Early Wake Ups When Transitioning to 1 Nap

As many of you know, we’ve been transitioning Riley over to one nap from two naps over the past month. Since transitioning to one nap a month ago it’s been a bit of a challenge. Easier in some ways but a lot tougher in others. And since many of you seem to be going through the same thing or have gone through the same thing recently I thought today might be a good day to blog about it. Hopefully it helps another Mama out there!

We decided to do it shortly after his first birthday for multiple reasons. One main reason, was that he was really struggling to go down for his nap. Especially his second nap! Around 10 months he really started fighting his second nap. But we knew that was way too early to transition him to one nap so we fought to keep it. But it was hard! Riley is a sleep-trained baby, so I don’t sit there and rock him to fall asleep. I put him in his crib and I leave the room. When we were putting him in his crib, it would break my heart when he would cry for 10 minutes before falling asleep for his second nap. But then after his first birthday he started fighting his first nap of the day too. At that point I knew in my heart that we should transition him to one nap. Actually, I’m not even sure if using the word “knew” is the right word here. Because after we transitioned him I kept thinking maybe we did it too early! But we went for it and there’s no looking back once you make the switch. At least everything I’ve read said there’s no looking back, so I wouldn’t dare try.

We also decided it was time to switch because it was really affecting our life. Riley is not our only child and it was really hard to do anything during the day, not only for ourselves but for Molly, when we had to be home from 9 AM to 11 AM and then again from 2 PM to 3:30 PM. So it was just the right thing to do for our family. Any parent out there with multiple kids knows that getting those naps in, especially in your child’s nursery and not a car nap or stroller, is hard. I don’t want to neglect Riley by not giving him a good nap in his nursery, but I also don’t want to have Molly suffer by not being able to be outside and play all summer long. So since it was the beginning of the summer I just thought we go for it.

There are so many things you can read out there about when is the right time to transition your baby. And I think deep in your heart you kind of just know when it’s time. However I do recommend reading up on it first.

 

1. MY PJ’S | 2. RILEY’S ONESIE | 3. PINK BLANKET | 4. MOLLY’S CRIB | 5. WHITE RUG

What We Did

OK I told you why we decided to transition to one nap, now I’m gonna tell you how we did it. It’s pretty straightforward. The first day we tried to push Riley’s nap an hour from in his normal time. So he normally went down around 9 AM so we pushed it to 10 AM the first day. And honestly, it couldn’t have been easier! He didn’t want to go down at 9 AM, which is one of the reasons I want to push his nap in the first place, so 10 AM was no problem. We put him down at 10 AM and sure enough he slept great! I’m pretty sure he slept almost 3 hours that first day! He’s never slept more than an hour and 45 minutes before this. Maybe slept two hours once and it was a miracle! But for the most part, he would sleep an hour to an hour and 15 minutes for his two naps. So getting a single 3 hour nap in the middle of the day felt like a huge blessing!

The next day I believe we pushed it to 10:30 AM, and then 11 AM the following day. We kept pushing in 30 minute increments until we got him to go down for his nap at 12 PM. But Riley doesn’t nap at 12 PM anymore. And I’ll get to that in a minute.

First, I want to talk about bedtime. Because Riley went down for his nap at 10 AM the first day and woke up at 1 PM you’re probably wondering what time we put him to bed. A normal wait time for a toddler for one nap for the second half of the day is 4 to 5 hours. So we put Riley to bed right at 6 PM. He did great! He slept until about 6 AM the next day.

For the bedtimes for all of the days after that first day, we would just count five hours from when he woke up from his nap and then put him to bed at that time. So it would pretty much be anytime from 6 PM to 7 PM. Things were going great for the first couple weeks. I patted myself on the back for having the intuition to know he was ready for that one nap! Ha! I was about to get a big awakening! And what I mean by that is early awakening! This is when the dreaded early wake ups started happening!

Early Wake-Ups

And when I say early I’m talking early! And some days Riley would wake up at 3:45 AM and talk in his crib for an hour to two hours before falling back asleep for maybe 60 more minutes. That only happened a couple times, but in general he was waking up at 4:45 AM every morning for a week. I was exhausted! I don’t know what it is but there’s something about getting up before 5 AM that my body just cannot handle. After 5 AM I’m pretty good. But before 5 AM I’m a mess!

