Discover tips for establishing consistent nap routines to improve your baby or toddler's sleep. Learn how to create a peaceful nap environment. Establishing consistent nap routines for your baby or toddler can significantly enhance their overall health and development. A well-rested toddler shows marked improvements in mood and cognitive functioning, making naps a key part of their daily regimen. In this guide, we'll provide expert tips on setting a reliable nap schedule. Each step is designed to help parents craft a nap routine that adapts to their child's growing needs. We want to offer practical advice that you can start using today to improve your child's sleep patterns. Stay tuned as we explore how to make these quiet hours as beneficial as possible.
Decode Your Child’s Sleep Patterns Each child's sleep needs differ by age. Infants typically require 14-17 hours of sleep daily, while toddlers need about 11-14 hours. Recognizing these varying requirements is essential for setting appropriate nap schedules. To identify when your child needs rest, look for cues such as yawning, eye rubbing, and decreased activity. These signs suggest tiredness and the need for sleep. As children grow, their slumber needs evolve, necessitating adjustments to their sleep routines. An approach that soothes an infant might not suit a toddler, highlighting the importance of adapting strategies as your child develops. Understanding and responding to these changing needs are key to establishing a successful sleep routine. Observing your child's behaviour and adjusting their sleep schedule will help them get the necessary rest to support their health and development. Thus, maintaining a flexible approach is crucial for fostering effective slumber patterns. Create a Conducive Sleep Environment Creating an ideal environment for your child’s daytime sleep can significantly improve their ability to fall and stay asleep. Below, we explore how to optimize sleep settings and the impact of maintaining a consistent slumber space. Optimize the Sleep Setting For starters, ensure the room is dark and quiet. You might use blackout curtains to block out daylight and a white noise machine to drown out household or street noise. These elements create a soothing atmosphere that signals it’s time for rest. Also, keep the room at a comfortable temperature—neither too hot nor too cold. Typically, a cooler room, around 68-72 degrees Fahrenheit, encourages better sleep. Access our free Dressing Guide to make sure that your baby is not to hot or to cold in their sleep environment. Maintain Consistency in Sleep Space Equally important is the consistency of where your baby or toddler sleeps. Always using the same room and crib or bed for sleep periods reinforces to your child that this place is for resting. Introduce a sleep-friendly object, like a soft blanket or a special stuffed animal, only used during slumber times. This consistency in environment and cues simplifies the sleep process and helps with forming a reliable routine. Develop a Pre-nap Routine Consistent nap routines begin with crafting a calming pre-nap ritual. A routine signals to your child that slumber time is approaching. Start with dimming the lights and engaging in quiet activities. A favourite book or some soothing music can set a restful mood. These cues help babies and toddlers anticipate that it's time to wind down. Next, consistency is key. Try to perform this routine at the same time and in the same order each day. This predictability makes children feel secure and helps ease them into slumber more readily. Keeping the pre-nap period relaxed aids in smoother transitions to sleep. Lastly, remain flexible within the framework of your routine. Minor adjustments will accommodate your child's evolving needs and occasional shifts in daily activities. This approach keeps the nap schedule flexible yet stable, promoting sustained restful periods for your child. Schedule Naps Setting up a nap schedule involves understanding both timing and consistency. Here are some steps to create a routine that supports your child’s natural sleep cycles and family life. Focus on Establishing Consistent Nap Routines For infants and toddlers, establishing consistent nap routines is crucial for daily harmony and developmental progress. Initially, observe your child to pinpoint the times they naturally grow sleepy. This observation aids in forming a schedule that aligns with their internal clock. Consistency in these nap times helps stabilize their overall sleep patterns, enhancing night rest and mood during wakeful hours. Unsure of your baby or toddlers sleep cues? Get our free download to help with your baby or toddler's sleep needs schedule. Balance Flexibility and Structure Next, balance this newfound schedule with the reality of daily activities. For instance, you might need to adjust nap times for family outings or special occasions. However, strive to keep these adjustments minimal. A flexible approach allows for life’s unpredictabilities while maintaining enough structure to give your child the rest they need. This balance is key to a routine that fits smoothly into your family’s lifestyle. Troubleshoot Common Nap Time Challenges Adjusting to changing situations can pose several challenges for maintaining consistent nap times. Changes like travel, alterations in daily routines, or moving to a new home can disrupt a toddler’s sense of normalcy, making rest periods difficult. During these times, keeping some elements of their nap routine constant can provide comfort and stability. Specifically, moving introduces a new set of environmental stimuli that can unsettle young children. Prioritizing the setup of your child's sleeping area in your new home can recreate a familiar and soothing space, helping them adjust more smoothly. During this transition, maintaining the regular timing of naps can reinforce a sense of routine amidst