Extending Baby’s Nap

Your baby wakes up in the morning after a solid night’s sleep. You feed them, change them, play with them for a little bit, take them for a walk outside, then rock them to sleep and put them into the crib for her morning nap. Then, 30 minutes later, baby wakes up fussy and irritable despite all your efforts to get them to go back to sleep.

After half an hour of trying to put baby back down, you finally give in, hoping they will be that much more tired when her afternoon nap rolls around, only to have the EXACT same scenario play out again. Then baby is a cranky ball of unhappiness for the rest of the day (this has been my case several times before).

Sleep, like food, is one of those elements where baby has got the final say on whether they are going to cooperate. There is no sense in trying to force the issue. I mean you cannot force a baby to sleep if they simply cannot, or even worse, will not.

Here is what is happening from the time they fall asleep to when they wake up:

Babies, just like the rest of us, sleep in cycles. We start off in a light state where we are easily woken up, then gradually fall into a deeper stage where even loud noises or movement might not be able to rouse us. This is the really rejuvenate, restful sleep where our brains and bodies do all the maintenance work that leaves us refreshed, clear-headed and energetic when we get enough.

Once we have come to the end of the deep-sleep cycle, we slowly start coming back to the light stage again, and typically we wake up for a few seconds and then drift off again, and the whole thing starts again.

In adults, one of those cycles typically takes about an hour and a half. In babies, it can be as little as 30 minutes. The fact that your baby is waking up after only 30 minutes is completely natural. In fact, if she was not waking up regularly, that might be cause for concern.

You may be thinking “I have friends whose babies nap for two or three hours at a time.” Well, that is partially true. What is happening is their babies are linking several sleep cycles in a row. When they do wake up, they have learned to fall back asleep on their own.

That is, it. That really is the heart of the issue. Once your baby can fall asleep without on their own, they will start stringing together those sleep cycles like a champion sleeper that we know they are. That is going to make your baby a whole lot happier and leave you with two hours at a time to do whatever you like.

Remember back at the start of that scenario, there you were, getting ready to put baby down for their nap, gently rocking baby to sleep and then putting them down in the crib. I need to stop you right there. That is where some changes need to be made if you want your little one to learn to fall asleep on their own. You have become their sleep prop. Do not worry. I did the same thing when my kids were born in the name of sleep.

Sleep props are basically anything that your baby uses to make the transition from awake to asleep. Pacifiers are the most common example, but there are many others, including feeding, rocking, singing, bouncing, snuggling, and car rides. Now I am not saying you should not rock your baby, or sing to them, read them stories, or love them like crazy. You absolutely should. Just not to the point where they fall asleep.

When it comes to bedtime, whatever time of the day that might be, put your baby down in their crib, while they are still awake, and let them fall asleep on her own. There might be a little bit of protest for a day or two, but for most of my clients, the results start to materialize in about two or three days.

Think about that. Two or three days, and you and your little one could be enjoying the extraordinary benefits of proper sleep. Your baby will be happier, healthier, more energetic, and you will both sleep better at night.

Some other pointers for extending baby’s nap time…

• Keep the bedroom as dark as possible. Buy some blackout blinds if the sun is getting in, or if you are on a budget, tape some black garbage bags over the windows (This is what I do, and it works absolute wonders). It does not have to be pretty; it just needs to serve the purpose.
• White noise machines are useful if baby tends to wake up due to the neighbor’s barking dog, the inconsiderate delivery guy ringing the doorbell, or any other noise that might startle them out of their nap. Just make sure it is not too close to their ears and not too loud. 50 dB is the recommended limit.

If you are running into trouble applying these suggestions, give me a call and set up a free 30- minute consultation so we can get you and your little one on the road to a better night’s sleep.