part, has always taken two naps a day. Recently, he's been dropping one of them (which is fine and I've heard is common). The problem is that sometimes he gets up earlier in the morning (like around 6 or 6:30), which in turn, causes him to take an earlier nap (around 10 or 10:30). It'll usually last around 2 hours. Because of all this, he is then cranky and (I assume) ready for his bedtime routine at about 5:30. I've tried to keep him up for as long as I can, but he's just so fussy. Does anyone have any tips or ideas, or is this just a phase for him to adjust to taking just one nap a day. What do ya think?

Answer 1

Excite him, give him candy, or even a sip of coffee. He'll never sleep again.

Answer 2

It took my kids about a month for their bodies to adjust when they broke themselves of a nap. I would keep him up as long as possible in the AM and try to get him to nap after lunch. Take him outside and let him play around 10:30 then bring him in and feed him and put him down.

Answer 3

typically, a one year old needs between 10-12 hours of sleep a night/day. so, if he is waking up at 6 am, you need to space nap times out so that he is getting the proper amount of rest. set a routine, and get him into bed at the same time every night. this will establish a pattern of sleppiness for him and he may start getting on a more regular schedule!