the change. For families on the move, Allstate Moving and Storage can be an invaluable resource. This moving company’s efficient and careful handling of your relocation details allows you to focus more on your child’s needs during the move. Closing Lines In conclusion, several effective strategies exist for setting up consistent sleep schedules for our little ones. Establishing consistent nap routines can significantly enhance both their mood and overall development. However, patience and perseverance are key, as each child's needs might differ. Should challenges arise, addressing them swiftly and creatively ensures that sleep disruptions are merely temporary setbacks. Your dedication to these methods will nurture your child's sleep habits successfully. If you're having trouble with your baby or toddler's naps it's time to reach out for help. Get my Free Sleep Needs Chart to help schedule your baby or toddler's naps. See the main page and sign up for this free resource and others. Are you ready to work one-on-one with me to change your family's sleep? Book your Free 20-minute Sleep Evaluation Call and we will discuss how I can help you and your baby or toddler get the sleep they require to be the happiest and healthiest versions of themselves possible. Photo via: Pexels How to get your partner involved in sleep training your baby or toddler?One of the most interesting aspects of my job is that I get to work so closely with such a wide variety of people and personalities. Coming into people’s lives, especially at a time when they’re vulnerable and emotional, lets you get to know them in a hurry. I can honestly say that I’ve never really had two families that reminded me of one another. The difference between every family I’ve worked with is simply astonishing. And obviously, as the demographics that define the traditional “nuclear family” have shifted over time, those differences have become much more varied and fascinating. One thing that seems to remain somewhat constant is that there’s usually one parent I would define as the primary caregiver. I’ve seen families where parents split the childcare duties 51-49. I’ve seen others where one parent tackles the feeding, bathing, supervision, education, and doctor visits, and the other reads their bedtime stories. Both of these scenarios and everything in between is absolutely fine by me, of course. Any two people who can reach an agreement on what works for them in terms of raising their family deserve a medal, as far as I’m concerned. But let’s not kid each other; sleep training is a tough slog. You’re obviously sleep deprived by the time you decide to take action. You have a few nights ahead of you that will probably test your patience and determination. If only one person’s involved, it will be that much more of a challenge. So I am writing this post to you today, dear secondary caregiver. If you’re feeling left out of the child-rearing process and wishing you had more of an opportunity to bond with your baby and take some of the parenting stress off your partner’s shoulders, this is your moment. Right here. And let me tell you something... no dinner at a five-star restaurant, no front-row concert tickets, no trip to a tropical paradise, is going to solidify your place as your partner’s hero quite like taking a leading role in getting your baby sleeping through the night. I am not even slightly exaggerating here. If you’re reading this, I would guess there’s a decent chance you’re already feeling the effects of at least a few nights of sleep deprivation, so you don’t need to be told how serious the effects really are. The thought of months or even years of this seems like an impossible situation, and your partner undoubtedly feels the same way. So when you jump out in front of the problem and tell your partner, “I’m here, and I’m ready to tackle this situation alongside you,” it may well result in one of the most passionate, heartfelt smooching sessions of your life. Nothing is sexier than waking up exhausted in the middle of the night and seeing your partner already getting out of bed, telling you to lie down and go back to sleep with those three magic words... “I got this.” Is it easy? No, not particularly. Sleep training can be challenging. There’s likely to be some crying, some moments of doubt, and a few trying nights, but everyone I’ve guided through the process has told me unreservedly that they would do it all over again in a heartbeat now that they’ve got their child sleeping through the night. So now that you’re ready to take the reins on this horse, I’d like to speak to the primary caregiver again. Call them into the room, hand them your tablet, pass them your phone, whatever the situation warrants. Are you there? OK, good. So check this out, you lucky duck. Your partner is awesome. They recognize your efforts in raising your baby and want to pull a little extra weight to make up for all your hard work. In addition, they want to take an active role in helping you get your baby sleeping through the night. So congratulations on your excellent choice of a partner. So what’s the catch? Well, you have one very simple but difficult task here. You have to let them do it. As the chair of the parenting department, that might not be easy. You’re probably used to having veto power when it comes to baby-centred decisions. Still, I want you to relinquish that for a while. Sleep training requires consistency, and you and your partner should have a well-established plan you’re both comfortable with. Still, there’s room for each of you to have a different style within that framework. So please resist the urge to hover over your partner as they figure out their own approach. It’s vital that they know you’re confident in their parenting abilities. Micromanaging someone else’s parenting will likely result in them just throwing their hands up and saying, “Fine, you do it.” Then you’re on