I wouldn’t get him out of bed right at 5 AM. I would leave him in there for maybe 30 minutes (longer later. I’ll get the that in a minute) before I went in to get him. But I’d still be up at 4:45 when he started making noise. The great thing about Riley is that we trained him on the Hatch Baby Rest Sound machine/Night light/Time-to-rise since he was about 10 months old. Do you guys know about this light? I’m hoping your answer is yes because I’ve only talked about it a dozen times now. Ha! Maybe not a dozen but a lot. It is one of my absolute favorite products and I could not love it more!

The Hatch Baby Rest is a light and sound machine that you can control from your phone that changes to a certain color to let your child know it’s OK to get out of bed. You can manually change the lights from an app in your phone or you can set a schedule so it turns on every morning at a certain time. We have Riley’s set to turn on at 6 AM every morning and we have Molly’s set to turn on at 6:30 AM every morning. Since Riley’s so young, it’s a little bit more tricky with him, but we started using it for Molly I think around one and a half or in between 1.5 and two years old. And I swear she went from waking up super early screaming our names to staying in bed absolutely silent or whispering to herself until that light turns on. We tell her that the fairies control the light and when it turns on the fairies are letting us know it’s time to start the day. Actually, last week was her birthday week and we changed the light settings so it was on the rainbow setting. Which basically means that the light slowly changes colors by itself once it turns on. And she was so excited that the fairies did that special thing for her during her birthday week!

In fact, Hatch Baby just launched a brand new version that now has more features. The Hatch Baby Rest+ still has all the features the original one had, like being able to be use it as a sound machine, a nightlight, and a time-to-rise light that can be controlled from your phone or set on a schedule. But Hatch Baby’s new Rest+ also has an audio monitor built-in and a clock. And the audio monitor is two-way. So you can listen to your child through it and talk to them through your phone if you need to. I do see that coming in clutch for maybe when a three-year-old is trying to get out of bed at 5 AM but you want them to stay in bed. We recently switched both Molly and Riley to the Hatch Baby Rest+ from the original Hatch Baby Rest!

 1. HATCH BABY REST+ | 2. SIMILAR TO RILEY’S OUTFIT

It’s also Alexa enabled so you can change the lights and sounds just using your voice. It’s portable, so as long as the batteries are charged, you can go cord free. And you can control it from anywhere. You could even control it if you’re away from home because it uses Wi-Fi.

Anyway, now that I’ve raved about this light let me tell you why it’s been so key for me during the early wake ups. Basically, even though Riley was waking up so early, and is still waking up earlier than I’d like him to, because I’ve trained him on this light since he was 10 months old, he will sit and talk to himself in his crib until that light comes on. As soon as I turn the light on or when it automatically turns on at 6 AM he will then start calling for me more loudly because he knows it’s time to get up. This has honestly saved my sanity! I’m so lucky that when he wakes up early he doesn’t immediately start crying and screaming for me. Sure his talking wakes me up but I’m able to lay in bed with my eyes closed until I know he supposed to get out of bed.

By the way, I’ve shown photos in this post from both Molly’s room and Riley’s room! I’ve also previously posted all the details for their rooms in past blog posts!

1. MY PJ’S | 2. RILEY’S ONESIE | 3. PINK BLANKET | 4. MOLLY’S CRIB | 5. WHITE RUG

OK back to Riley. Those super early wake ups were really really hard on me. So I started looking into what I could do about it. It turns out I was just putting Riley down way too late. Like I mentioned above, normal wait time for a toddler around his age after his first nap is 4-5 hours. I was pushing five hours, or even five hours and 15 minutes every single time. So we started putting him to bed earlier. And even making his naps earlier.So his schedule would look something like this.

First nap 11am-1:45pm
Bed 6pm-5/5:15am

As you can see we moved his nap from 12 PM until 11 AM. And he started napping longer. I told you about how at the beginning it was for three hours, but all the ones after were pretty much two hours and 15 minutes. But by moving his nap up to 11 AM, he started sleeping closer to three hours some days. And as you can see his awake time for the second half of the day is only about four hours and 15 minutes. Sometimes we will do four hours and 30 minutes. But as a result he’s no longer waking up at 3:45 or 445. Granted it’s about 5 AM or 5:15 AM. But he’s still getting more than an hour extra sleep than he was when we put him to bed later. I’m not getting a ton of extra sleep but I’ll take that extra 15 minutes to 30 minutes. Plus like I mentioned above, even if he wakes up at 5:15 AM, he still just quietly talks to himself in his crib until his Hatch Baby Rest+ time-to-rise light turns on.

