Naps!!

Some babies are just cat nappers! Is baby content in the wake windows and can get through to the next nap on 30 mins sleep? If so you probably just have a low sleep needs baby. If baby sleeps long stretches overnight it’s also probable they get enough sleep overnight so don’t need long naps during the day as their total sleep needs are met with the cat naps rather than longer ones. My baby naps for up to 4 hours in the day for example but he’s awake every hour at night x

My little girl has recently started taking short naps I read somewhere it may be a thing at this age and they lengthen over time but I don’t really know.

He can usually last until his next nap, but his night sleep is horrific at the minute!! I started trying to lengthen his 2nd nap - so he’d do 30 mins & wake up, so I tried getting him back to sleep in his sleep space - whether that be his next to me or a swing & he wouldn’t, so I’d pick him up & he’d fall back to sleep on me but everywhere online says that’s a bad habit 🫠 but he’d get like 2.5-3hr daytime sleep & started sleeping through!! I just feel like his whole routine is up in the air at the minute. I feel helpless!!

The only way I was able to get long naps was contact naps. We're transitioning to cot naps at the moment and we're getting max 40 minutes, but he seems fine with that!

@Lottie Salmon I’d really forget about this notion of ‘bad habits’. It’s developmentally normal for baby to want to be close to you so if you’re happy to contact nap, do it! Don’t worry about bad habits. You’ve never met an adult who contact naps. When they’re ready they’ll move away from it. My baby would only contact nap until 3 months then one day he went down in the cot because that was the right time for him I didn’t force it just tried gently every now and again. If you want to extend the naps it sounds like contact naps are the way to go for you. You may also find it helps night time sleep if baby is still tired but not going back to sleep as over tiredness can also cause poor night sleep. There is also a regression at this age though so it really is just a bit of trial and error to see what works x

I am in exactly the same boat!!! My girl naps 30 mins on the dot and is wide awake smiling after so is so hard to get her back to sleep, only way she will nap longer is a contact nap or in the pram. She also sleeps terrible overnight so I don’t know what to do either 😅 no advice but sympathy xx

My baby has been having catnaps since he was 4 months. I thought it was the regression but it seems it’s not ending so I think I just have a low sleep needs baby (or he’s extremely exhausted but has a good tolerance for it lol). In order to take that catnap I need to cuddle him as well. At first I was so worried I’m creating bad habits etc. but honestly I think this stage will pass. I don’t know how or when but it will so im just trying to stress a little less (easier said than done) and do what it takes now to help him at least get some rest during the day. My only advice is to not worry about bad habits - just do what is needed for this stage x

My 6 months old son does and two hour nap then a half hour nap in the day but still takes up 1-2 times in the night