Dropping a nap can feel like a tricky or even dreaded milestone as you transition away from the comfort of an established, familiar sleep routine. This is why one of our greatest pieces of advice from the beginning has been to stay flexible.
That said, fear not! If you’re reading this and thinking it might be time to drop a nap, it’s likely because your current sleep routine no longer feels like it’s working- clinging to a routine that no longer works can be more stressful than enduring the temporary stress of change.
What is the right time to drop a nap?
While no two babies reach transitions and milestones at the exact same time, there are typical windows in their development when these things happen. For naps, it’s pretty standard for babies to drop a nap between:
4-6 months (goodbye fourth nap)
7-9 months (goodbye third nap)
13 - 18 months (goodbye second nap)
3.5 - 4 years old (goodbye naps!)
Signs it might be time
They’re fighting naps (maybe even bedtime, too)
More frequent night wakings
More frequent early mornings
When they do nap, the duration is much shorter
Collectively, these signs point to under-tiredness. This means your baby just doesn’t need that much daytime sleep anymore.
How to drop a nap
You might be tempted to cut the nap abruptly, but gradual and flexible is the name of the game to avoid an overtired baby (which can be just as hard to put to sleep as an undertired baby).
So, let’s say the nap you’re dropping starts around 3:00 p.m., and bedtime typically starts around 7:00 p.m. When 3:00 p.m. rolls around, here’s the plan:
Try to keep them awake for a little bit longer, like 15 minutes or so. Offer connected play time or step outside for fresh air.
As their sleepy cues become more apparent, go ahead and offer that delayed nap with your normal wind-down routine.
Later, if they show sleepy cues earlier than usual, it’s okay to put them to bed before their regular time, like 6:30 instead of 7:00.
Soon enough, this nap will be replaced by wake time, and their remaining sleep windows, including overnights, should return to a new norm with much less resistance.