Baby is so not ready for one nap a day

Baby has been on a nap schedule since he was about four months old. Some people might think that I'm too strict with it, but Baby seems to really thrive on his schedule. I've tweaked and adapted the schedule slightly over this last year, but we're slowly approaching one of the nap-related moments I am dreading: dropping down to one nap a day. (The other one I'm dreading is the day when there is no nap at all. Yikes!)

For the last month or so, Baby has often skipped his morning nap and spent the time playing instead. Husband has commented that perhaps Baby is ready for just one nap. I've resisted, partly for selfish reasons (I need the down time as much as he does) but also for him. He seems pretty happy the way things are, but I gave in and decided to give the one nap schedule a try yesterday. It was a total disaster. I'm still recovering, but fortunately, Baby is no worse for the wear.

Normal morning nap time is 9, and around that time yesterday, Baby seemed fine. Better than fine, even. We made a quick trip to Target, and he really enjoyed that. He even enjoyed the car ride and didn't suck his thumb at all. We got home, and things were okay for a while, but by 10 or so, things started to melt down. I think he was confused as to why he was still awake, and every little thing that didn't go his way led to a meltdown. He would try to figure out which hole in his shape sorter the triangle block would fit into, and when he couldn't figure it out, he'd get red faced and sob. Then, Cat would run away from Baby to avoid Baby's infamous hugs (he throws himself on top of Cat and squeezes him really hard), and that would make Baby really mad, and he'd throw himself on the floor and cry. I finally put him down for a nap after he had lunch around noon, and I think he fell asleep before I even left his room, he was so tired.

Shockingly, though, the one nap was only two hours. I really thought he'd nap longer, especially given how tired he was. On a good two-nap day, his naps wind up being about 3 or 3 and a 1/2 hours. Needless to say, the afternoon wasn't much better than the morning. He was okay for the first hour or so, but after that, things went downhill.

Today, on the other hand, we went right back to the old schedule, and he seemed very relieved at that. We had a great time at the park today, and ran some almost-due books over to the library. He seemed like a much happier kiddo overall today.

I think he's just not ready for the whole one nap business. So what if he decides to babble during his morning nap from time to time? It's still restful, and I still think he needs it. Moral of the story? Mom knows best.