Wondering if your baby will ever sleep through the night? Babies have needs at night just as they do during the day; from hunger, loneliness, and fear, to feeling too hot or too cold. They rely on parents to soothe them and help them regulate their intense emotions (adapted from Attachment Parenting International).
Shifting Schedules
By Elizabeth Pantley
During the early years of life, nap schedules are in a continuous state of change. After a newborn period of all-day napping, babies eventually settle into a regular two-nap-a-day routine. Most children switch from these two daily naps to one nap sometime between the ages of 12 and 24 months. However, that year of difference is a very long span of time. This shows that age alone is not the only factor to consider when changing your baby’s nap routine.
Daytime naps might last just a few short hours, but they can affect all twenty-four hours of a child’s day. Naps can improve a child’s mood and reduce fussiness, crying, whining, and tantrums. Studies show that children who nap daily get sick less often, grow taller, and are less likely to be obese when they grow up. Naps enhance attention span and brain development. Naps can also help make up for any shortage in nighttime sleep. Even a one hour shortage in overall sleep hours can have a negative effect on a child – compromising alertness and brain function, and increasing fussiness and fatigue.
With the holidays upon us, many parents worry about their baby’s or toddler’s sleep, particularly during visits from family or when hitting the road. While this should be a time of joy and happiness, we all know that a cranky baby can easily take the fun out of things. Try these tips to help make the season bright, and well-rested, for baby and you.
When Your Child Needs a Nap but Won’t Take One
By Elizabeth Pantley, Author of The No-Cry Nap Solution
Daytime naps might last just a few short hours, but they can affect all twenty-four hours of a child’s day. Naps can improve a child’s mood and reduce fussiness, crying, whining, and tantrums. Studies show that children who nap daily get sick less often, grow taller, and are less likely to be obese when they grow up.
If your child’s naps are shorter than an hour and a half in length, you
may have wondered if these brief naps provide enough rest for your
little one. You might suspect that these catnaps aren’t meeting your
child’s sleep needs – and you would be right. The science of sleep
explains why a short nap takes the edge off, but doesn’t offer the same
physical and mental nourishment that a longer nap provides.
By Elizabeth Pantley
by Nicole Johnson, The Baby Sleep Site™
When Your Child Needs a Nap but Won’t Take One 
If your child’s naps are shorter than an hour and a half in length, you
may have wondered if these brief naps provide enough rest for your
little one. You might suspect that these catnaps aren’t meeting your
child’s sleep needs – and you would be right. The science of sleep
explains why a short nap takes the edge off, but doesn’t offer the same
physical and mental nourishment that a longer nap provides.