 1. HATCH BABY REST+ | 2. SIMILAR TO RILEY’S OUTFIT | 3. RUG | 4. SIMILAR TOP | 5. GROWTH CHART 

If you want to know other things I highly recommend to have in the nursery, then I’m going to be blogging about that in more detail next week or so! Things like an air purifier to make sure your kiddos room has the best air possible. I also highly recommend a sleep suit! We have had Riley in a sleep sack ever since we transitioned him from the swaddle and plan to keep him in it until he’s 2.5 years old. Molly for a sleep sack/suit until she was 2.5. We just recently transitioned her out of it because we know she’ll be transitioning to a toddler bed soon and we don’t want there to be too many changes at one time once that happens. So we thought we would eliminate the sleep suit now and then soon eliminate the crib and move onto a toddler bed.

Also, I think one of the reasons Riley is able to stay chill until his OK to Wake light turns on is also because he has comfort in his crib. I’ve put a lovey in Riley’s crib with him ever since he was four months old. Obviously consult your doctor before you do something like this! But a little breathable security blanket has really helped him, especially when we were sleep training him. And when he wakes up and waits quietly in his crib he holds on and snuggles that little lovey. Molly sleeps with her pink blanket every night and it acts as her lovey! My kiddos just love having something to snuggle at night!

Well, that’s my story. I don’t know if this is going to help anybody or if you are more confused now than before you started reading it. Ha! I hope you got something from the post but if you still have questions I highly recommend checking out Taking Cara Babies site. She has helped me get through this nap transition and I’m so grateful to her! Plus she has so much more experience than me and has a ton of content on her site to help you navigate through nap transitions.

And as always, I hope you guys share your experiences with me and all the other moms reading this in the comments below! When did you transition your child from two naps to one nap! Was it before one year? Was it after? Was it way after? I’d love to hear all your experiences and tips for what helped you and your little one get through it.

 

 

62 Thoughts

62 thoughts on “Early Wake Ups When Transitioning to 1 Nap

  1. Great blog!! Thank you for this – i feel like we will be going theough this very soon- our little guy just tuRned a year and seems to be fightIng them as well 🙁 love takinf carA of babies too !! She has helped me so so much!

  2. Hi alI! My little guy is 10.5 months old and i know this nap traNsition is coming soon… thaNks for sharing this post! I’ve been eagerly awaiting it 🙂 question – how do you train a 10 month old that they need to stay in their crib until the light changes on the hatch? Do you simply explain it to him or is there more to it? Thanks!

    1. When he first gets up wait 5 mins then turnt he light on and go get him. DO the same thing for naps. Then wait 7 mins and go get him the next day. Then 10 mins the day after that. Soon he will realize. OHHHHH my mommy comes in when the light turns on and that means it’s time to get up. It’s amazing how quick they learn!

  3. Thank you for sharing! Definitely gOing to be starting to put our son down earlier at night after reading this! He’s gunna be 14 months in a few days and we are transitioNing him to one nap now, it’s definitely been a challenge with early wake ups and Grumpy afternoons!

  4. my grandson is 17 months. He transitioned to one nap at 10 months With no problem. He now naps 1-3. He has always went to bed at 9:15 and slept till 730. now all of a sudden, he is going to bed and playing in there for over an hour before drifting to sleep. A week ago they tried putting him to bed at 8:30 and he Is playing Even longer. Wakes up Between 7-8 am. Any ideas?

      1. i WOULD wake him up at 6:30-7 am, put him down for his nap earlier, like 12 pm, then put him to bed much earlier, 9:15 is way too late. Try for 7 pm bedtime.

      2. As long as he is just talking and not crying, hes fine! Some babies/kids take a long time to fall asleep but doctors say as long as they are resting, it’s fine. My 4-year-old grandson has done this For years. He goes to bed about 9:00 but frequently ISN’T asleep For another hour. He’S a Happy healthy little boY and does still nap for an hour and a half at preschool. It’s Hard for them to do a much earlier bedtime, because they don’t get home From work and picking up the kids till well after 6 and then theres dinner, family time, baths, etc. even if they do get him doWn a little ealier, he also just plays and talks longer. some babies and kids just don’t require as mUch sleep and Others just take longer to actually Drift off to sleep once they are in bed. IT sounds like your grandson is one of those, and it doesnt sound like he is upset, just needs time to actually fall asleep.

