Baby's Sleep

By: Linda Szmulewitz, founder of Sleep Tight Consultants Don't Fear the Nap Transition! Nap transitions often are known for striking fear in the hearts of parents everywhere and never is this more true when your young toddler is transitioning from 2 naps to 1.  Never fear though, this information will guide you through the different scenarios to watch out for and talk you through how to navigate to your toddler’s new sleep schedule. At what age should you transition? What is often happening for children around a year old is that they are learning to walk.  This is great!  This is an important developmental milestone and your introduction to becoming the parent of a toddler.  There is a lot of brain activity that happens when children are learning and mastering large gross motor milestones such as walking.  This can make napping a struggle.  So if you put your 13 month old down for a morning nap at the normal nap time, but he just plays for the whole time and he is also just on the cusp of walking, this could be a result of the impending milestone and not an indication that he doesn’t need that morning nap anymore. Ensure that your child has plenty of opportunity to practice his new skills during non-sleeping times. It can also be helpful to push naps a little later in order to increase the sleep pressure and ensure that your child, who has a lot running through his brain, is really ready to fall asleep when he goes into the crib. If your toddler (under 15 months) is refusing naps, here is how to handle the situation: Make sure naps are not starting before 9am and 2pm.  If they are happening earlier then this, start by moving them to these target times to see if this encourages napping again.  If you are hitting 9am and 2pm, but your toddler still won’t nap, try to push them even a bit later.  They can even go as late as 10am and 3pm.  You may even find that you have to push the afternoon nap to as late as 3:30pm to ensure that it happens. What if your babe just won't nap? If, with later nap times, your toddler still won’t take both naps (especially if the afternoon nap is becoming very difficult to make happen), look at how long those naps are lasting.  Many toddlers LOVE their morning nap and will sleep for 2 hours in the morning.  At that point, he has had nearly all of the sleep he needs for the day so there is no sleep pressure left for the afternoon nap.  I would start by limiting the morning nap to not longer then 1 hour.  Yes, it is okay to wake a sleeping toddler.  This is one of the instances where this can be very important.  Sometimes this nap might even be as short as 45 minutes or even 15 minutes (more on that super short nap next). If even with the morning nap shortened to 45-60 minutes, the afternoon nap is still a struggle, then I find that a 15 minute morning cat nap can be very helpful.  The afternoon nap is actually the more important of the two naps as this is the one that helps your toddler make it to bedtime without being overtired.  This is why it is essential to make the PM nap happen.  Many children are still tired for a morning nap though so the cat nap that starts no later then 10am can be helpful to “take the edge” off that morning exhaustion and enable your toddler to make it to a long nap starting around 1 or 1:30pm without being overtired.  Be careful not to let this cat nap go beyond 15 minutes as you want to avoid going through sleep cycles at this time. Does your babe take early morning naps? If the above shortening tricks don’t encourage an afternoon nap, then as a last resort, you can start to push the morning nap later and later, knowing that the afternoon nap will not happen.  Often this looks like a nap that happens from 11am to 1pm.  While a 2 hour nap is great, ending at 1pm leaves a very long stretch to bedtime.  You will want to start inching this nap later so that it eventually starts no earlier then noon.  Some things to keep in mind about the 2 naps to 1 transition: Afternoon Nap is a Must! When your toddler moves to 1 nap, it needs to be an afternoon nap.  When only the morning nap happens, it produces a lot of overtiredness which can lead to an early morning wake up the next day.  Ideally, the nap isn’t starting before noon.  As your toddler moves closer to 18 months, that nap often starts around 1pm.  Naps are Naps! Even if they're short naps. When your toddler starts taking 1 nap, it isn’t always going to be a good nap.  It can take some time for your toddler’s brain to consolidate two shorter naps into one longer nap.  The bare minimum for one nap is an hour and a half.  If your toddler is waking after a shorter period of time, it can be worthwhile to give him some time to go back to sleep.  You may be wondering “How long should my toddler nap when down to 1 nap?”  Ideally, this nap is now around 2-2.5 hours.  Some toddlers will even take a 3 hour nap but this isn’t usually the norm. Take it slow, no rush. When you go to 1 nap, there may still be some 2 nap days in between 1 nap days depending on how your toddler seems in the morning.  This is okay, it doesn’t have to be all or nothing.   Good luck adjusting to the new normal for your toddler’s sleep!

