When you go into your baby’s room during nap time, can you see your hand in front of your face? If so, it’s probably NOT dark enough. Light acts as a stimulant for your baby’s brain, which makes it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep. This soothing routine helps your baby’s body prepare for the upcoming nap. Then read a book, turn on the sound machine, switch off the light, and snuggle together. So change his diaper, slip off that uncomfortable outfit, and use a sleep sack to cue his brain that sleep is coming. Just before each nap, we want to do a little “nap-time routine.” It doesn’t have to be complicated or take more than 8-10 minutes! Do the same things in the same order prior to every nap. Maybe you’ll need to read a book to help your brain and body relax. You’ll probably want to just sit on the couch for a moment. Instead, you will likely want to get out of those sweaty yoga pants or change into something more comfortable. Imagine walking out of the gym or an important business meeting and having someone tell you to “GO TO SLEEP NOW.” You might be exhausted and needing to rest, but you probably WON’T be able to just shut your eyes and instantly fall asleep. Have I provided a comfortable environment and a wind-down routine? # So, start by working on the first nap of the day! If you need help, check out my First Five Months Bundle This gentle no-cry class helps lay the foundation for healthy sleep and will walk you through age-appropriate strategies to work on those short naps. The first nap of the day tends to elongate and become more consistent, then the second, and finally, the third. Yes, consolidated naps are a developmental process, and longer naps will come!Īs you try to improve naps with these younger babies, please understand that naps evolve separately. We’re meeting your baby where he is developmentally RIGHT NOW. Please don’t worry about this creating a crutch or causing problems in the future. If helping him lengthens the nap, do it! Read more about short naps and newborns here. Sometimes replacing the pacifier is the key to elongating the nap. Even though these short naps are normal for babies under 5 months, you can still work on lengthening naps now! Try picking up your baby and rocking him back to sleep for 10-15 minutes if the nap is short. Yes, it’s actually NORMAL and DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE to have short naps during this time.
That means normal naps in the first four months of a baby’s life last anywhere from 20 to 120 minutes. Naps only BEGIN to consolidate and lengthen at about 5 months of age. Here are the questions I always consider to find the root cause of short naps for babies: 1. So why is your baby taking short naps and how do you fix them? # Short naps drive parents NUTS (especially those of us who are Type A)! These naps cause us to obsess about baby sleep, chart every nap, never leave the house in order to fix “the schedule,” and try to replicate that one day weeks ago when naps were really good. Short naps often cause us to feel trapped at home because the baby is overtired and cranky, and he always seems just a few minutes away from his next nap. It’s a cycle that can feel completely overwhelming. Those night and early morning wakings can cause short naps. Short naps can cause babies to wake up throughout the night as well as early in the morning. This leads to a cranky baby who is often in that “overtired, meltdown” mode. Short naps prevent deep, restorative daytime sleep. For the point of our discussion, anything less than 50 minutes will be classified as a “short nap.” So, yes, if your baby only naps for 30 minutes, that’s too short! Are short naps just an annoyance or are they a real problem? # A nap 50 minutes or longer demonstrates your baby’s ability to transition from one sleep cycle to the next. Short naps are typically naps that last less than one sleep cycle (about 50 minutes). I can help! Let me answer your questions about short naps and give you tools to help your baby sleep longer at nap time.
Baby suddenly taking short naps and you’re not sure why? Or maybe your baby only ever naps for 30 minutes? I know short naps can be challenging for both you and your baby.
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