3 tips for troubleshooting naps

Does it send you into a spin when something doesn’t go to plan with your little one’s sleep?

Maybe they woke up early in the morning, they refused a nap, they only slept for 30 mins at lunchtime. Sleep can be all consuming and anxiety provoking.

I am sharing 3 tips to help you troubleshoot naps more confidently and get that much needed YOU time in the day.

Tip 1: Consider using a bridging nap

Now this is ONLY relevant if your little one is between 4 months and 6 months of age. If your little one is younger or older than this - skip along to the next tip.

A bridging nap as the name suggest literally ‘bridges’ the gap between one sleep and the next when your little one’s awake time would otherwise need to be stretched too much. It’s only short (10-15 minutes) and you do this sleep assisted in arms, carrier, car or pram (basically just the easiest way to get the sleep in).

For example: a 4 month old baby wakes early at 5.30am and doesn’t go back to sleep. You get them up at 7am, offer a milk feed, then offer a bridging nap at 7.45am-8am. Then get them up and have some play. They’re then back on track for their ‘normal scheduled nap time’ at 9am.

The bridge nap buys your baby about 45-60 minutes of awake time before they ideally need to be back asleep. This helps to avoid needing to offer a suuuuper early nap at 8am for example and helps you get the day back on track :)  This can also be used to bridge the gap at other times of day eg between morning and lunch nap or lunch nap and 3rd nap.

Tip 2: Allow time for settling! This is a question I am asked REGULARLY. If a routine guide says ‘9am nap time’ - always put baby down in bed 10-15 minutes beforehand to allow them time to go to sleep. This will help prevent them becoming overtired and they’ll be much more likely to doze off happily.

This is especially important if you’re working on supporting your little one to self settle and they’re taking a while to go to sleep.

Tip 3: You can only offer sleep

Repeat after me. We can’t make our babies sleep. We can only offer. It is not your responsibility to make your child sleep just like it isn’t your job to make them eat. We can only offer.
Taking that pressure off yourself is so important. Having the tools up your sleeve to navigate their sleep no matter what happens in the day will help reduce any anxiety around sleep. You’ve got this!

If you are looking for further support and coaching with your little one's sleep, drop me a DM on instagram or book in a 15 minute discovery call via the website. I can't wait to help your family!