Cat Napping

What is 'Cat Napping'

Cat Napping is what we call it when a baby consistently naps less than an hour. It can be really frustrating for the parents, but it isn't always a bad thing. For some young babies, this is completely normal. From around the 4 month mark, when babies typically go through the 4 month developmental progression, so around 5 months, they start to sleep for longer stretches. However, if you are still struggling to help your little one extend their naps and find ways of supporting them to link those sleep cycles try these tips.

1) Fill those tummies

Just to clarify, I don't mean feeding to sleep directly - whilst this works well for young babies, as babies get older it can be better to try to move to a feed-play-sleep routine, to avoid feeding to sleep becoming a sleep crutch. I would say that ensuring your baby has a feed before a nap, or a snack/ meal if they are being weaned, can help them to go longer stretches without waking.

Also, if your baby is doing a lot of feeding overnight, it might be worth exploring their daily calorie intake and seeing if it might be possible to extend their daytime feeds, or add a few more in, so they are taking more calories during the day, which might reduce their need during the night. For babies under 6 months, I still recommend feeding on demand, but you can look at adding in dream feeds at night to try to extend their nighttime sleep, to ensure you are also getting a few hours of uninterrupted sleep - which is vital for your health and wellness too.

2) Is it dark enough?

A baby's circadian rhythm becomes better established around 2/3 months old. You might find that from now on, your baby will sleep better in a darker room, away from too many distractions - especially if you have a very alert baby. I have a little test I use to know if a room is truly dark enough, and here it is.

The Hand Test: In the room where you put your baby down to sleep, if you turn all the lights off and hold your hand up in front of your face, if you can still see your hand, it's not dark enough!

Whilst it is recommended that babies under 6 months sleep in the same room as you, try where possible to ensure the room stays as dark as possible with minimal disruptions to give them the best chance of staying asleep.

3) The Sweet Spot

You are your baby's expert. There is literally nobody else who knows your baby better than you. Keep an eye on their sleepy cues and awake windows so you learn exactly where their nap sleep sweet spot sits. Every baby is different, so your baby might not fit the average awake window perfectly - and that is absolutely okay - but by having an idea of what the average awake windows are, it means you can tweak the times until you find what suits your little one perfectly. Even shifting naptime or bedtime by 15 minutes can be all it takes.

You can find my awake windows sleep chart here.

4) Self Settling

If your baby is past the newborn stage, it is a really great idea to encourage them to self-settle. A baby who is more reliant on a sleep association/ crutch to get to sleep, is more likely to wake when they enter a lighter sleep and need help to resettle.

5) The 3 minute rule

Wait 3 minutes! Rushing in too quickly can actively disrupt a baby who is just resettling back to sleep. We all wake up at night between sleep cycles, it is completely normal, it's just as adults we are  so good at getting ourselves back to sleep, we don't even notice it. To support your baby to learn this skill, give them a few minutes before going in. When you do go in, be quiet, non-engaging and offer gentle reassurance, ideally just shushing and maybe patting - if they are very upset, do pick them up and calm them before placing them back down

6) Carefully does it

If your baby is drifting off in your arms, place them back into their sleep space drowsy but awake. To avoid jolting them awake, try placing them down bum first, on their side and rolling them slowly onto their backs before placing your hand firmly on their chest and offering reassuring shushes. This can help ease the transition and will support them towards learning to self-settle.

As with any change, it is going to take persistence and time. Your baby is learning a whole new skill and they might have good and bad days in the process. The key is to be consistent in your approach and know that your baby is growing so quickly, and you will get there when it comes to their sleep - you've got this!

I hope these tips are helpful and don't forget, If you want more support for your child's sleep, you can book a free consultation with me. I can guide you on all things about sleep, such as how to approach setting up a good routine, how to overcome any sleep challenges and ultimately help you get the sleep you need to thrive.

Keri x