As an internationally certified infant and toddler sleep consultant one of the most common problems parents reach out for help with is their baby's naps.
When talking with parents, it is usually one of two issues; catnapping or nap refusal.
Issues with naps usually start to emerge after the well-known and not so loved four-month sleep regression or sleep 'progression' given its permanent change in our babies sleep cycles. This age is often where we can see both naps and overnight sleep start to come undone.
Difficulty with day naps often causes frustration and exhaustion for both the parent and their baby and unfortunately if nap issues are not resolved, they will often result in disrupted night sleep and frequent night wakings due to over-tiredness from the lack of day sleep.
I want to share some tips with you below on how to help your baby achieve great day naps and set them up for success with their overnight sleep.
Generally, for a healthy baby naps should be falling into place around 12-14 weeks and by 14 weeks most babies will be on 3 naps a day with some needing an additional 4th nap to avoid being overtired at bedtime.
For older babies the below is a guide on the number of naps to aim for in a day by age:
7-8 Months: 2-3 naps
10 Months: 2 naps
15-18 Months: 2-1 nap/s
18 Months: 1 nap
Keep reading for my 4 tips to get your baby's naps back on track:
1. Understanding Natural Sleep Windows
All babies have biological sleep windows; these are times throughout the day that are optimal for sleep as there is a natural dip in energy and an increase is the hormone melatonin which is our sleep hormone. Placing your baby down for a nap during these times will make it easier for your baby to settle and will also assist them in resettling during their nap.
These biological sleep windows typically occur between 9am-10am and 12pm-2pm.
Understanding this also helps to explain why that third nap of the day can be the trickiest to get your baby to settle as there is not a sleep window that falls in the late afternoon.
There is a third window at 6pm-7pm so aiming to put your baby to sleep for the night within this window can be really beneficial.
2. Following Awake Windows
Awake windows are based off the amount of sleep and awake time a baby needs within a 24 hour period and refers to the times in between sleep/naps that a baby should be awake for.
By following the guide for age appropriate awake windows you will be placing your baby to sleep when there is enough sleep pressure for them to fall asleep with ease without being over or under tired.
Being over or under tired can cause your baby to be upset and resist their nap resulting in a lengthy and exhausting settling duration.
Following awake windows will assist your baby to fall asleep easier, nap for longer and it will also impact their overall mood and behaviour throughout the day.
These awake windows are constantly changing from birth onwards, to find out what your baby's recommended awake time is for their age, see my post on Instagram with this information @perthsleepconsulting
3. Settling
It is so important to help your baby learn to settle themselves to sleep, there are many different settling techniques to choose from based on your parenting style and your baby's individual temperament and age and by choosing the right one, you can support your baby to fall asleep independently.
Once your baby has mastered this skill they will be able to fall back asleep after waking from a sleep cycle resulting in longer naps in the day, particularly the midday nap, which is the most restorative nap in the day.
A shorter morning and afternoon nap is fine and in many cases very appropriate if your baby is having a long and restorative midday nap.
4. Sleep Environment
My last tip but certainly not the least is having a sleep environment that promotes sleep for both naps and overnight sleep.
An environment that promotes sleep should be dark as darkness assists the body in producing melatonin which is our sleep hormone. The darkness will also prevent an alert baby from looking around at any items and shapes int the room causing them to be stimulated and remain awake.
White noise is something I recommend for all babies up to 12 months, for newborn babies it is incredibly beneficial as the sound replicates the sounds they hear in the womb and this is often very calming for them. White noise can still be effective passed the newborn stage as it is a great tool for blocking out any external sounds and noises and signally it is time to sleep if it has been used since they were a newborn.
The last thing I recommend when considering the Sleep Environment is room temperature, it is important that babies are comfortably warm as being cold can cause wakings and being too warm is dangerous.
Practising safe sleep is so important and I encourage you to make yourself familiar with the Red Nose Safe Sleep Guidelines: https://rednose.org.au
Comments