your own again, and your partner probably ends up harbouring a hint of resentment. Don’t undervalue what you’ve got here. This is someone with a deep and genuine love for your child who’s available and eager to help you with one of the most daunting challenges of early parenting. Moreover, they’re willing to do it for nothing! There are a lot of single parents out there who would literally step over their own mothers for that kind of an offer. So be cool. Let your partner do their thing. You might be pleasantly surprised at their results, and you enjoy the rather sublime experience of watching them build their own little set of inside jokes, routines, and nuances. It’s like the sweetest thing in the world. So now, bring your partner back into the room, would you? I want to talk to both of you together here. So go ahead; I’ll wait. Are both of you there? Alright, good. Listen, what you’re about to do is really going to do amazing things for your little family unit. You’re going to get your baby sleeping through the night, which means you’ll both be sleeping through the night again. But you’re also committing to doing it together, making this endeavour even sweeter. You’re going to learn how supportive you can both be in some challenging moments, how much stronger the two of you make each other, and how unstoppable you are when you parent as a team. You’re taking a problem that could seriously deteriorate your relationship and agreeing to tackle it together. I think you should both be very proud of that. I hope it goes smoothly from the jump, but remember, if it doesn’t, I’m always here to help. Two parents presenting a united front is a mighty force. Still, those same parents armed with an expert to help them through this process, well, that’s practically unstoppable. AuthorErin Neri - Certified Pediatric Sleep Consultant and Owner of To The Moon and Back Sleep Consulting since 2016. Almost every sleep book on the market talks about the word “drowsy.” If we’re working with newborns, for example, many books state that the goal is to put your newborn down drowsy but awake. And in most cases, that works just fine, but sometimes it doesn’t. I’m here today to talk about when it doesn’t. If we’ve moved beyond the newborn phase, let’s say with a baby aged four months and up, drowsiness can actually become a loose prop association. Let’s think about it this way: sleep is a journey, and if you are at point A, which would be wide awake, and are trying to get to point B, which is asleep, how you make the journey becomes essential. If you read the Sleep Sense program, you’ll know it’s the journey we must fix for our child to start sleeping well. The goal is to have the child learn to make that journey all on their own — or independently, we like to say — so that when they have a naturally occurring wake-up during the night, they can make the journey back to sleep easily and on their own. In some cases, if we help our baby into the journey by getting them drowsy with either rocking or feeding, then when they have a naturally occurring wake-up sometime in the night or during a nap, they won’t be able to get back to sleep from point A to point B. So they will want you to return to the room and help them get started on the journey. This becomes problematic for both baby and parent because for your baby to return to sleep, you will need to assist them at least part of the way, which becomes frustrating on both sides. That’s why the goal is to teach the baby how to fall asleep from point A. Unfortunately, the only way to do this is to be very cautious in your bedtime or nap time routine so your baby is not entering the drowsy phase. So what does drowsiness look like? Drowsiness can be tricky to read because, in some cases, what you would consider drowsiness could be the first sleep stage. So here are some things you want to keep an eye on.
The goal is to make sure the baby remains alert and wide awake through the entire bedtime routine and goes into the crib, ready to start the sleep journey from point A. You might notice that your baby does a little bit more protesting suddenly. This is a good sign that your baby was actually relying on you to help them to sleep in some way, and they are struggling slightly with the process of going from start to finish all on their own. But don’t worry — the good news is that within a couple of nights, the baby will be able to make the journey independently and start sleeping through the night. If you’d like to chat more about your baby’s sleep challenges, I’m more than happy to offer a complimentary 20-minute evaluation call to see if we can get to the bottom of your struggles; I can explain how I can help! You can book your Free chat below. AuthorErin Neri - Certified Pediatric Sleep Consultant and Owner of To The Moon and Back Sleep Consulting since 2016. I hope that title didn't scare you off because I don't mean to say that naps inherently suck. Naps are fantastic! Even as adults, a nap can be absolutely therapeutic, both mentally and physically. And babies and toddlers need naps in order to keep themselves happy and thriving. But when you first start teaching your little one the glorious skill of falling asleep independently, you're likely to notice that they manage to get the hang of nighttime sleep pretty quickly. However, when it comes time for daytime sleep, things can get a whole lot more difficult. Out of all the babies I've worked with, around 90% of them have had trouble with naptime. They have a harder time actually getting to sleep, or they tend to wake up after their first sleep cycle (usually around 45 minutes) and struggle to get back to sleep again afterwards. And as any parent knows, when your baby doesn't get a good daytime nap, that sucks. They wake up grouchy and fussy until they go down for another nap. So you end up having to soothe and settle them instead of attending to all of the other