I could name 100 parenthood issues I knew were going to arise at some point in my motherhood journey. I will confess, getting my little one to NAP was not something I thought would drive me insane, but it did.

I KNOW how exhausting it can truly be to figure out what it truly is your little one needs to make the sleep gods sprinkle the sleepy fairy dust.

Well, I am no sleep god, but I am confident in the approach I take to get a GREAT napper and I want to teach you.

Tip #1: FULLY AWAKE- Not Drowsy

Why won’t your baby take a great nap if you aren’t following appropriate schedules? You may be letting them get too little daytime stimulation… or putting them down while they are already drowsy.

Are you rewarding them with a short wake window? Say their age appropriate wake window is 90 minutes and you keep offering naps at 60 minutes…. That sleep drive will be low, because they have not been awake long enough. So, they will either protest, fall asleep, and, or only sleep one sleep cycle.

Same thing goes, if you place them down for a nap and they have been awake, past their wake window. Now, we have a baby who is overtired & they are unable to settle because their bodies have missed the sweet spot of falling asleep.

My biggest advice is to stay away from cars, strollers and feedings thirty minutes or less, before nap. Your little one could build up that sleep pressure and then, when you try and transfer, they are no longer ready to nap.

Tip #2: Room Environment

I don’t know about you, but I constantly heard that children needed to sleep in loud & bright environments.

Let’s think about that. When we want to nap and or, fall asleep at night… do you think a bright and lit room is the environment we choose? NOPE.

When trying to receive naps that are of great quality and quantity naps that are in rooms that are calm, dark and cool…. will bring upon successful naps.

Our little one slept in a dark room, when we practiced crib naps, and became used to that environment. As a newborn, we still had cuddles and carseat naps!

The Slumberpod is an amazing resource for helping our little one’s 4+ months receive naps that are successful.

Tip # 3: Waiting

Parents are so quick to rescue short naps. The number one thing my husband and I would implement, is waiting. Again, sleep cycles are 20-45 minutes in newborns and up. Newborns have two sleep cycles, quiet and loud. Babies 4+ have similar to adult sleep cycles that still end in 30-45 minutes. If my little one would wake after the first sleep cycle, we waited. We would add on time each day never exceeding 20 minutes and restarting the timer if they settled for thirty consecutive seconds or more. Starting at 2 and going up to 20 minutes. Again, newborns cannot self-soothe so, entering sooner, is better.

The more you give your little one time to connect cycles, or feel comfortable in their bed, the better they will get at falling back asleep.

This is exactly what I want you to do.

For the NEXT 7 days:

1- Lay your little one down wide awake at their appropriate age schedule (be sure to download the link below).

2. Enter their room and ensure that it is completely dark. Sit in the middle and videotape. If you see any light (natural or not) ensure it is covered.

3. When you exit their room.. wait. Wait 20 mins, enter (without picking them up) tell them it is nap time- and then, exit and reset. Do this for another 20 mins before you cancel. Try again at the next nap.

If you know, you need a more detail plan- let’s get you booked on a call and get your family sleeping with one on my sleep packages.

Schedule Guide