How to switch to 1 nap. Switching to one nap. When to transfer a child to one daytime sleep - a case with twins

One of the most common topics in my individual consultations when improving a child’s sleep is the establishment of a daily routine.

Most often, problems begin when there is a transition to one daytime sleep. The child at this time becomes overly sensitive, capricious. Mom is worried that the crisis of one year has crept up, she is trying to put her to bed, as before, for 2 sleeps, and the child is yelling. He does not want to sleep and a real war begins.

Therefore, today is an educational program about one daytime sleep. Write your questions in the comments, I will answer.

Statistics of daytime sleep in children of the first year of life

Let's agree right away - a child needs daytime sleep. This is a very important element if you want your child to have an even mood and a good appetite.

Sleep during the day helps the baby to relax, calm down after stormy impressions.

During the first year of life, your child will steadily reduce the number of daytime naps. Compare table data:

Evasion from the fourth and third quiet hours, most likely, will pass smoothly and imperceptibly, but the transition to 1 daytime sleep may be complicated by some difficulties.

Among them:

age characteristics of the child (there is a good article on this topic on the site: Child development by months to a year >>>);
lack of a stable daily routine;
stressful situation in the family.

Important information! According to statistics, 80% of babies switch to one daytime sleep from 15 to 18 months. The remaining 20% a little earlier - from a year to 14 months.

Signs your baby is ready for one nap

You can transfer the baby to one daytime sleep when he is ready for this. Each child is individual and only you can determine by watching him whether one quiet hour is enough for him.

For example, your friend's baby went to 10 - 11 months to sleep for one daytime sleep, and yours - after a year. Many variations can be counted.

The process of transition to 1 dream also proceeds differently for everyone. One child changes dramatically, but for most children, the transition is delayed up to several months. All of these are variants of the norm.

The most common signs of readiness to switch to 1 dream:

the age of the child is from 15 to 18 months;
sleeps within 10 - 12 hours at night;
the first rest is too short or, conversely, long;
the first dream is good, the second one is difficult to put down (read the article: The child wants to sleep, but cannot fall asleep >>>);
the baby refuses the first quiet hour and feels great;
the baby sleeps well twice a day, but wakes up earlier and earlier in the morning;
hard to put to bed at night (read the article on the topic: What time to put the child to bed?>>.).

If you have one or more indicators at once, then it's time to think about how to transfer the baby to one dream, without complications.

When the child is 10 - 11 months old, he can show the first signals of readiness. Do not immediately go for it and change the mode.

Wait.

Usually a child can last up to 14 months on two dreams.

How to transfer a child to 1 dream?

When you realize that the child is ripe for the transition, begin to smoothly shift the first dream closer to dinner with a daily interval of 30 minutes;
Your task: to achieve laying down in the period from 12.30 to 13.00 and to achieve the duration of the baby's rest 2 - 2.5 hours;

Know! Children who are able, without whims, to stay awake for 5 - 6 hours are considered ready for one rest during the day.

When a child transitions to one nap for a long time and is difficult, it is important for you to remember that at first he can sleep once or twice. Thus, the baby adapts to the new regimen.

Watching the baby, try not to overwork;
Pay special attention to quality sleep at night;
Work on evening rituals for falling asleep faster (useful article: Rituals before bed >>>);

For more details about the intricacies of the children's daily regimen, how best to build a child's day regimen, how to achieve a peaceful night's sleep, without awakening, see the online course How to improve a child's sleep: we learn to fall asleep and sleep without breasts, nocturnal awakenings and motion sickness >>>.

More than 1000 moms have taken this course and have been able to enjoy the peace of mind during the night! Click on the link to get information and join them!

Put the baby to bed no later than 21.00 hours. As you know, resting before 12 o'clock at night is most effective. Such a tactic perfectly restores the body's strength and the child will be joyful and active the next day.

The quality and quantity of night and daytime sleep is also influenced by age-related features:

Your one-year-old baby learns to walk, learns the world on his own;
The nervous system is in a state of excitement from emotional upheavals;
A similar state characterizes the crisis of the first year.

Consider these moments and try to spend more time in a quiet environment, peaceful activities.