    1. As long as he is just playing or talking and not crYing, i wouldnt worry about it! I have a four year old grandson who has done this for years. He Goes to bed around 9:00 but frequently isnt asleep for another hour. He doesnt Fuss, but plays and talks and doesnt get out of his bed. He gets up around 7:00 anD attends preschool all day where He does still take an afternoon nap there usually for an hour and a half. He’s a happy little boy! I just think all kids are different. his brother, on the other hand, is 6 and has always gone right to sleep the minute his head hits the pillow. So DIFFERENT BETWEEN them!

  5. Isnt it crazy how babies sleep habits work? The better they sleep during the day, the better they sleep at night, even though we think the opposite. Our little guy just turned one so i expect in the next few months we will be dropping that morning nap too 🙂

  6. My babe is 11.5 months old right now, but i dont see her transitiOning to one nap any time soon haha. She is dEfinitely a higher sleep needs baby. We didnt transition her from 3 naps to 2, until about 8.5 months old. But i remember that transition NOT being fun ha. There were some early wake ups, but thanks to Taking cara Babies, i knew that meant put her to bed eArlier. We are also lucky, like you, that our girl lOoooves her crib! If she wakes Early, i usually leave her in there for sometimes an hour! She just Babbles and talks to hersElf. I have a feeling the 2 to 1 transition will come around 15-16 months for us, but who knows! I will say im excited for one long middle of the day nap too. And we have a slightly different schedule Than yours, but she does 8pm-6:30/7 am every night which is amazing!

    1. You will know when to transition. We knew right after 12 months was the right time for Riley. He fought his naps so much and would fuss forever when we put him down. Now when we put he down he is OUT within 5 mins.

  7. Thank you for sharing! I am head back to work soon after my 18 month parental leave which I am so lucky to have had. However I am DEFINITELY having anxiety about my little mans sleep. He is 15 months old and for the lost part has one nap a day but he has a Really hard tIme sleep anywhere but his crib so I am so worried that he Wont sleep once day care starts and that will affect the time at home with him and the sleep he has at night! Any tIps ab preparing him for the big change?

    1. Try not to worry too much. I NEVER though Molly would nap at school because since she was a baby she sleeps with white noise and a pitch black room. But she does!!!!! She did the second day! She doesn’t fall asleep until the last 15/20 mins however. So that is an issue we are dealing with now. But I hoping with some time she will fall asleep earlier. They seem to listen better at school/daycare. Ha!

  8. Sounds like you’ve got Riley On a great schedule! You are lucky you can put him down so early. My kids dont get home From work and picking up Their Kiddos at School/preschool/camp/daycares (DIFFERENT ages and places) till after 6:00. By the time they fix and eat dinner, play and family time, and HOMEWORK and baths, even the Little oNes arent in bed till 9:00 ish. Every parent has to do what works. My oldest daughter dropped all naps at 2; it was hard. But she also climbed out of her crib before 2 so we put her in a single bed on her Second bday. She had to stay in her bed and read or play quietly every day For an hour anD shE knew it. All kids are so didferent with sleep like everything else. I’m sure alot oF young parents will be able to use your hints and advice! Thank you for posting, ali!

    1. We feel very lucky that they go to bed so early. But they wake up early too! It’s a trade off. My friend puts her kiddos to bed at 8:30 but they also sleep until 8am/8:30am! And THANK YOU for reading!!!!!! Means so much to me 🙂

  9. Hi Ali!

    I was wondering how you started using the okay to wake light with Riley at such a young age? I have the original hatch reSt that i used when my daughter was younger as a sound machine and nursing Nightlight, but your post has inspired me to try using it again with her to use the okay to wake light Feature. She just tUrned 10 months and we’ve been trying to fix some early wake ups as well since she has started sleeping through the night Thanks to sleep training. So just curious how you taught Riley to know what it means. Love all your mom posts! Thanks!

    1. Copying and pasting what I wrote above in a comment! Hope this helps!

      When he first gets up wait 5 mins then turnt he light on and go get him. Do the same thing for naps. Then wait 7 mins and go get him the next day. Then 10 mins the day after that. Soon he will realize. OHHHHH my mommy comes in when the light turns on and that means it’s time to get up. It’s amazing how quick they learn!

  10. We have the Hatch too and love it! My 11 month old still takes 3 naps but is ready to switch to 2. How did you make that switch? Also, where are your adorable black overalls from in your last instagram video?! So cute!!

    1. wow 3 naps at 11 months!!!! I don’t remember. I think it was really easy for us. We just kept him up later before his first nap one day and he seamlessly switch. 2 to 1 naps was much harder.

