It’s Naptime! Make Sure Your Baby Sleeps

By Dustin Faulkner

If you noticed that your baby is not napping well during her first few months of life, then you may want to try to cut back on the time that she is awake by 15 minute increments. She will then fight sleep and be difficult to get to nap if she is getting over stimulated. The way to prevent this is to watch her “sleepy” cues to make sure that you put her down when she is beginning to get sleepy.

Some parents would think that if they let their children cry, then it will harm him or her. If your child cries for fifteen or twenty minutes, then this will not harm your child physically or mentally. Self-soothing and falling asleep themselves is what babies will learn to do but only if you let her. It is very important that babies learn to fall asleep by themselves so that they can self-soothe if they awake in the middle of the night. Otherwise, you may have a child that will not sleep through the night for years.

Intermeshed with regular eating patterns are regular sleep patterns so let us look at the stages of a baby’s life.

For newborns. Your newborn will sleep anywhere from 16 to 20 hours a day, including the naps that he takes between feedings. You should let your baby stay awake for a short while when he has been fed and then put him down before he becomes over stimulated.

Two months. Your child should be allowed to try to self-soothe during their naptimes and bedtime when he is two months and older. Crying is okay and is also normal when you put your baby down. Go in and check on him if he cries for longer than 10-15 minutes. Pat his bottom or lightly rub his back until he calms down but don’t get him up.

For 3-6 months. Your baby will stop taking one of her naps at around 3-6 months. The third nap or late afternoon nap that they do not need as much is what this usually is. He may be a little fussy and may want to take a little nap, but you need to try to keep him up if you want him to go to bed at a decent time and sleep soundly through the night.

For 16+ months. When your child is between 16-20 months, they usually quit taking the morning nap in favor of a longer nap in the afternoons. Babies this age would often take a 2-3 hour afternoon nap and sleep between 10-12 hours a night.

Naps and Their Ground Rules.

It’s you who decide when the nap starts and ends and not the baby.

If your baby is older than 4 months old, if she hasn’t slept enough then she will wake up crying. She could be in a position that is not comfortable, hot or cold, or she might have a dirty diaper. Try fixing the problem and encourage her to go back to sleep. Babies wake up happy, talking, and in a good mood when they have enough rest.

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Topics: Babies Toddler | Comments Off

Tags: babies, Babies Toddler, children, family, Health and Babies, home, Home and Family, Infants and Toddlers, Parenting, Parenting and Children, Parenting and Toddlers, toddlers

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