A successful methodology for transitioning to one daytime nap time will depend on the following circumstances:

what kind of sleep does the baby avoid: the first or the second;
What time does he fall asleep at night?
will you be able to lay it earlier;
How long can he stay awake without fatigue?

If for some reason you want to accustom your baby to one daytime sleep before the due date, then at first everything may turn out well. But then you will notice that the child has become more capricious and irritable.

This shows that one rest is not enough for him.

Take your time, let the nervous system mature, and come back for two afternoon naps.

The most difficult transition to one daytime sleep occurs in children who do not have a clear daily routine and do not understand boundaries.

If you find it difficult to negotiate with the child;
Every laydown turns into a battlefield;
Are you tired of being disobedient child

In practice, it often happens that children themselves begin to refuse two naps. If you notice this trend, help your baby organize the routine correctly.

Your main goal is to be able to capture the moment, adjust the time of night and daytime falling asleep, and also make the transition as easy and painless as possible. Follow the advice, ask questions and you will succeed!

The transition to one daytime sleep is an important event in the second year of a child's life. It is associated with the objective maturation of the baby, which entails another change of regime at about one year. In addition, when a child switches to 1 daytime sleep, this is a turning point in his life and the life of his parents, since after the transition a single regimen will be established for all preschool childhood. Also here, no less important is the question: when should the child be transferred to one daytime sleep? In this article, we will consider the cases for one child and for twins, as they are slightly different.

First of all, let's find out how the transition to one daytime sleep is made, and what difficulties may arise here. Again, we take the case of twins, as the most difficult, but let's start with 1 child.

When a child switches to 1 daytime sleep, the child's regimen changes at 1 year

The closer to one year of the baby, the more often the question arises in the minds of parents - when the child switches to 1 daytime sleep
? The answer is simple - about one year of a child's life. Maybe a little later, maybe earlier. It happens that children stop sleeping twice a day and at an earlier age, but this is often associated with psychological problems, or the lack of a clear regimen.

The transition to 1 daytime sleep is another change in the child's regimen, which in the first year of life changed every three months. Only, unlike the entire first year of life, the regimen of a child at 1 year old changes for the last time. If it is established, then it will last all preschool childhood, and will be smoothly canceled when the children stop sleeping during the day. This can happen between 5 and 7 years old. Therefore, if the transition to one daytime sleep took place in the “regular” mode, then before school you can “sleep” calmly. And then the school will remove sleep even from those children who hold on to it tightly.

We hope that we have answered the question of when a child switches to 1 daytime sleep, and why this moment is important.

When to transfer a child to one daytime sleep - signs and how to understand that it's time

If with twins or one child you adhered to a certain regimen throughout the first year, then by the beginning of the second year, your babies sleep twice during the day. You understand that there is a transition to one dream ahead. Then the questions become relevant - when should the child be transferred to one daytime sleep, and what are the signs that it is time?

In the presence of the regime, most often, the first daytime sleep occurs around 10 - 10.30 in the morning, sometimes 11. And the second around 16 - 16.30. The time here is rather arbitrary, we already wrote in the article the regimen for a newborn child by the hour, how you should treat the schedule scheduled by the clock. So options are possible. And most often in the direction of a later time. Since few of the one-year-old children, getting up at 6 - 7 in the morning, want to sleep at 9 o'clock in the morning.

A sure sign when a child is transferred to one daytime sleep will be the following. One day you will begin to notice that at the usual time for sleep, the baby does not want to go to bed and is clearly inclined to take a walk. Therefore, it will be easier to lay it a little later than the deadline set earlier. Here again, it is worth carefully observing what happens when you shift the first dream. If the child walked for half an hour longer, and then fell asleep without any whims, it means that he is already ready to walk in the morning more than before. This may well be, as children grow up, and after a year they develop rapidly in the physical plane.

When the child switches to 1 daytime sleep, it is also worth carefully monitoring the second dream. If the baby refuses to sleep at the time when he slept before, but wants to go to bed later, it is also worth dragging. You can take a walk with him in a stroller at this time: he will fall asleep - it’s good, no - it’s okay, he will leave earlier at night. And again, if possible, for a normal transition to one daytime sleep, you can reduce the second dream: you slept for half an hour, 40 minutes, and that's enough. Time to wake up.

