Day sleeper

If every naptime is a battle of wills, read on for our guide to getting your baby to drop off in the day

Every new mum’s mission is to get her baby sleeping through the night. But just as important for your little one is daytime sleep. ‘Not having enough can make your baby overtired and irritable by bedtime, leading to problems settling and sleeping,’ explains sleep expert Andrea Grace. ‘And an overtired baby will often refuse his last feed or fall asleep over it, resulting in him being under-fed and waking during the night for a top-up.’

Getting your baby into a nap routine is essential for your own sanity, too. Once he’s napping at regular intervals, you can use the time to do chores, have a shower or catch up on some shut-eye yourself.

Daytime naps can be just as hard to achieve as sleeping through the night, as your baby is more stimulated and less tired. But with our step-by-step guide, your little angel will be sleeping like the proverbial baby in no time at all.

The early days

Don’t be too hasty about trying to get your baby into a daytime sleep routine. For the first few weeks, let your baby snooze when and where he wants – in your arms, or the pushchair or car seat when you’re out.

‘Feeding and sleeping are very closely connected at first,’ explains Andrea Grace. ‘Your baby will probably doze during feeds rather than taking proper naps, and this is fine.’

But when sleep patterns begin to emerge, at around six weeks, start to keep a diary of your baby’s naps, feeds and alert times. Then, when you’re ready to introduce a nap schedule, you’ll know roughly how much sleep he needs, and when.

Step 1 Spot the signs

Let your baby take the lead with his nap routine by watching for signs of tiredness. ‘This is likely to be more successful than trying to impose a rigid sleeping schedule on him,’ says Andrea.

Pay close attention to his body language, looking for yawning, crying, rubbing his eyes, becoming fractious and turning his face away when you try to entertain him. If you miss the signs, he may become overtired and struggle to settle.

Step 2 Take him to his sleeping place

When your little one seems tired, put him down for his nap as soon as possible. This may be in his cot, but you don’t need to bend over backwards to make sure he’s tucked up in bed.

‘If you’re at home and you want to settle your baby in his cot or Moses basket, go for it, but encourage him to be flexible about where he sleeps so you’re not chained to the house,’ Andrea advises. ‘Sleep taken on the go, in the pushchair, car seat or sling, is just as restorative.’

If you do put your baby to bed, don’t worry too much about keeping the room dark and quiet. If he’s used to background noise, he’ll be less likely to jolt awake at the slightest disturbance. It’ll also teach him that nighttime sleep – when his room is dark and silent – is different from daytime naps, and may help him sleep for longer at night.

Step 3 Put him down awake

It’s tempting to rock your baby to sleep, but over-handling can make him irritable. And if he falls asleep in your arms, he’s liable to wake the moment you put him down – or wake later and panic because you’re not there.

‘Put him down in his cot or pram with the minimum fuss and leave him to settle himself, rather than walking or rocking him till he falls asleep,’ Andrea advises. ‘This doesn’t mean leaving him to cry – it’s alright to stay beside him and reassure him, but avoid picking him up or putting down to settle him.’

Step 4 Help him to settle

Getting your baby to self-settle may be your ultimate goal, but tiny babies don’t know how to lie still and shut their eyes until they fall asleep. You may need to help him to settle at first – but without letting him drop off in your arms.

‘Try some gentle rocking, but not in your arms,’ Andrea advises. ‘If he’s in his pram or car seat, you can rock the whole thing gently until he’s dozing off. In his cot or Moses basket, put him on his side, place one hand on his chest and one on his back, and gently rock his body.’

Once he starts to drop off, you can roll him onto his back, keeping a hand on his chest to reassure him. Retreat before he’s sound asleep, so he manages the final bit of settling by himself.

Other tricks to help your baby settle include swaddling, letting him suck a dummy or his thumb, playing white noise (such as the vacuum cleaner or washing machine), and giving him a comforter like a blanket or soft toy.

Just make sure that whatever sleep trigger you use is easy to build into your routine, so you can use it whenever and wherever your baby needs a nap. You don’t want to have to put him in his car seat and drive around for an hour every single time you want him to nod off!

Step 5 Encourage longer naps

So, your baby is asleep at last – but what if, 20 minutes later, he’s wide awake again? ‘In the early weeks, it’s usual for babies to nap for quite short periods,’ says Andrea. ‘But after about three months, your little one should be able to settle for naps of 45 minutes or more.’

The key to encouraging longer naps is to make sure your baby self-settles in the first place by following steps three and four, so that if he stirs, he doesn’t need you to re-settle him. ‘If he does wake and you sense that he’s still tired, repeat the settling process,’ Andrea suggests.

‘If, after 20 minutes, he’s showing no signs of going back to sleep, get him up. Keep him awake for at least half an hour to make sure he’s really tired before putting him back down again.’

‘My baby won’t nap!’

Some babies seem to need very little daytime sleep, and are on the go from morning till night without ever seeming tired. But no matter how energised your little one seems, he does still need regular naps.

‘It’s a good idea to keep a diary of feeding and sleeping for a week,’ says Andrea. ‘If feeds are taking a long time, it might be that he’s taking power naps while he eats.’

The diary should help you spot when your baby is ready for sleep, so you can work towards getting him to nap in his cot rather than during a feed. ‘You might have to adjust the times of his feeds, and keep him awake by switching positions, taking him off the breast or bottle, and making eye contact,’ says Andrea.

‘Then, after his feed, you can put him down for a nap.’

The other possibility is that you’re misreading the signs that your baby is sleepy. Unlike adults, who become quiet and lethargic when they’re tired, babies become ‘wired’, and will thrash around and grizzle. So, if it’s three hours since he last slept and he’s a blur of flailing arms and legs, he’s not telling you to play with him, but to put him to bed – no matter how lively he may look!

How much daytime sleep does my baby need?

0 to six weeks
Number of naps: four to eight

How long? One to two hours each, totalling seven and a half to nine hours

Six to eight weeks
Number of naps: Four

How long? Tow to three short naps of 30-60 minutes, plus one longer one of two to three hours

Four to six months

Number of naps: Three

How long? Three to four hours in total – a short morning nap, around two hours in the middle of the day, and another short afternoon nap

Six to 12 months
Number of naps: Two

How long? Two to three and a half hours in total

12-24 months
Number of naps: One

How long? Around one and a half hours, in the middle of the day