You survived the first month with the baby! First month is always the hardest, as you are recovering from giving birth and adjusting to the new life with the baby.  As you enter your second month with the baby, there may be slight changes to baby's sleep patterns.  While first month's sleep may have been sporadic and not regular, the second month's sleep might be similar until you start to add more consistency to their nap schedule. Babies at this age will be more awake than during their first few weeks.  Baby's Second Month Sleep Schedule and Feeding Guidance Few Tips on the Second Month With the Baby Babies should be fed every 2.5-3 hours  Feed 8-10 times during 24 hour span  Naps should be around 1.5-2.5 hours long each time Let the baby sleep and don't make them overtired as overtired babies have more difficulties settling down for sleep It's okay to wake the baby up for feeding to maintain the routine Baby can be allowed to sleep longer stretches at night around 6 weeks old, but many babies don't do this until later You can review our first month sleep schedule and feeding guidance here, since maintaining EASY routine and 2.5-3 hour routine during the day will be the same as the first month.  The only difference might be that the babies can drink more and as a result has the ability to sleep longer stretches at night time.  At this stage, babies can drink up to 4 oz of milk as shown in the schedule below. However, babies vary in sizes and weights so their intake may vary.  Using the guidance that 2.5 ounces each day for every pound the baby weighs should be given to the baby, if the baby weighs 10 pounds, 25 ounces of milk should be given in a day. If you feed the baby over 8 feedings, then, the baby should drink about 3 oz each feeding.  Here's a sample schedule of what 2 month old's sleep schedule looks like. Each cycle will start off with Feeding, Activities, and Napping.  7am 10am 1pm 4pm 7pm - Bedtime 10pm - Dreamfeed 2:30 - One night feeding Remember that above is a sample schedule and your baby is not a robot! They may wake up early from naps or may get hungry before the next 3 hour cycle. You may have to adjust your schedule but try to maintain the consistency. Striving to keep the first wake up time and bedtime will help you greatly in maintaining consistency to the routine. RELEVANT READ:  Real Life Story About Adopting A Babywise Routine - What I learned in the first 6 weeks The difference between the first month and the second month is that the baby might drop two night feedings to one, and may be awake for a longer period of time. When putting the baby down for a nap, ensuring optimal wake time before the nap would help you and the baby to go down for a nap easily.  While the wake-time varies for babies, babies at this age usually cannot stay awake for more than an hour. Putting the baby down after an optimal awake time will do the trick in making the baby sleep long stretches of time and also make them fall asleep without much fussing or crying.  RELEVANT READ:  How To Put Your Baby To Sleep - 3 Steps Why Do Babies Wake Up So Often? Baby Sleep Schedule During the second month, you will start to notice that the baby is more active and alert, but their sleep pattern may still seem irregular. Remember that instead of stressing out about your baby not sticking to the schedule or not doing things the books say or your other friends' babies are doing, use flexibility and work towards establishing a good routine.  RELEVANT READ: How To Establish A Bedtime Routine If you stay consistent on how you put your baby down, you baby will quickly learn that once the routine starts, it's bedtime, and go down for naps much more easily.  Hope this was helpful! Leave a comment below and share your experience with your baby during the second month! 

Real Life Story About Adopting A Babywise Routine

Baby's First Month Sleep Schedule and Feeding Guidance - Few Tips on the First Month With the Baby

Simple and Easy Sample Daily Sleep Schedule from 4 Months to 3 Years

One of the best ways to help ensure little ones (and mom and dad!) get a good night's sleep is to establish a consistent bedtime routine. This helps to make the daytime to nighttime transition seamless while also helping baby know what to expect next. A comfortable and secure baby is a better sleeping baby! Sooner is definitely better than later when it comes to establishing a bedtime routine with baby. According to BabyCenter "When your baby is as young as 6 or 8 weeks old, start following a set pattern every night. She'll quickly come to appreciate the consistency and predictability." (source) Follow these below tips and get started on creating your own unique routine right away. Watch for baby's sleepiness cues and use those as the starting point for your routine. If baby consistently starts to doze off around 7:00 pm each night, plan to start your routine by at least 6:45 pm each night (or earlier, depending on how involved your routine is). Don't fight baby's natural tendencies; use them to your advantage! The consistency of your routine is much more important than the "what" of your routine. You don't need to squeeze in a bath, a massage, listening to quiet music, cuddles in a glider, a favorite book, and saying goodnight to each stuffed animal to have a perfect bedtime routine. Maybe what works best for your family is dressing your baby in their comfy Tealbee sleepsack followed by some special cuddle time, a good book, and a song. Well, then that's the perfect routine for your baby! Now repeat that every night. Be prepared for bumps along the way, especially as baby grows. As Parents.com says, "as your child gets older, you will experience more woes that accompany bedtime. Every child has her hang-ups when it comes to the bedtime routine: Whether it be stalling for more time reading, not wanting to brush her teeth, or complaining about her pajamas. The best way to deal with these problems is to simply know they are coming. By anticipating her protest, you will be able to maneuver around it smoothly in a manner that suits your child best." (source) Use a similar, albeit shorter, routine for daytime naps. What To Expect recommends that you "take advantage of the sleep cues your baby knows and incorporate them into her before-nap pattern. While you probably don’t want to take the time or the effort to do a major bath or full-body massage, you may very well want to read a story or two or sing a song to help your cutie transition to naptime more easily." (source) The bedtime routine you establish with baby will become a special, favorite part of each day. It will help you bond and will build cherished memories for you both.