Nap Time Woes

Little Boy has decided that he only needs one nap a day now instead of two. Actually he decided that several weeks ago, but I refused to comply and insisted on putting him down for two naps anyway even though he spent at least one of those nap periods giving loud, long, boisterous speeches and shaking his crib so hard I thought the bed would just collapse on top of him. Apparently we have a much sturdier crib than I would have guessed.

So I have finally relented and am allowing Little Boy to only take one nap a day. Only Little Boy is not entirely sure when he wants to have that one nap. Some days he wants to go to bed at 9am. Other days he doesn't want a nap until 2pm. If by chance I put him down too early, the entire house is subjected to one of those long-loud-boisterous speeches which are actually becoming less cute and more angry as he gets more frustrated about being forced to sleep when he doesn't want to. I also run the risk of him refusing to go down for another nap later in the day when he actually becomes tired enough to sleep. And if by chance I put him down too late, he's overtired and sleeps less than an hour causing him to be even more overtired and an absolute nightmare as the afternoon goes on. Sounds lovely, yes?

So I am at a complete loss of how to handle this transition from two naps to only one. I'm assuming most moms survive this phase? Any survival suggestions for a desperate mom? Because with me and Aiden facing off over these nap time woes, I feel that planes are crashing mid-air almost every afternoon!