  11. Thank you so much for posting about sleep struggles and successes with your kids! my 8 month old is going through a sleep regression hard right now aND ITS SO ENCOURAGING TO HEAR ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE EXPERIENCING THE UPS AND DOWNS OF BABY SLEEP AS WELL <3

  12. You have me feeling like a super strict mom, haha! We’ve always required our little one from 4+ months on (now 2 1/2) to be in bed from 7pm – 7am. Sometimes he goes to bed earlier and sometimes he sleeps later.

    We also learned the hard way that an overtired child meant a crappy night sleep.

    Of course there are special occasions and illnesses, but unless we turn his Hatch off or walk into his room, he knows to stay put and rest, even if he’s not sleeping.

    Having those rules made the switch to a toddler bed a breeze. We didn’t see much of a change when switching from one nap to two, but every child is different. Glad that you’ve found something that’s working! 🙂

    1. I don’t think that’s super strict. I think that’s awesome!!!! Molly does the same. She knows she doesn’t come out until 6:30 when the light goes on. Sometimes I will go in earlier and get her (turn light on from phone app). Like this morning she woke up at 6am and I was just getting Riley out of bed and already upstairs so I just got her too. Riley is still learning

  13. Wow, what a timely post! My little boy just turned one and is fighting his second nap so I’ve been wondering if it is time to make thE transition tO one nap- but I’ve felt a bit overwhelmed as I really need those Naptimes to get stuff done and have a bit of time to mYself. This waS super helpful!
    One question- when do you do lunchtime then? Seems like the mid day nap would Run into lunch and my little one always tInds me (to the minute) when it’s mealtime! Haha

    Thanks again for this, love your blog! xx

    1. We do lunch an hour before nap time and then a big snack when he wakes up. And I find I get MORE done now that he is doing one nap. Because I’m not sitting next to the monitor stressing because he cries for 30 mins (like he was doing when he was fighting the two naps). And he took two 1 hour 15 minutes naps and now he taps one 2-3 hour nap! So I find I have MORE time. It’s great!

  14. I just purchased the Hatch Baby Rest Light and hope it works! Our (soon to be 3 year old) toddler wakes up anywhere from 5am-7am and this mama is tired. Hopefully 3 years isn’t too late… We will see!

    1. I hope so too! I think you’ll love it! Give it time. And make it fun! We tell molly that the fairies turn the light on and off! She loves it!

  15. Any time I hear about a baby sleeping 15 hours a day, I feel like someone has TOLD me that they’ve seen a unicorn. I. Cannot. Imagine! My kids never ever slept more than 12 hours a day and now one sleeps 10 (he is 8) and one sleeps 11 (He is 3). I can’t even imagine what I would have accomplished over the past 8 years if I had ever had a 15 hour a day sleeper. I am soooo jealous!!!

  16. Please correct me if I am wrong, but to me it seems the later you put him down the later they will sleep? My kids are grown so this has been a long time for me, but just like us adults the later we go to bed the later we sleep? It makes sense in my mind but this is just my thought!

    1. Yes, this worked For me For my own three kidS and workS For some of my grands. When i watch my two little GRANDSONS, ages 4 and 6, i keEp them up a little later to get the later wake up time. 4 year old tends to talk and play in his bed For a gooD hour after laYing Down but 6 year old literally Falls asleep the minUte his heaD hits The pillow. All kidS are so DIFFERENT wIth how mich sleep they require and when they sleep and how they Go to Sleep!

    2. This typically isn’t true, though it may work for some it does not work for most. If you push a babies nap or bedtime out too much they can become overtired. When they’re overtired it activates a stress response and they produce and release more cortisol, which keeps them awake (and leads to them fighting sleep). It’s helpful to understand the science of sleep, especially in regards to little ones.

      1. Whats funny to me is with Some of my grandkids, on mornings they have to get up early so their parents can get them to school/dayCare to Go to work, they sometimes have to be woken Up, but on the weekends, when they can sleep as late as they want, they are up Early, why is that?? Haha. Kids. I Will say, though, Ive noticed that the ones getting into the ages oF 10, 11, or so, are starting to sleep late on weekends when they can. So there is hope For you parents who are up at the Crack of dawn now!

  17. Daycare transitions the kids from napping on demand (whenever they want) in the baby room to 1 nap once they turn 1 and move to 1 yr old room. So it was kind of rough for a couple weeks but she adapted quickly. Shes 3 now and naps 1x a day for about 2.5 hours. We thought for a while she was trying to drop her nap but tried it and she was very overtired. Got her back on track and sticking w the 1 nap!

