transitioning from 2-1 naps

i never thought sophia would transition from 2 to 1 naps so early. she is 11.5 months and this past week she's been fighting her naps (and subsequently, bedtime) like mad. it drove me UP THE WALL since she normally sleeps so so so so well. it seemed she made a conscious decision on Tuesday to stop napping. WHAT???

looking online provided other accounts of similar experiences and made me realize that sophia, at 11.5 months may not be too young to transition over. it also gave me some hope that this is indeed what was happening to our previous sleep champ and not that she was just going to fight us for the hell of it.

on Tuesday, i put her down for her usual 1st nap at 915am and she cried til 1115, then slept til 12, when i woke her because the book i like says it's ok to wake them if you're trying to maintain their schedule. she refused her second nap which was at 250.

on Wednesday, i put her down for her usual 1st nap at 930am and she cried til 1130, then slept til 1250 when she woke on her own. friends had suggested i let her sleep as long as she wanted. instinctually, i knew this would be bad news for her 'schedule' but really, our schedule was not much of a schedule since she was rebelling all naps. i didn't put her down for her second nap since she wouldn't have slept and then it would have cut too close to bedtime.

on Thursday, i started really losing it. i put her down for her usual 1st nap at 930am (3 hrs after she woke on that day) and she cried for 2 hrs and then i finally picked her up since it became apparent that either she wasn't going to nap at all or she would nap but would miss her lunch and any play time for the day. i was so upset. we went out for lunch since i thought the fresh air would do us both good, got her back and put her down for her '2nd' nap at 145. she fell asleep so quickly - i thought it was magic and was so thankful for the peace and a sleeping baby. she slept for 2 hrs and then woke but when i went to get her, she started crying. in past times, this means that she's not ready to be picked up. still, i was already in her room so i picked her up. she continued to fuss and cry so i just put her back in her crib and within a few minutes, she was back asleep. she slept til 440pm, when i decided it was time to make some noise and wake her up since i had to preserve her bedtime.

this is when i really started to think that maybe our sophia was asking for just 1 longer nap. it didn't really make sense since she still seemed tired and ready for a nap in the morning hr (aka 1st nap) but she wasn't taking it. still, i had to try one more time.

so, on Friday (today), i put her down at 1015am (my logic being that maybe she just needed a little more wake time in the a.m.) and she just sat in her crib and talked and cried until i picked her up at 1140am. again, i was seething and not understanding why she didn't just nap when it seemed she wanted to nap. we ate lunch and i put her down at 110pm. she fell asleep shortly after. and she's waking now, at 320pm.

hopefully this entry will bring light to another mommy struggling to figure out why the sudden change in her child's sleep routine. when did your child transition from 2-1 naps and how did you know this was what was happening?