Does your baby no longer want to take his morning or afternoon nap? Wondering if he’s getting enough sleep and don’t know how to help him fall asleep during the day? Here are tips from two baby sleep experts.
Baby’s sleep is essential for its proper development. This means getting a good night’s sleep, but also daytime naps, the duration of which depends on his age. To help him fall asleep in the middle of the morning, or after lunch in the afternoon, here is the wise advice of Kelly Champinot, perinatal consultant and specialist in children’s sleep, and Sandra Menoni, founder of la nuit des petits, specialist in sleep for children from 0 to 6 years old.
“If baby has difficulty falling asleep, we can try swaddling, carrying, rocking, white noise, but also to soothe him with his voice.“recommends Kelly Champinot.
The latter also insists on the need to allow babies to wake up in the conditions in which he fell asleep. For example, we will rock him, but do not wait until he is completely asleep to put him to bed.
“If baby has difficulty falling asleep, we can try swaddling, carrying, rocking, white noise, but also to soothe him with the voice”.
Tips to help baby, from 6 months, to take a nap
Whatever the age of the child, it is obviously important to respect his rhythm and to be attentive to the signs that show he is tired : he rubs his eyes, his nose, yawns, looks a little vague. It’s a sign that it’s time to put him to bed. Just as there is a bedtime ritual, the sleep consultant insists on the need to establish a nap ritual. “It is a point of reference given to the child in order to facilitate the transition to sleep. This structure secures it“, she explains.
If the evening ritual lasts about 20 minutes, then during the day it is better not to exceed 10 minutes. After the diaper change, you can for example read a short story or sing a lullaby and then always finish with a hug and kisses telling the child that it is time to take a nap. From two months, baby must also take a nap in the dark!
What to do if baby doesn’t want to take a morning or afternoon nap
In babies and young children, the nap is a physiological need that complements nighttime sleep. The nap is essential for the assimilation of learning and the nervous balance of the child. For a baby to agree to take a nap, it is important to know his or her awake times. Awake time is the period during which the baby is awake and healthy. When this time has elapsed, the nap allows him to recharge his batteries. This waking time changes with age: At birth, it is 45 min, at 3 months 1h30, at 6 months 2h30 and at 12 months, it can go up to 4h.
Knowing your baby’s waking times allows you to better accompany him during his naps and make it easier to fall asleep. “When a nap no longer works very well, often between 12 and 18 months, when naps get shorter, when falling asleep becomes more difficult, when nocturnal awakenings increase and when awakenings are very early in the morning, this is a sign that a nap transition is taking place. , explains Sandra Menoni, founder of la nuit des petits, sleep specialist for children from 0 to 6 years old. Again, it is good to set up a ritual that will reassure the child and frame his sleep time during the nap.
Thanks to Sandra Menoni, founder of la nuit des petits, sleep specialist for children from 0 to 6 years old and to Kelly Champinot, perinatal consultant and child sleep specialist.