    1. That’s great!!! I hope the 1 nap continues to work really well for you!! No one wants an overtired little!

  18. Omg i use the hatch baby rest for my 10 month daughter. We have been using it since she was born. I am so grateful for the sound machiNe

  19. Great Blog! How did you traIn riley on the light? I Don’t think my 15 months Old would understanD thaT.

    1. Copying and pasting what I wrote above in a comment! xoxo

      When he first gets up wait 5 mins then turn the light on and go get him. Do the same thing for naps. Then wait 7 mins and go get him the next day. Then 10 mins the day after that. Soon he will realize. OHHHHH my mommy comes in when the light turns on and that means it’s time to get up. It’s amazing how quick they learn!

  20. My guy is 15 months old and has been transitioning to one nap for about a month. We are typically on a schedule of 6/6:30am wake, 11:30-1:30pm nap, 6:30/7pm bedtime. We’ve had some 5:30am days, or some short hour long naps where he wakes up so grumpy. Making bedtime earlier is always the key! This age is way too hard to have a super long wake time to bed. And it feels like an extreme sport trying to catch them before they become overtired lol.
    I wish you (and me and all the other mamas) continued luck in your transition! Here’s to more later morning wake ups! Cheers!

    1. Cheers! That sounds similar to our schedule with Riley as well! I can only hope that we eventually get him to 6:30 wakeups like Molly. That would be the dream!

  21. Love reading your posts! I have a 9 month old aNd loVe that you are ahead of me so i can use all your tricks and get your advice, haha! You have a beautiful family! God bless!

  22. Hi Ali!
    My little man is 13 months and will be making the 2 to 1 nap switch soon! What do you do about breakfast and lunch times? It seem like breakfast and lunch would have to be so close together? Do you do lunch before the nap and then a snack after? What are your meal times?
    Thanks!

  23. I love your blog! So relatable. I wish we were neighbors because I think we parent very similar. 😉 How did you transition Molly out of a sleep sack? My almost 2 year old still uses one.

  24. We aren’t sure what to do with our baby girl. She will be one in just a couple days. On weekends with my husband and me, she fights naps and we can usually only get her to nap once. On most days when she is with my mom who watches her she apparently goes down for both no problem. It’s so hard having to work full time 🙁 we do have the hatch and are starting to use the color wake up based on your blog!

  25. My daughter is 21 months old and sometimes she still takes her second nap! 🤦🏻‍♀️ I usually just go with the flow bc our second one is 9 months so sometimes it’s a much needed break!! Thank you for the great tips.

    Also, side note – I’ve been following you for some time, but I just subscribed to your blog last week and I don’t think the notifications are working for me! 🤷🏻‍♀️

  26. Hi Ali, how did you teach them about what the colors mean and it’s okay to get up? My 2 year old uses a hatch and I have it turn green when it’s okay to wake up but he gets up before the light and screams for us. I have it on red at night, maybe take off any color during sleep time?

  27. Going through this transition now and felt very encouraged reading this! Out of curiosity, why did you initially put Riley down at 12, then move back to 11? My 14.5 month old is only sleeping an hour and a half for his only nap so I’m trying to figure out the best time to put him down.

  28. Such a helpful post as I have a 13 month old and I’m starting the transition now! If Riley goes down at 11am for his nap, what time do you feed him lunch? Thank you!!

  29. Hi Ali!
    Thanks for sharing, this is really helpful and we’re going through the same thing! 4:45am wake ups are tough. I’d like to put my little guy down for a nap around 11, but I’m curious when to feed him lunch. He currently eats at 11:30 so I’m trying to decide if I should feed him before or after the nap then. What do you do??

  30. Hey Ali! I love your blog! I have been following for a couple of years now! I’m just wondering.. why don’t you want your kids to sleep until at least 7? I can’t imagine waking up that early with my child to start the day!

  31. I knew remembering this blog would help me
    Someday! We are transitioning to one nap too and dealing with some early wakes ups. He used to sleep until 7:30 now it’s 5:30 or 6. When Riley naps from 11-1:45, when does he have lunch? My babe will only sleep an hour forty five and I’m thinking maybe he wakes up hungry? I’ve been trying to feed him a lot before. Thank you Ali!!

  32. Hi there,
    I know this post is from a. While ago but did Riley ever start waking at 6am again after this? How long did I take for him to get past the early wakings and what was his schedule like after they stopped? (If they did)

    Thanks!

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