Ok, this seems to be going a lot harder than it should be...one of my guys never takes a morning nap anymore, but will fall asleep at 11:15 while eating lunch, but then only nap for one hour. Other twin needs a morning nap, but we've been cutting it off after 20 minutes because if it's any longer that is his only nap of the day! They are 16 month old twins. HOW can I get them to nap more than an hour, and what can I do to make the transition better? Tried moving back the morning nap but then they refuse the afternoon nap. I just feel like one hour is not enough for only one nap a day, and sometimes it's only 45 minutes! Doing as early of bedtime as possible but with twins and schedules we can't do earlier than 6:15 consistently. Night sleep is fine. Wake up anywhere 5:30-6 am.
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The twin that naps for only one hour, do you go to him right when he wakes and when he wakes is he full on screaming/crying? I find that if I wait at least 15 min, DS will fall right back asleep. He could be trying to transition into the next sleep cycle. DS is 16 months too.
The 2nd twin, is there anything you can do to distract him to try to keep him up longer and push out his nap? What time is his morning nap?
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@mrs. high heels--thanks for the response. No, we don't go in right when they wake up. But either one, after an hour, typically wakes up screaming and doesn't stop. My limit for this is 30 minutes, but it doesn't seem to be working...like, several times we've let them go on for 30 minutes but no going back to sleep at that point. I do tend to go and check for dirty diapers, because that's occasionally the problem! My morning nap guy--well, that's probably my fault. He'll fall asleep in the stroller on our morning walk, and that's my main form of exercise. Where we live it is way too hot to go out any later. Two days a week they go to daycare 8-12, stay awake that whole time, and when they come home a couple of times it's been a 2-hour nap, but more often than not it's one hour only.
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Maybe you can make your morning walk a little earlier so the one twin will be less likely to fall asleep. Also, making sure they get a ton of running around time in the morning so that they are tired enough to sleep longer.
But I have heard that the 2 to 1 nap transition can just be pretty rough. We are starting down that road now and I'm dreading it! -
With the LO I nannied, when she switched to one nap it was often an hour to two hours. I can count on one hand the times it went past an hour and half even!
Do they get grouchy during the day because they aren't sleeping enough? -
I would count the morning nap as the only nap and try to get it to a time where they would both sleep, so earlier than 11:15. I agree a long walk could be a good transition to keep both kids happy? Maybe try 10:45 or 11, then keep trying to push it back until you get to 11:30 or 12?
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Thanks for the ideas, all. I'm just so frustrated.@Mrs. Sunshine: yes, very grouchy during the day! They are waking up from naps screaming. In the mornings, they wake up babbling and giggling.@Mrs Green Grass: if I do as you suggest, then what if they are awake from say, 11:30 until bed time? Is that too long? It has happened before, but it is ugly!
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We were in the same boat, but opposite...one twin needed the morning nap, but not the afternoon. The other twin needed both. Honestly I started by pushing both of them a little beyond their comfort zones (10-15 mins a day). Then I still put both down for the second nap...the one baby who needed it would sleep while the other jabbered and "rested." As we pushed morning nap farther, they eventually synced up.
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