Now let's watch the video. Where mom tells all the same about switching to one daytime sleep. It gives advice and shares experience when a child is transferred to one daytime sleep and tells what are the signs for this.

Switching to one daytime sleep - set the mode

When you understand that the child is ready to switch to one daytime sleep, a new regimen will be required. If the child began to fall asleep later in the morning sleep, does not want to sleep a second time, then you need to build a new regimen after 1 year so that sleep starts around 12 - 12.30. Up to a year and a half is the best option.

The baby is now sleeping at home, in the crib, as he walks actively on the street: as soon as the child has gone, there is a reason to start exploring the playgrounds, combining them with strolls. This switch to 1 nap will result in a sleep duration of about 2 to 3 hours. However, its amount depends on many reasons, including the temperament of the child. We do not take cases when teeth are cut, illness, etc. It’s not even worth talking about it, if only everything would fall into place as soon as possible.

After sleep, it is better to feed the child, and go for a walk with him. The so-called evening promenade. You will have this walk so far in the early evening. At 16 - 16.30. Or maybe even earlier. You can, of course, build it like this: woke up, fed, played at home, and then went for a walk. This option of switching to one afternoon nap is good when you are just giving up a second nap. In this case, vigorous activity will be combined with a walk in a wheelchair, where you can sleep in case of emergency. When you realize that everything, evening sleep is no longer needed, then it is better to walk immediately after sleep. And in the evening, gradually move on to calm games at home. The baby will go to bed around 20 - 20.30.

When the child switches to 1 daytime sleep - preparation for kindergarten

When a child switches to 1 daytime sleep, he can already be prepared for kindergarten and normal preschool life. And do it better in accordance with the realities of our life. Therefore, closer to one and a half years, when the child gets stronger, it is advisable to shift daytime sleep to 13 hours. This is the so-called kindergarten mode, where the quiet hour takes place from 13 to 15. If the child gets used to it, then it will be easier for him to adapt in the kindergarten.

At the same time, in order to make it easier for the baby to fall asleep, it would be good to actively walk before going to bed, dumping your energy. It turns out that you will have a walk twice a day. This is important for a normal transition to 1 daytime sleep, since the more the child is on the street, the stronger he develops physically. Of course, there will be big adjustments with the weather: people walk less in winter, no one has canceled natural disasters and so on.

Switching to one nap - the case of twins / twins

So, we touch on the sentimental topic with the twins. As a matter of fact,
the transition to one daytime sleep in twins is the same here as with one child. And everything would be fine, if not for one big BUT ...

Twins often develop differently. And here is a banal situation for you, which is familiar to most mothers of twins: one is ready to switch to 1 daytime sleep, while actively ready. And the second is not - he has not yet matured, or just a natural "sleepy". And what to do in this situation? Let's figure out how to transfer a child to one daytime sleep.

Of course, different regimes for two children is a great difficulty for parents. Especially when, after six months, with the introduction of complementary foods, it finally became possible to do things at the same time with two children. So is it worth creating it yourself? Or is it better to get by with little blood, but keep the regime the same?

Very often, parents of twins make a big mistake: they start to push off from the one who is weaker. That is, when a child switches to 1 daytime sleep, they are guided by it. They begin to proceed from the needs of Sony. And snatch the first one, which is already “ripe” for one dream. In the end, what do we get? "Sonya" fell asleep, and the second one is perfectly awake. If he is ready, then another hour may go by. And so he fell asleep an hour later, and the one who fell asleep, take it and wake up.

If a child has two sleeps, then at this age he sleeps, as a rule, from an hour to an hour and a half. It turns out two short dreams, and after each dream - that's it, he woke up. The child is full of strength and energy, not averse to eating and playing. And from his games, the second one who fell asleep later can also wake up. Then the second, the one that has long been ready for the transition to one daytime sleep, will not get enough sleep and capricious. Everyone's day will definitely be ruined.

When to transfer a child to one daytime sleep - a case with twins

To avoid unpleasant moments with the transition to one daytime sleep with twins, it is worth considering the following: almost all children after 1 year are ready to switch to one dream. And we slow them down, most often, we, the parents. For fear of harm. As a result, “We wanted the best, but it turned out as always.”

