How to Help Your Baby Nap
Try classic naptime activities., Simplify your nighttime routine., Encourage self-soothing., Don’t just let your baby cry.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Try classic naptime activities.
Sometimes time-honored traditions are honored for good reason.
Your grandparents, and their grandparents before them, probably sang lullabies and rocked with their babies to help them sleep.
See if you can help bring on a nap with one or more of these classic methods:
Make sure you are winding down your baby's activity level before a nap.
Don't go from a tickle-fest to suddenly trying to get your child to sleep.
Choose calm activities as naptime approaches, like doing a puzzle together.
Nurse or bottle-feed your baby.
It doesn’t need to be a full meal; the activity itself and the connection between you and your baby provides a calming effect.
Read a story, or a few.
Point to the pictures.
Do character voices.
But read calmly and slowly.
Sing songs. “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” still holds up after all these years.
Look at your baby as you sing in a quiet, soothing, reassuring tone.
Use a rocking chair.
Or swing your baby back and forth gently in your arms.
Try, however, to put your baby down in the crib before they actually fall asleep.
And remember that whatever patterns you set will become naptime expectations, so try to avoid methods that you won’t have the time or energy to repeat each naptime. -
Step 2: Simplify your nighttime routine.
Especially if your baby is doing relatively well with sleeping at night, treat naps as miniature versions of bedtime.
Draw from the major components of your nighttime routine while trimming and simplifying them for daytime use.
Develop patterns that your child will associate with sleep whether it is night or day.For instance, if a bath is part of your nighttime routine, a gentle massage or some light baby-cleaning with a soft cloth and warm water might do the trick at naptime.
Keep the general order, even if the elements change a bit for naptime.
If at bedtime you always read two stories while rocking, then nurse, then sing two songs, try trimming it down to one story, an abbreviated nursing, and one song.
Remember to change your baby's diaper before you begin your naptime routine. , In the best case scenario, you don’t actually want to soothe your baby to sleep.
Instead, you want to create soothing conditions that convince your baby to give into tiredness and take a nap.
The actual “sleeping” part of the nap should begin in the crib, not in your arms; otherwise, you’ll establish a napping pattern that can be difficult to maintain for both of you.Follow your routine, then place your still-awake (but hopefully sleepy) baby into the crib.
Quietly leave the room.
Your baby might stir for a bit, but is likely to doze off before long.
If your baby is falling asleep in your arms, shorten your routine so that you can make it to the crib before the actual nap begins.
Or do a quick diaper change to ward off sleepy-time for a few moments.
Use a pacifier (without any straps or clips) if that helps with self-soothing. , “Self-soothing” is sometimes taken as another way to say “let babies cry themselves to sleep;” however, some experts believe that doing so only introduces feelings of fear and abandonment into the sleep process.If your baby begins to cry upon being put down in the crib, leave the room, wait a few minutes (perhaps five), then return if necessary and resume an abbreviated nap routine.
It may take a few tries, but your baby should fall asleep eventually.If you’ve reached a breaking point, or are just plain exhausted, it is okay to let your baby cry in the crib for a longer spell.
The crib is a physically safe location, and being with you while you are frazzled, distracted, or dismayed may not necessarily be so.
Take a few moments when you need them, and don’t be ashamed to ask for help when necessary. -
Step 3: Encourage self-soothing.
-
Step 4: Don’t just let your baby cry.
Detailed Guide
Sometimes time-honored traditions are honored for good reason.
Your grandparents, and their grandparents before them, probably sang lullabies and rocked with their babies to help them sleep.
See if you can help bring on a nap with one or more of these classic methods:
Make sure you are winding down your baby's activity level before a nap.
Don't go from a tickle-fest to suddenly trying to get your child to sleep.
Choose calm activities as naptime approaches, like doing a puzzle together.
Nurse or bottle-feed your baby.
It doesn’t need to be a full meal; the activity itself and the connection between you and your baby provides a calming effect.
Read a story, or a few.
Point to the pictures.
Do character voices.
But read calmly and slowly.
Sing songs. “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” still holds up after all these years.
Look at your baby as you sing in a quiet, soothing, reassuring tone.
Use a rocking chair.
Or swing your baby back and forth gently in your arms.
Try, however, to put your baby down in the crib before they actually fall asleep.
And remember that whatever patterns you set will become naptime expectations, so try to avoid methods that you won’t have the time or energy to repeat each naptime.
Especially if your baby is doing relatively well with sleeping at night, treat naps as miniature versions of bedtime.
Draw from the major components of your nighttime routine while trimming and simplifying them for daytime use.
Develop patterns that your child will associate with sleep whether it is night or day.For instance, if a bath is part of your nighttime routine, a gentle massage or some light baby-cleaning with a soft cloth and warm water might do the trick at naptime.
Keep the general order, even if the elements change a bit for naptime.
If at bedtime you always read two stories while rocking, then nurse, then sing two songs, try trimming it down to one story, an abbreviated nursing, and one song.
Remember to change your baby's diaper before you begin your naptime routine. , In the best case scenario, you don’t actually want to soothe your baby to sleep.
Instead, you want to create soothing conditions that convince your baby to give into tiredness and take a nap.
The actual “sleeping” part of the nap should begin in the crib, not in your arms; otherwise, you’ll establish a napping pattern that can be difficult to maintain for both of you.Follow your routine, then place your still-awake (but hopefully sleepy) baby into the crib.
Quietly leave the room.
Your baby might stir for a bit, but is likely to doze off before long.
If your baby is falling asleep in your arms, shorten your routine so that you can make it to the crib before the actual nap begins.
Or do a quick diaper change to ward off sleepy-time for a few moments.
Use a pacifier (without any straps or clips) if that helps with self-soothing. , “Self-soothing” is sometimes taken as another way to say “let babies cry themselves to sleep;” however, some experts believe that doing so only introduces feelings of fear and abandonment into the sleep process.If your baby begins to cry upon being put down in the crib, leave the room, wait a few minutes (perhaps five), then return if necessary and resume an abbreviated nap routine.
It may take a few tries, but your baby should fall asleep eventually.If you’ve reached a breaking point, or are just plain exhausted, it is okay to let your baby cry in the crib for a longer spell.
The crib is a physically safe location, and being with you while you are frazzled, distracted, or dismayed may not necessarily be so.
Take a few moments when you need them, and don’t be ashamed to ask for help when necessary.
About the Author
Scott King
Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow DIY projects tutorials.
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