Baby Nap Schedule – Everything You Need to Know
As parents, we can often wonder if we are doing the right thing when it comes to our babies sleep time; we can second guess every move we make and a lot of questions come up around sleep- especially babies’ nap schedules. These questions include how much daytime sleep and nighttime sleep our babies should be getting, how many naps they should have, how to organise baby’s nap schedule and more.
We decided to invite expert Kate, from Simple Sleep- our exclusive expert sleep consultant in Merton- to answer all our questions on baby sleep.
Why the Right Amount of Good Quality Sleep is Important
As a certified paediatric sleep practitioner, registered nurse and mother, I pride myself on always providing current and honest advice with a caring style.
I know only too well that not getting enough sleep effects our state of mind, feelings, relationships and health. I feel strongly that healthy sleep habits make for healthy children. A well-rested child is curious, energetic, happy, playful, and eager to learn. I can help give you the skills to improve your child’s quality of sleep.
One of the biggest issues parents have is navigating and understanding naps.
So What Are The Benefits of Nap Time?
Naps play a really important role in your baby’s physical and emotional development; having a solid and consistent nap and sleep schedule will help to improve your baby’s energy levels, physical development and emotional development.
Regular naps enhance learning and help with memory consolidation, which are both great things that you want to nurture as a parent! Naps are linked to better emotional regulation as well which is really important as they grow into toddlers.
A baby who naps well is much more likely to sleep through the night, because they are rested rather than feeling overtired. So day time sleep actually aids better night time sleep.
If My Baby isn’t Sleeping Through the Night Should I Stop Nap Time in the Day?
Always be cautious of stopping naps. Night wakings can be for a number of different reasons like developmental milestones, hunger etc.
Night wakings can also be a sign that the baby is overtired and needs more day time sleep and not less. So being too quick to drop a nap can sometimes make things worse.
Before making any changes wait a few weeks first to make sure it is not a developmental milestone causing disruptions. If after this, the night wakings continue you can then start to troubleshoot whats happening.
A consistent bed time routine is rather imoprtant for babies, and can improve the quality of sleep for babies.
As an example a 6 month old baby’s sleep usually consists of 10-12 hours over night and up to 14 hours in 24 hours including naps. This is usually made up of 2-3 of the baby’s naps a day.
How Long Should a Baby Nap for?
A good restorative nap is anything around about 1 hour or more. However lots of baby’s will do shorter naps especially before 6 months old. It can take a while for naps to feel consistent, sometimes the nights need to come together first.
Patience and practice is important, so practicing cot naps when you can and having an idea of the awake windows. An awake window is the time they need to be awake before needing to sleep again.
Give the naps time and don’t be disheartened if you have a day of short naps. They will eventually come together and get easier.
Should a Baby’s Nap Time be in the Dark?
After 8 weeks old you want to practice all of your cot naps in the dark. Don’t worry, it won’t condition your baby to only be able to sleep in the dark, but it will assist in a really good restorative nap. To create the perfect sleep environment, it is best to make the room darker; The darker the room the more of that sleepy hormone melatonin is produced which will encourage a really good long nap.
Where should you put your Baby for Daytime Naps?
When your baby naps during the day time naps- they should be in the cotshould be in the bedroom with the room as dark as possible. Some parents like to use white noise (especially if you live in a noisy house). This can also help your baby feel neurologically calm for sleep.
Whether it is during a morning nap or afternoon nap- if you can manage one nap in the cot, then you are doing great and the rest of the day can be on movement using the pram for example. That way you are practicing the cot but not feeling trapped indoors all day.
Should You Discourage Your Baby From Taking a Nap near to Bedtime?
The later the day gets the more difficult the naps generally get. You want to have an idea of the awake windows for you baby. So if a nap was continuing late in the day and it was going to effect the time they go to bed then it may be better to gently wake them from the nap so they can be ready for their usual bedtime.
What is the Best Nap Time for Babies?
For every nap you want to make sure your baby isn’t getting hungry. So if they are due a feed and a nap at the same time make sure you feed them first. That way you can help them sleep longer.
5-10 minutes before the nap is due, take them out of the stimulating environment and create a mini nap routine in a darkened room. Just a few steps to help your baby start to understand sleep is near. Find out when toddlers stop napping.
Here are some awake windows to give you some guidance depending on your baby’s age. Remember not every baby is the same, these are just averages for well slept babies.
What is the Average Awake Window for Babies between 5 and 9 Months?
5 Month Old
The average awake window for a 5 month old is 2 hours.
6-7 Month Old.
The average awake window for a 6-7 month old is 2.5 – 3 hours.
8-9 Month Old
The average awake window for a 8-9 month old is 3 – 3.5 hours.
If your child is slightly younger than 5 months, we have an article on the 3 month old sleep schedule.
In summary
Naps can take time and if you are reading this, you are likely doing your best to help them come together. If you wish to receive any further help or would like to have a 1:1 call with me don’t hesitate to get in touch. www.simplesleep.co.uk.
Sources:
What to Expect, Baby Naps and Nap Routine, June 2022
Pampers, Your Baby’s Nap Time, March 2022
The Baby Sleep Site, Baby Nap Chart: Learn How Long Baby Should Nap, and How Man Naps Baby Needs, September 2023
Kate, a certified paediatric sleep practitioner, registered nurse, and mother, takes great pride in offering her expertise with a caring and honest approach.
She understands from personal experience that insufficient sleep can significantly impact one's mental state, emotions, relationships, and overall health. Kate firmly believes that instilling healthy sleep habits is key to nurturing healthy children. A well-rested child exhibits curiosity, energy, happiness, playfulness, and a strong desire to learn. Kate is committed to equipping parents with the skills to enhance their child's sleep quality.