Therefore, in the case of twins, they are also twins, when a child is transferred to one daytime sleep, one must start from the needs of someone who is already ready for this transition! And shift the mode of both, first half an hour later, and then an hour. At the same time, "sleepyhead", most likely, will, although more sluggishly, play together with her brother (sister). And after an extra half hour, he will quickly fall asleep. The first, since the dream has shifted, also turns over and falls asleep. You don't need to wake them up. Let them sleep until they wake up.

With an evening sleep, it will turn out as described above: we got up, ate, played, went for a walk. The active part was replaced by a sidecar. And here the “sleepyhead”, if he needs it, can sleep perfectly. Optimal 40 minutes, reducing them to 30. This will be until the children get used to the new regimen. This takes about a week. And then in the process of switching to one daytime sleep, after another couple of weeks, you can shift the morning dream for another half an hour. Already by 12 o'clock. At the same time, “sleepyhead” can sleep a second time for quite a long time, and at one fine moment she simply refuses to sit in a stroller for a long time and will rush along with her brother (sister).

Switching to one daytime sleep - the result

So, we have covered a rather important point of the final regime change -
switching to one nap for the case with 1 child and for twins. Normal daytime sleep will be established by 1.5 - 2 years. And from a year to a year and a half there will be transitional moments. To say that they happen smoothly - no, not smoothly. There may be whims, and even tantrums from fatigue. But parents in this period should show some firmness, let the kids get used to the new schedule for them, and calmly move forward.

And most importantly, for a normal and quick transition to 1 daytime sleep, you need to walk with your children as much as possible, let them dump their ebullient energy, competently alternate active and calm games and adhere to a clear daily routine. Then many problems will be solved quite simply. This applies to one child, and even more so, twins.

For normal growth and development, the child needs proper rest. But if newborns sleep up to 20 hours a day, then as the baby grows older, the intervals between periods of sleep gradually increase. At this time, the child learns the world around, learns to roll over, sit, crawl, etc. By the year, the duration of his daytime sleep is reduced to 2-4 hours and he usually rests once or twice at lunchtime. Gradually, children refuse from such a regimen and sleep only once. About when a child switches to one daytime sleep and how to make it happen as smoothly as possible, we will tell our article. Here we present the opinion of the famous pediatrician Komarovsky about this stage in the development of the baby.

Good rest is one of the criteria of health. If the norm of sleep is observed, the mental abilities of the child and concentration of attention increase, metabolic processes improve, and his psycho-emotional state stabilizes. For each age group, a certain number of hours of rest per day is “allocated”. The following sleep norms should serve as a guideline for parents:

baby - 20-22 hours;
3-5 months - 15-17 hours;
5-8 months - 14-16 hours;
5-12 months - 13-14 hours;
12-18 months - 12-13 hours;
18-36 months - 11-12 hours.

The number of hours in this case is the total spent on daytime and nighttime sleep. But you need to understand that if a newborn baby can sleep up to 8 times a day during the day, then a three-year-old baby can sleep only once.

A more stable rest schedule is developed by about 1.5 years. Daytime after 18 months is 1-2 hours. The baby sleeps, with rare exceptions, 1 time. The rest of the time is spent on being awake and exploring the world around you.

Even if children "fit" into the number of hours established by the norms at night, this does not mean at all that they do not need a good rest during the day. Just the opposite. Daytime sleep has the following benefits for a growing child's body:

helps to strengthen the nervous system;
increases the concentration of attention and susceptibility to new information by 30-50%;
energizes and energizes;
makes up for the lack of night rest;
reduces the risk of developing heart and vascular diseases, heart attacks and strokes;
reduces nervous tension, increased excitability;
improves mental and emotional state;
improves mood and levels of serotonin (hormone of joy);
promotes the production of growth hormone, which is especially important for babies;
avoids emotional overload and excessive fatigue.

Studies have shown that children who do not sleep during the day are more likely to get sick than their peers. So, in addition to all of the above, daytime sleep helps to strengthen the child's immunity. That is why parents need to make every effort to keep it as long as possible.

When do kids switch to one nap?

