Naps

It sounds like she is pretty much ready for one nap a day. In order to avoid her being cranky and to make sure she is getting enough sleep recommended by dr's, I would try to schedule a nap. If she is sleeping from 8-8, I would suggest a nap about 1:00pm. If you are out running around and are busy this could always vary a bit. This will make it so your evenings together will be nice, and it will also give you a chance to do what you need to do while she is napping. Sleep is important for children her age and if she gets the right amount of sleep it will make her awake time more enjoyable.

I think one nap at 14 months sounds about right. Also, I love having a scheduled time. The regularity seems to make it easier. For my girls after lunch, they lie down, that is the schedule. Now, that is not saying somedays aren't off, but for the most part, we stick to a schedule and that has worked for us. Good luck, ultimately you are the Mom, that means you get to follow your gut to do what works best for you and Alexis!!!!

Also, keep asking questions! I find that a lot of what people ask is a question I've wondered about too!

Lovemy4 is a discussion leader for North Central Phoenix, tired mother of 4 great kids and wife to one great husband.

I have been told that around a year, most kids convert to the one nap a day. Of course, things can interfere with that, like illness, etc. not allowing her to get enough sleep at night. The one year old room at my daughter's daycare has a set nap time, one time a day.

My daughter (almost 11 mo) is almost changed over to the one nap a day (most days), sometimes she doesn't quite make it.

The one nap will definately benefit you. One nap at a set time is easier to schedule around than two that might be at not the exact time each day. Then you can make sure you are not out running errands during nap time and avoid those little cat naps in the car that can really get a child off schedule. It will work best for both of you.

A set nap time is great for daughter and mom! Our son would take a nap around 1 p.m. and I knew I could take a bit of a break then. In the summer, especially, we'd get out early and go to the zoo or library and after lunch our son was definitely ready for his nap. If we did one major activity in the morning, we were fine staying indoors in the afternoon.

Patricia is a discussion leader for arizonamoms.com. She and her husband live in Phoenix and are raising a 4-year-old son they adopted as an infant.

I have a 15 month old. Two months ago we switched from 2 naps a day at 9am and 1pm, to one nap a day at noon.

Impetus was that at daycare they moved her to once a day.

I've found that some days just one nap works. Other days, she still needs two naps. I think your LO is probably at the same stage -- sometimes one nap, sometimes two. Depending on how well your LO slept the night before, how many activities you have going on in the morning, and so on.

You are thinking about it, so you are doing a great job!

My son switched from 2 naps to 1 at 18 months(but is SO active). From your description, sounds like she is ready for 1 nap a day and scheduling it will be a comfort to her and you. As you know from her scheduled bedtime, children thrive with structure and it helps to eliminate crankiness because they know what to expect next. My son goes to bed at 8, gets up at 6am and then naps from 11:30-2:30, sometimes later. Your little one would probably do well to nap for a couple hours at 12:30 or 1pm, just after lunch. Never worry about having too many questions!