My Ideal Daily Routine with a Toddler Who Doesn’t Nap

My Toddler Gave Up His Nap Before Turning 2

Well, my fellow toddler parent friends, the “worst” has happened. I’m being dramatic of course…but my toddler has given up his nap before the age of 2! After giving it my absolute best shot to help my toddler keep his nap, I have officially admitted defeat. But before you panic if this is you too, it’s actually ended up being for the better. In this post, I’ll explain why we no longer have a nap for my 2 year old and our ideal daily routine with a toddler who doesn’t nap. 

In a nutshell, my son started fighting his (one) nap at 17 months old. He had been on one nap since 11 months old, which he transitioned to perfectly with no trouble after showing signs of no longer needing 2 naps. After he started fighting his nap at 17 months old, I extended his wake windows and capped his nap for months.

At first, it helped. But by 20 months he was staying awake until 10:30pm (on a good night) even when his nap ended by 3pm. So finally, after encouragement from fellow moms, who also had 2 year olds who dropped their nap early, I let Noah drop his nap. And he did beautifully. He now sleeps 12-14 hours each night. Bedtime is at 7pm. And we have a 1 hour quiet room time every afternoon.

My son no longer stays up fighting sleep until 10:30/11pm each night. And I have 3-4 glorious hours each evening of quiet time to myself. So the way I see it, instead of having that long midday break, I now have a long evening break.

How I Really Feel About My 2 Year Old Not Napping…

If I’m being honest, I do miss the nap. That midday break was so wonderful. Especially when my son would still be sleepy enough for bedtime at 8pm. But once bedtime started becoming a major problem and our little guy was up half the night, it no longer was good for him or us.

So, if you’re a fellow toddler mom who’s child has dropped their nap “early” compared to normal standards, fear not. It’s not as scary as it sounds. Now that my little has been down to one nap for 3 months, I’ve got a nice schedule down that’s great for the both of us. It includes quiet time for him and myself, time for errands, play dates, and more. Mind you, I am a stay at home mom. Me and my little are together all hours of the day.

With that being said, this is what our schedule looks like. Of course it can and does change, but this is what I always go back to when we have a “normal” day.

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My Ideal Daily Routine with a Toddler Who Doesn’t Nap

6am –

Some days I wake up an hour or 2 before Noah wakes up in the morning and I drink coffee while I do my daily Bible reading. It is so wonderful having that time to myself in a quiet house, filling my cup with God’s word, before I’m “mom” for the next 12 hours. Once I finish my Bible reading for the day I will use that time to work on my “hobby income producers” aka my blog, youtube, and Etsy shop. I definitely don’t begin my day like this everyday, but on the days I do I’m always so glad I did.

7/8am (sometimes 9 if he sleeps 14 hours) –

Noah wakes up and starts to play or immediately asks for breakfast

8-9:30am –

Breakfast, kitchens tasks such as unloading dishwasher and cleaning up breakfast, Noah plays outside or inside depending on weather and I aim to join him for at least 15 solid minutes of undivided attention to help “fill his cup

9:30-10am –

room time – this means Noah is in his crib with books and toys to play with in a safe place while I get dressed and ready for the day. I put him in his crib so I can keep an eye on him with our monitor. If I haven’t done my Bible reading for the day yet (I do a year long Bible reading challenge on repeat and have a daily reading) then I’ll listen to it on audio in the Bible App while I get ready.

10am-12pm –

This is the time I usually get out with Noah to run errands, have play dates with friends, take Noah to the park, library, zoo, or something that gets us out of the house. We definitely don’t do this every day, but on days we do want to have a play date or get errands done, this is the time block we typically aim for. But everything in this schedule is subject to change based on the simple fact that “life happens” and we don’t live by a schedule to a T 🙂

12-1pm –

Lunch time!

1-2pm –

Quiet Time – This is Noah’s 1 hour of afternoon quiet rest time, which also gives me a much needed 1 hour break to either get things done that are difficult to do when Noah is up and about, work on my blog, Etsy shop, or YouTube channel, or just rest and do something for myself like read a book, play the piano, or watch a youtube video. Noah’s quiet time looks very similar to his room time from earlier in the morning. I put him in his crib with books, toys, and activities that are mess free and he happily plays and looks at books until I come get him out.

There are no tears involved and he genuinely loves room time. And he is safe because he is in his crib. When we first started doing room time we started at just 5 minutes, then lengthened the time by about 5 minutes each time. Within a week he started genuinely loving room time and now runs to his room when I tell him it’s room time. He says “bye bye” after I give him a hug and kiss and leave the room 🙂

2-5pm –

 Play! This is the time block that is focused on free play for Noah. Some days he is super clingy and wants me to play with him the whole time. Other days he will happily play while I’m nearby. I aim to do things like cleaning, laundry, and meal prep during this time if he is playing happily nearby.

We aim to play outside every single day even if it’s raining. Our home has a covered deck area with a sandbox and trampoline that are under a roof so that comes in sooo handy during the rainy months. We often will go on an afternoon walk or jog during this time if its not pouring rain. Some days if it made more sense to have a slow morning at home then we will use this time block to run errands, go to the park, go to the beach, or do something else to get out of the house.

5pm –

I start dinner prep. If my husband is home, he will help watch Noah while I cook. If not, I make something super easy 🙂 Every so often, my husband will cook dinner while I’m with Noah.

6pm –

We eat! And then clean up the kitchen. We usually follow the “loose rule” that whoever gives Noah a bath after dinner doesn’t have to do the dishes. Bath is right after dinner so one person does the dishes while the other person gives little man his bath.

6:30pm –

bath

6:45pm –

books, brush Noah’s teeth, sing songs

7pm –

Noah’s bedtime

7-10pm –

 Free time! Usually I work on my blog/YouTube/Etsy shop things but I also just relax some evenings by watching a show with my husband or reading a book before bed

And that’s it! How does our schedule look compared to yours? Let me know in the comments below 🙂 I hope you enjoyed today’s post! If you want more helpful and encouraging content, be sure to follow me on YouTube and Instagram. I share content all about living a thrifty/money conscious lifestyle, homemaking, motherhood, and my faith.

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