Each baby is an individual. He has his own character, his own schedule of teething, growth and development. That is why it is impossible to say exactly when a child switches to one daytime sleep. Each baby has its own wakefulness regimen and its own needs for rest. The task of parents is to identify in time the readiness of the crumbs to move from two daytime sleep to one and help him adapt more easily to this stage of his development.

As a rule, the first signs of the transition can be observed at the age of 10-11 months. At this time, events can develop as follows:

The baby refuses morning sleep, but sleeps well in the afternoon.
The child has a long rest in the morning, but refuses to sleep in the evening.
The baby sleeps well for the first and second time, but after a night's sleep he wakes up earlier and earlier every day.

If parents have noticed one of these signs, they need to gradually reduce the duration of daytime rest. The most favorable age for the transition to 1 dream is 1 year and 3-4 months. At this time, the child can easily withstand 5-6 hours of wakefulness.

What is the danger of an early transition to one daytime sleep?

Some babies refuse to sleep during the day as early as 9 months. And sometimes parents independently choose the time when to switch to 1 daytime sleep so that the baby falls asleep earlier in the evening. In fact, there is no need to rush anywhere, as this can negatively affect the well-being of the crumbs. Lack of rest for the baby is fraught with the accumulation of fatigue, which manifests itself in the form of whims, tantrums and increased irritability. There are frequent cases when a child begins to wake up at night, becomes lethargic, apathetic, his health worsens, immunity decreases.

Many children aged 1-1.5 years are not yet physically ready for the transition to 1 sleep. In this case, it is better to postpone this event for at least a few months.

As the child's regimen changes, care must be taken to ensure that he does not accumulate fatigue. In this case, consistency and patience are important. When changing the regimen, psychologists recommend that parents be guided by the following principles:

You should not switch to one daytime sleep when the child has not yet reached the age of 1 year. Preferably up to 18 months. The longer the baby sleeps twice during the day, the easier the transition to 1 full rest will be and the less likely it is to accumulate hyper-fatigue.
You should not try to replace 2 dreams with 1 in just one time. It is possible that for the first few days everything will go according to plan, and then, as fatigue accumulates, the new regimen will begin to go astray, and it will not be easy to establish it again.
There is no need to be afraid to put the child to bed too early, at 7 and even at 6 pm. If the child does not get enough daytime sleep, he needs to somehow compensate for the hours of rest. Otherwise, fatigue will begin to accumulate.

How to painlessly switch to one nap during the day?

In order for the change of regimen to be painless for the child, it is necessary to adhere to the following recommendations:

If parents notice the first signs that the baby is switching to one daytime sleep, when he refuses morning or evening rest, you should gradually reduce the time of one of them by a few minutes.
Put the baby to sleep only on a full stomach. Then his rest will be longer.
Do not force the child to sleep a second time if he refuses a second sleep.
If the child begins to act up in the evening, the transition to one dream should be postponed for a month. This will avoid the accumulation of fatigue, which can negatively affect the psycho-emotional state of the baby.
Putting the child to bed at night should be no later than 9 pm.
The child's sleep at night should be full, lasting at least 10 hours.
By the age of three, a baby's daytime sleep should be 1.5-2 hours. If the duration of rest is insufficient, you can compensate for this by earlier laying.

When does daytime napping occur?

After three years, the child should rest at least 11-12 hours a day. Usually at this time, his daytime sleep lasts 1-2 hours, and night - 9-11 hours. After 5 years, kids often refuse to rest at all during the day and easily endure these passes physically and emotionally. But in some cases, daytime sleep is still necessary, especially when overtired. It all depends on when you wake up in the morning and when you go to bed at night. The total number of hours of rest at this age is 10-12 hours.

The opinion of Dr. Komarovsky

Usually the baby sleeps well at night, if he managed to fully relax during the day. And for this you need to properly plan your daytime sleep. If a child refuses to go to bed during the day at the age of two, this is not the norm. In this case, you need to make adjustments to the mode of rest and wakefulness.

As for the question of when to switch to one daytime sleep, Dr. Komarovsky does not give a definite answer. He believes that it all depends on the individual needs of the child. But one thing is clear: both night and daytime rest must be of high quality and meet the established daily norms.

