Seven months sits squarely in the 3-to-2 nap transition window (it spans 7–9 months). Wake windows stretch toward 2.5–3 hours, and that late-afternoon catnap — faithful bridge to bedtime for months — starts getting refused. When the refusal is consistent for a week or so, it's time.
Making the 3→2 switch
- Push the first two naps later gradually — the morning nap moves toward 9:30–10:00, the afternoon nap toward 2:00–2:30, over a week or two.
- Use an early bedtime as the shock absorber. On catnap-free days that run long, a 6:30–7:00 PM bedtime is not too early — it's the transition working correctly.
- Expect mixed weeks. Two-nap days and three-nap days will alternate; follow the day you're having, not the day you planned.
The crib gym problem
New skills — sitting, rocking on all fours, early crawling — get practiced in the crib, at nap time, with great enthusiasm. This is temporary and normal. Give generous daytime floor practice so the novelty burns off faster, and resist creating new sleep-time habits during the phase: skill-practice wakings resolve on their own once the skill is boring.
Schedules are averages.
Your baby isn't.
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