Your little one finally masters sleeping through the night and then naps go out the window!
🤦🏻♀️
You can literally watch it on a clock.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1..eyes pop open.
You're left scratching your head and screaming "WHY?!?" inside right...
Well here's the answer!
As your baby starts to consolidate their sleep at night, the daytime sleep becomes less “required” and the pressure to catch-up on sleep starts to fade.
Meaning in your little bundle of joys mind, they no longer need this nap!
That's why it is really important to buckle up, and prepare to knuckle down on making naps a priority.
Setting your little one up for success to take a LONG nap is still possible and with the right sleep training, you can make it happen and create healthy sleep habits that last a lifetime. Here are the top reasons why we see short naps happening with our clients children. 1. Naps are not timed correctly. ⏰
The times your baby takes a nap is directly related to their age. A 5-month old and a 10-month old would not take a nap at the same time of day. A 5 month old may need a nap as early as 8:45, where a 10-month old wouldn’t have enough sleep pressure until 9:30. 2. Naps are happening too early.
Are you stuck in an early wake-up cycle? (5:30am)
You may think your child needs a nap by 8:30, but by doing that, the early nap is reinforcing the early morning.
Instead, try a new activity or food to bypass that previous nap time and get more in line with a ‘wake time’ reflecting a 6:30 or 7AM morning wakeup.
Keep an early bedtime to reduce overtiredness during this time. 3. Baby is taking the nap directly after feeding and rocking.
When baby goes down drowsy or with a feeding, they will complete 1 sleep cycle and then stir. When they don’t have the rocking or feeding present, they will become fully awake and begin to alert you. 4. It’s time to drop a nap!
This can be confusing, because you find yourself stuck between 3 being too many and 2 not enough.
For example, ff your baby is an awesome self-settler and the schedule is right, short naps can still happen from time to time.
Developmental leaps and new milestones can often be the culprit.
Hang in there!
When my babies were 6 and a half months old, we found ourselves in a cycle of early wakes and short naps. I wasn't sure how to fix it. We were in the midst of a transition, but it seemed impossible.
Part of my sleep consulting services include a schedule tailored to your child, and I show you how to achieve sleep success.
Don't worry, you can do this!
Hey, I'm Lindsay Loring! I'm a Pediatric Sleep Consultant and Mama to twins.
Follow along via Instagram as I share more sleep training hints & tips for your littles.
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