Sleeping FAQ: 9-12 Months – Daytime Sleep

At what age can a 10 month baby drop the morning nap?

My 10mth old baby has started to fight his morning sleep and I would appreciate guidance on what age he can drop it. He currently wakes about 7 – 7.30am and I put him down about 9.45am (I’ve pushed the routine back by 30 minutes). Some days he’ll cry for 10mins and sleep and other days he will not settle unless I rock him to sleep on me. As I want to put him down for his lunchtime sleep about 1pm (to fit in with play group pick up) I haven’t let him go all morning without a sleep yet. Can you please advise what age a baby can go without this sleep? We go on holidays in 6 weeks time and I would like to get him settled into a new pattern (if possible!) before we go. Some days I wake him after 20 minutes and he lasts okay until 1pm.

My son sleeps at 10-10.30am, 1.15-3pm and is settled by 7.30pm.

During the second half of the first year the sleep needs of your baby will change. Along with his increasing mobility he will need slightly less sleep during the day. His naps need to be structured so he drops the morning one when he is able to but, as a result, pushes his lunchtime nap on to 1pm. Have you noticed whether the days he fights his morning nap are those when he woke nearer to 7.30am? If so, you may find your son can get to 1pm on those days without needing a nap. However, he may still need a short rest time at some point in the morning. If he is happy to play in his cot for 20-30 minutes around 9.45/10am that should be sufficient rest for him to be able to eat his lunch well and go down at 1pm.

If you find that your son is not able to manage without some kind of a nap in the morning then continue to put him down. If he really fights going to sleep let him play in his cot for the 20minutes but, if he does settle after 10minutes of crying, he is showing you he does still need a small sleep. Let him sleep for 20 minutes at this time.

Already you have managed to push on your son’s lunchtime nap and, as you are not able to bring it forward any earlier, you may need to juggle a little with the time he goes down in the morning. If he has woken at 7am then he will go down earlier than the days when he has slept to nearer 7.30am.

When the morning nap is first dropped you may find your son is exhausted by 7.30pm. He may well need an earlier bedtime for a week or so until he adjusts to having less sleep in the day. A baby who falls straight into an exhausted sleep when he goes to bed may well wake early in the morning.

Take a look at the case history of Heather on the website which shows you how you may need to make small adjustments each day until your baby has grown used to a smaller amount of daytime sleep. You may also find it useful to read the notes on this topic in The Complete Sleep Guide, page 103.