In order for the baby to sleep well, he needs sufficient physical activity. And it is desirable to provide it in the morning. It is necessary to provide conditions under which the child would have the opportunity to walk, run and jump. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure that he does not overwork and is not overexcited in the evening. Closer to going to bed, you should offer your child quiet games, massage, read books. This will help to avoid the accumulation of fatigue during the period when the child moves to one daytime sleep.

To provide the baby with a good rest will allow strict adherence to the daily routine. Go to bed during the day and in the evening should be at the same time. In addition, it is recommended to follow a certain sequence of actions preceding that event. For example, it can be water procedures, reading your favorite fairy tale, that is, something that will calm the baby and set him up for a healthy sleep. A calm baby will sleep well all night long. This is also important for its harmonious growth and development.

In order for the baby to fully rest for the number of hours established by the norms, parents should make every effort:

ensure sufficient daily walks in the fresh air;
maintain the air temperature in the room at 20 °;
air humidity - at the level of 50-70%;
good nutrition (no overfeeding);
comfortable bed and pajamas.

Compliance with these conditions will allow the child to have a full day's rest until at least the age of five.

It can be summarized that the age when a child switches to one daytime sleep varies from 1 to 1.5 years. Moreover, the longer the baby sleeps twice a day, the better his psycho-emotional state will be.

Today, many people experience serious health problems due to chronic lack of sleep. And many of us remember our childhood with nostalgia, when we could sleep all the way. But, as practice shows, putting a child to daytime sleep is not so easy. All children have a period of active protest against such a holiday. And adults themselves do not mind taking a nap for an hour or two after dinner. Let's talk about who needs daytime sleep, can there be any benefit or harm from such a rest? In addition, we will answer the question of when the child switches to one daytime sleep and tell you how to transfer the baby to a new regimen.

Benefits of daytime sleep

Daytime sleep has a positive effect on the activity of the human brain. A small rest during daylight hours increases brain activity by an order of magnitude, restores metabolic processes, improves the ability to memorize, and also adds activity and attentiveness. After sleeping during the day, you will improve the body's ability to perceive, process and assimilate new information. Thus, such rest is important for people who are engaged in intellectual activities. And many doctors advise him to patients who have.

If we talk about other organs and systems, then daytime sleep has a positive effect on the functioning of the cardiovascular system. It reduces the likelihood of developing cardiovascular ailments, optimizes the activity of the heart and the entire circulatory system. A similar effect is explained by the natural decrease in stress hormones in the blood during the afternoon rest, namely, these substances often become an indirect cause of strokes and heart attacks. Among other things, during daytime sleep, the blood circulation process improves, so that cells, tissues and organs receive the necessary nutrients in sufficient quantities (including oxygen).

According to experts, only thirty minutes of daytime sleep can improve performance by an order of magnitude, eliminate lethargy, drowsiness and fatigue. And for the fair sex, such a rest will help to avoid premature wrinkles, puffiness and bags under the eyes.

Benefits of naps for kids

Daytime sleep has a positive effect on the state of the nervous system of the baby and does not allow him to overwork. In addition, such a rest stimulates the development of the child, helps him navigate in time (subject to a clear daily routine).

Do not think that early refusal of daytime sleep will help the child fall asleep early in the evening. On the contrary, severe fatigue can cause overexcitation, and it will be very difficult to put the baby in the crib.

Over time, the child's need for sleep decreases. One-year-olds usually sleep twice during the day - about an hour and a half. And at the age of one and a half years, babies switch to one daytime sleep, which normally lasts more than an hour.

Harm of daytime sleep

If you suffer from insomnia, then trying to sleep during the day can greatly harm your night's rest. With already existing sleep disorders, daytime sleep can bring down the work of the body and the balance of internal biorhythms.

Also, do not sleep off after dinner for those who often suffer from fluctuations in blood pressure and are prone to developing diabetes. Of course, too long sleep can also harm - daytime rest should last no longer than an hour and a half, and its most optimal duration for an adult is half an hour or an hour.

In childhood, daytime sleep can be harmful if it is excessively long, especially in babies of the first year of life, who may well confuse day with night. Therefore, with a particularly long sleep, it is quite possible to wake the child, but gently, for example, by organizing the next breastfeeding.

