You have cleaned up the mornings mess, boiled the kettle, made yourself a cuppa and you are just about to take a seat and enjoy that first delicious sip…. when the crying starts. 

If this sounds like your day, if you baby is consistently taking short naps and you feel like you are never able to get anything done or rest yourself, then I am here to help. 

Short naps are enough to drive us mums crazy. But our sanity aside, there are definitely reasons I encourage you to work on naps: 

-        If your little one simply cannot manage to take a nap of a good length then they will be missing out on the opportunity for a deep and restorative sleep during the day. Deep sleep is where the magic happens. Where the body repairs, regrows and rebuilds. Where the immune system is strengthened and bugs are fought off. Where short term memory is converted to long term memory. Where emotions and appetites are regulated. All of the wonderful things we want for our little angels.

-        Short naps cause sleep debt to accumulate all day, leading to a very overtired baby at bedtime. Overtiredness at bedtime is a major contributor to fragmented night sleep. Fragment night sleep can encourage more catnapping the next day. The cycle continues. 

-        Sleep deprivation increases sensitivity to pain by up to 30%!!! That is huge! Imagine this for a poor bubba that is teething or has reflux. 

-        Great consistent naps make for a happy baby that can cope well with their awake window. This makes it easier for mum to get out and about in between naps without feeling like the next nap is imminent. 

-        Long naps give mama the time to have a rest and self care. Happy mum = happier bub.  

So how do we are achieve these lovely long naps that baby (and you!) can benefit from? We need to get to the bottom of why these short naps are occurring. Let’s run through my list of top considerations:

Sleep Environment

Darkness -Your little ones sleep environment is so important to consider if naps aren’t going to plan. We want your baby’s sleep environment to be so dark that you cannot make out the words in book or see your hand if held in front of your face. 

Why? Because darkness not only assists in the production of melatonin (the sleep hormone) but it is also reduces distractions for your little one, which makes nice long naps a whole lot more achievable. Even a small amount of light can stimulate the brain and illuminate things around the room that your cherub finds interesting enough to stop them from linking sleep cycles.

I recently worked with a mum who tinfoiled her serial catnapper son’s windows  - this was ALL it took to get this cheeky bub to take a nice long and restorative nap.

White Noise - We recommend introducing white noise from the beginning to mimic the sound our little ones grew so accustomed to while they were in the womb. The sound of blood rushing through the placenta was as loud as a vacuum cleaner to their little developing ears. Then they enter this big wide world and we all start whispering and tip-toeing around so that they can sleep peacefully. It usually has the opposite affect - silence is not appealing to our little ones, where as white noise is soothing and can quickly become a positive sleep prop.

It’s never too late to introduce white noise and it can be used long term. For older babies it is fantastic for helping to drown out noises that could wake them such as dogs barking, the birds chirping, creaking doors and floors and general noise in and around the home. 

Ensure that the white noise you choose plays continuously for the duration of sleep and doesn’t turn off after a set time such as 30 minutes, as this can actually wake our little ones up. We recommend using it at safe volumes no louder than 50Db and positioned at least 2 meters away from your baby’s sleep space. You can download an app called “db meter” to test the Db level. For ease, we recommend purchasing a white noise machine from your local baby store.

Night Sleep

More often than not we see our little ones nights consolidate before their naps do. That’s right, your baby is more likely to sleep for long stretches at night before they conquer regular long consolidated naps. 

There are a few of reasons for this:

1.     In the evening your little ones cortisol levels are naturally declining, while their melatonin levels are rising. This means that their sleep hormones are literally driving them to sleep.

2.     Nap time sleep and night time sleep are actually controlled by different parts of the brain! The night time sleep part of the brain develops before the nap time part of the brain does - this is why it is totally normal for your little one to sleep through the night before they manage a consistent daily 2 hour long nap. 

So, if your cherubs naps AND their nights are a mess, then I recommend focusing on improving their nights BEFORE you put the emphasis on their naps. Once their nights have improved and they are feeling a lot more rested THEN tackle one nap at a time. 

Baby’s Age

Unfortunately for babies aged four month and younger short naps are biologically and developmentally normal. If your little one fits into this age bracket then don’t worry, longer naps will come with time.  But that’s not to say you can’t do anything to extend them.  

If your baby 4 months or under wakes after a short nap have a go at resettling them in the cot with patting, shushing, stroking their head – whatever they respond to. If they don’t respond pick them up and resettle them back to sleep in your arms and then either try popping them back in the cot or let them finish out the nap in your arms – yay for cuddly snoozes! 

Self Settling 

Work on having your baby fall to sleep independently in their cot (i.e self settle). If your baby can’t put themselves to sleep at the start of the nap, there is a very good chance they won’t be able to put themselves BACK to sleep without your help, therefore - short nap. 

If self settling is a daunting thought and you don’t know where to start then consider working with us - We can turn your baby into a self settling champion! 

Awake windows 

When it comes to short naps this is a big one. It’s also a tricky one. We need to ensure baby isn’t over tired OR under tired as both can result in short naps, so working on age appropriate awake windows is important.  

It is really difficult for an overtired baby to self settle, get into a deep sleep and consolidate sleep cycles. If your little one is overtired when they fall asleep at nap time they will likely have difficulty moving into the next sleep cycle and taking a long nap even if they are skilled at self settling. 

Similarly, ensure your baby tired enough to have a long nap. Ensuring your little one accumulates enough sleep pressure to have a long nap is important as well. Your darling may be tired enough to fall asleep, but not tired enough to have a long nap. You may need to stretch out your little ones awake windows slightly within their age appropriate range (slowly does it!) to ensure your cherub has enough appetite to sleep for a longer stretch.

Sneaky Snoozes 

Ensure your darling is not taking any sneaky little naps which will affect their appetite/drive to sleep. Dozing on a feed, in the car or in the pram or carrier will only remove some of that sleep pressure you worked so hard to create. So no secret sleeps! Remember, your little cherub does not know how long they slept, only that they did. 

Build up some ‘sleep pressure’. Make your littles ones awake windows active! Go outside, go to the pools or playground, practice a new skill like rolling or pulling themselves up, have a dance in your arms, organise a play date. Boredom signs often present as tired signs. If you are sitting around bored just waiting for the next nap, chances are your baby is bored too. 

There you have it, our top considerations for your catnapper.  

Remember mama, be gentle with yourself. Long naps take time and consistency to master. You may not get there overnight, but you WILL get there. 

If you have carefully considered all the of the above but cannot seem to move on from short naps then book in a consultation, we’d love to help your little one get some more restorative sleep and help you regain some time in your day.