vital parenting tasks that you could have focused on if they had managed to get a full 2-3 hour daytime snooze. So yeah, it's not like the actual naps suck, but I'm sure you'll agree that putting your baby down for a nap, tiptoeing out of the room, closing the door oh-so-gently, and then getting two steps into the other room, then hearing them start to stir and cry, that right there, that really sucks. So let's look at some of the reasons why naptime tends to suck. First of all... Daylight sucks - Our bodies are naturally tuned into a 24-hour rhythm, and there's an actual physiological reason for that. Sunlight, or any "blue" or short wavelength light, like that from a phone or TV screen, stimulates cortisol production. Cortisol, being a stimulant, is a real detriment to getting settled and getting to sleep, so getting your baby away from any blue light sources at least an hour before naptime can help alleviate the problem. That's not always feasible, obviously. If your little one is under 6 weeks old, their ideal awake time is only 45 minutes to an hour. You can't keep them indoors and away from screens all the time, but try to keep their daylight and screen exposure closer to the time after they wake up and keep it down as much as possible when they're getting ready for their next nap. And invest in some quality blackout curtains for their bedroom. I can't tell you how great of an investment good blackout curtains are. Keeping your baby's bedroom dark is a massive help in ensuring long, high-quality naps. Lack of melatonin sucks - The yin to cortisol's yang; melatonin is the hormone that helps our bodies wind down and get ready for sleep. Unfortunately, melatonin production doesn't fully kick in until nighttime for most people, including babies. That means that the body's natural "sleep pressure" isn't nearly as strong during the day as it is at night, which can hinder your little one's ability to fall asleep quickly at naptime and to stay asleep for long stretches. So we need to find other ways to build up that sleep pressure. Getting your baby outdoors shortly after they wake up is a great way to do that. True, sunlight stimulates cortisol production, but it also pumps up melatonin production in the evening, which will help baby get a good night's sleep. The better your baby sleeps at night, the easier it will be for them to sleep during the day. And whenever possible, physical activity is a great way to promote better naps. However, your little one likes to move around; get them moving as much as possible. Try to schedule physical activities in the earlier parts of awake time rather than just before naptime. If your toddler's just finished tearing around the yard for half an hour and they try to go straight down for a nap, they're likely still going to be too fired up to get right to sleep. FOMO sucks - Nobody likes to stop doing something they love just so they can go to sleep, and babies are no different. If your child's in the middle of a killer game of hide and seek or riveted to the latest episode of Superhero Kindergarten, being told it's time for a nap is likely to trigger a protest. And just in case you haven't noticed, when kids protest, they tend to do it with some… enthusiasm... Again, timing is everything here, so try to keep the exciting activities to the earlier end of awake time. Once nap time starts approaching, stick to more soothing activities like singing, stories, cuddles, or whatever they enjoy doing that's low-energy. 15-minutes of wind-down time before a nap can help immensely, but the crucial thing to avoid is sparking a tantrum by taking away something they're super engaged in. Noise sucks - This may come as a shock, but loud noises and sleep don't go well together. Garbage trucks, sirens, birds, dogs, and the Amazon delivery driver who can't read a "Do NOT Ring Doorbell!!!!" sign, can all disturb your baby's nap. What's worse, when they get woken up after a short nap, they've relieved some of that sleep pressure we worked so hard to build while they were awake, and that's going to make it even harder for them to get back to sleep. It may seem counterintuitive, but one of my favourite solutions to environmental noise is… well, more environmental noise. White noise machines, which I'm assuming every parent on earth is familiar with. But they do provide cover for sudden, unexpected noises, which are the ones that tend to wake your baby up. Just remember to keep an eye on the volume level. White noise machines can get ridiculously loud, and babies are not recommended to be exposed to noise over 60 dB for extended periods. Hearing loss sucks too. Make no mistake, all of these recommendations can help, but they're nothing compared to the improvement you'll see in your baby's naps if they learn to fall asleep independently. More than anything else, that's the key to getting your baby sleeping through the night and taking long, restful naps during the day, so if your little one's still relying on things like feeding to sleep, rocking to sleep, or sleeping on top of you in order to take a daytime nap, that sucks more than anything. It's the single most important issue to tackle before worrying about anything else. Unsure how to help your baby learn these elusive, independent sleep skills I speak of? I can help with that! How? Book a free chat with me, and I can help you get to the bottom of your child's sleep difficulties and explain how I can change your family into a well-rested one. AuthorErin Neri - Certified Pediatric Sleep Consultant and Owner of To The Moon and Back Sleep Consulting since 2016. |
To The Moon and Back Sleep ConsultingProviding families the tools & support they need to get their little ones sleeping through the night and napping like champs! Everyone has more fun when they are well rested! Visit Woolino - Use the LINK to get 10% off.
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