Also, sleep not on schedule can also harm, because constant fluctuations in the regimen prevent the body from adapting normally to the time of wakefulness and rest. Therefore, parents need to be puzzled by the organization of the daily routine and stick to it.

How to transfer a child to one daytime sleep? When does it move?

The transition from two naps to one is a rather difficult stage in life for both the baby and his parents. This period can last for weeks, and sometimes for months. Most often, the child begins to sleep once during the day between the ages of fifteen and eighteen months.

There are two options for switching to one daytime sleep: sharp and smooth. In the first case, parents decide to change the regimen one day, transferring the child to one dream at the right time. With a smooth transition, there is a daily shift of morning sleep for a small interval with a parallel shift and a decrease in the second dream. After the first sleep reaches the desired duration, the second sleep is abandoned.
When choosing any transition option, it is extremely important to put the child to bed at night not too late in order to prevent overwork.

If the baby sleeps for several days in a row once, and then again fits twice, most likely, he is simply not yet ready to switch to one daytime sleep. Please wait a bit and then try again.

Folk recipes

In the event that the desire to take a nap during the day is explained by constant excessive fatigue, traditional medicine will help to cope with such a symptom. So an excellent effect gives the use of ginger tincture. To prepare it, grind one hundred and fifty grams of the root of this plant and fill it with eight hundred milliliters of vodka. After one week of infusion, strain the medicine and take it in a teaspoon twice a day (in the morning).

Another wonderful tonic effect is given by taking medicine from garlic and lemons. Peel and mince the garlic to a pulp. Combine one hundred grams of such raw materials with juice squeezed from six lemons. Mix the ingredients well, pour them into a glass jar and tie the neck with gauze. Store the medicine in the refrigerator and take it in a teaspoon three times a day, diluting it in a glass of water. Be sure to shake the mixture before taking.

The human body is a truly amazing thing: everything in it is interconnected and nothing in it happens “just like that”. There are many important roles for baby naps that moms need to be aware of in order to make their baby's rest a priority when organizing a day's schedule.

During the first morning sleep, children learn actively - they memorize new skills, words, phenomena, and after such a dream they show much better results in reproducing what they were taught before going to bed. This fact is described in many studies of children's sleep and that is why it is important to provide children with morning sleep for as long as possible - so they literally become smarter! Babies in the first year and a half absorb such a flow of information that we simply have to give them the opportunity to get the most out of it and adequate sleep, here it is much more useful than going to a developmental circle (or better if they were both: first a circle, then a dream).

Lunch naps allow babies to grow and develop physically. During this period (and only in a dream!) Growth hormone is released, which not only helps the baby grow taller and bigger, but also actively participates in the processes of tissue regeneration. Remember how a baby gets sleepy when it's sick? One of the reasons is the need to increase the production of just this hormone and, thus, help the baby recover faster.

Organization of daytime sleep

Daytime sleep is a fragile and very dependent process, especially if you are just starting to work on good sleep skills. To help your baby fall asleep faster and sleep longer, it's important that you put him to bed in the darkest setting possible (as close to night as possible). No, the baby will not learn to sleep in the dark during the day - this is a physiological need, remember yourself - where is it more comfortable for you to sleep during the day: in a darkened room or in the bright light of day?

The sound background in the sleeping room should be even. No need to strive for silence - any sudden burst of sound will sound much brighter in it (a phone call, children on the site under the window, an ambulance siren on the highway). Ideally you can use white noise.

Physiology of daytime sleep

Daytime sleep is controlled by a different part of the brain than nighttime, and serves more for the emotional recovery of the baby. Daytime dreams are finally formed and mature much later than at night. Therefore, in an infant up to 4 months (from PDR), you can see a rather chaotic sleep duration - both 20 minutes and 2 hours. This is normal and in most cases does not require intervention. The main thing is that a certain balance is maintained and, as a result, the baby sleeps approximately equally long and short dreams during the day.

The duration of one sleep cycle in children is shorter than in adults. Our cycle lasts from 90 to 120 minutes, and for babies from 30 to 50. When the cycle ends, any person wakes up - and if he knows how to fall asleep on his own, he immediately falls asleep again (and by morning there is not even a memory of this) . Toddlers who can't fall asleep after 40 minutes always depend on your help to fall asleep initially, which means they won't be able to fall asleep on their own after waking up between sleep cycles.

