When Baby Wakes Exactly 30 Minutes Into the Nap…

Have you seen that meme where the mom is laying the baby down in the crib and the baby is replaced by a stick of dynamite?? It’s funny but it’s so true - it really feels like that when you never know from day to day if your baby will take a good nap, or if they will wake up as soon as you lay them down, or if they will only sleep for 30 min and then wake up hollering.

Catnaps of 20-45 minutes are pretty common in babies from 2-16 weeks. Knowing that babies need good naps for healthy and development, and that parents need a break, this can be frustrating! So first let’s understand why this happens:

A young baby’s sleep cycle is 30-45 minutes, vs an adult’s which is 90 minutes. Many babies have not yet learned how to “connect” those sleep cycles without having to call out for a caregiver to come in and assist them back to sleep. (Or they might think nap time is over!)

These are some ways you can naturally support your baby’s ability to connect their sleep cycles to get those 1hr+ naps in:

💤 Make sure your baby has an age appropriate routine and is generally starting the day and having naps at about the same time each day

💤 Swaddle a newborn tightly or use a sleep sack for an older baby (Nested Bean, Magic Merlin, Halo etc)

💤 Set the right environment for optimal naps - a dark, cool nursery with a sound machine. Complete darkness isn’t necessary for daytime naps but you do want to differentiate between naptime and awake time

💤 Lay baby down awake for naps. If they fall asleep independently, when they wake between sleep cycles they are more likely to go back to sleep without requiring assistance

💤 Give baby an opportunity to connect those cycles on their own! Many caregivers rush into the nursery as soon as they hear a noise. However, taking a patient approach can give the baby an opportunity to achieve a longer nap.

💤 (This doesn’t always work for every baby but you can try it out!) If baby always wakes at the same time, try going in just before the wake and preemptively patting and shushing, giving paci, etc (let baby still fall asleep by themselves though)

If your baby is 16+ weeks and still catnaps, contact me - I can help!

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If you’d like my free printable daily sleep schedule for your baby, click the image below!