Question
I need sleep advice, please! My 16-month-old son won't nap more than 40 minutes. He is doing one nap a day at 11:30. It is rare that he sleeps more than 1.5 hours. Usually 30 min. There is nothing new going on, no changes. I was hoping that as he got older he would mature, and he would sleep better, but it not happening and I'm getting desperate. I have blackout and white noise. Most of the time he sleeps the night. Help!
Answer
First, breathe. The good news is that he is sleeping through the night. Also according to Weissbluth, the man that has dedicated his career to sleep, 45 minutes is a good amount for a nap, so hurrah. But, statistically he is too young to lose his morning nap, so let's help him with that. He needs to go outside and play and move in the sun in the morning when he wakes up or near the time he gets up. He should be going down for a morning nap around 9:30-10, so for the next few days bring back that 11:30 by 15 minute increments until you get to around 10. The afternoon nap needs to be between 12:30-3 so push that one after lunch, again in 15 minute increments. When he has a bad day of sleeping, bring up his bedtime routine by 15 minutes. Key tool here is 15 minutes. Even if he doesn't sleep, place him in the dark room at those times until his body/sleep patterns readjust. If he is vocalizing or speaking a lot that may be the culprit.