How to fix it? Start teaching your baby to fall asleep on their own - no breasts, no balls or pushchairs, no pacifiers, no swings, no swings or any activity that baby can't do for himself without your help.

When to Wake Up Your Baby

Sometimes you really need to wake up the baby, although the hand does not rise to do this. And therefore, you must be sure that the child really needs to be awakened for his own good:

if the baby is less than 8 weeks old (from PDD) and he sleeps more during the day than at night. Wake up every 2 hours and be sure to take it out into the sun - this will help set the internal clock and return the longest sleep at night;
if a baby aged 4-8 months sleeps more than an hour in the third dream after 15-30. Such sleep will provide very little recovery, but will almost certainly mix up the hormonal rhythm of nighttime sleep;
if a child sleeps more than 3 hours in one dream, then it is worth waking up the baby so that the baby’s night sleep does not start too late and comes easier.

How much, when, how?

Every mom at some point wonders if her baby is getting enough sleep during the day? How many times he needs to sleep, and how long at least a minimum period of sleep should last to give the baby at least a little rest.

After 4 months, the minimum sleep should last at least 75 minutes;
By 5 months, most babies are on a 3-nap schedule;
By 8 months, the third dream is gone in 95% of children. This happens literally in 2 days: the baby simply violently protests against laying down and refuses to fall asleep. If by 8 months the baby still has three sound sleeps, then you should carefully evaluate whether the previous two are of sufficient duration;
Between 15 and 18 months, babies give up their second sleep and move on to one;
Between the ages of 3 and 6, daytime naps disappear altogether (and around 25, they come back again, but now we can't afford them).

Switching to one nap

This is one of the most difficult and protracted moments in children's sleep, so the mother must make all decisions regarding the reorganization of the regimen very carefully.

When?

Many children show the first attempts to refuse daytime sleep, starting at 10-12 months, but the actual readiness of the body almost never occurs before 15 months, and ideally it is worth pulling up to 1.5 years.

The child must give up one dream at least 14 times in a row to make a decision to switch to one dream.

How?

If it has become difficult for the baby to fall asleep in one of the dreams, it is important to start pushing the dreams apart. This is perhaps the only stage in which I agree with the avoidance of dreams at 9 and 13.

Limit your morning nap to an hour if you find it difficult to get a second nap later. First of all, protect your lunchtime sleep - if the baby sleeps only in the morning, then until the evening he will accumulate excess fatigue and then the night will be difficult.

Suggest alternating days with one and two naps.

Don't forget to go to bed early in the evening. Switching to one nap is a giant makeover and your baby will need time to adjust.

How much?

For another 2-3 months after switching to one sleep, babies sleep "in the old way" for only 75-90 minutes. And only after a few months, sleep itself lengthens to 2-3 hours. Only then can you return to bed later in the evening.

It takes 4-6 months from the first signs of the transition to the final lengthening of sleep, do not rush this process, and remember that the later you make this transition, the easier it will be for the baby.

It would seem that we are making so much effort to prolong the sleep of the child, what could be contrary to good sleep in this? However, here are a few things to consider:

Prolongation of sleep by breast / rocking / nipple will not give a lasting effect and will solve only today's problems, leaving tomorrow's dreams in the same form as today;
Sleeping on the move greatly reduces the recovery effect of this rest period. Even if your little one slept for 2 hours in a rolling stroller/fitball, you can safely divide that time by 3 to get an idea of the actual effect of that sleep. Remember how well you slept the last time you fell asleep in the car/plane/bus?
Not at any time the baby will sleep with maximum effect. Numerous studies of children's circadian rhythms (internal clock) have shown that the highest quality of sleep is achieved when the baby falls asleep between 8-10 am and 12-14 pm local time;
Even a short nap is better than none at all;
A quality daytime sleep will ensure a more restful bed and a deeper night's sleep.

The nervous system of the child is not able to withstand wakefulness throughout the day, if the emotional and physiological forces of the baby are not restored during daytime sleep, then not only his mood worsens, but also his well-being.