Nap Time & Sleep Essentials for Newborns
Our napping road started out extremely bumpy. I, as a new mom, didn’t realize that babies couldn’t put themselves to sleep when they are tired. This is something they have to learn to do. I had always just assumed that babies just fell asleep when they needed to. Boy was I wrong…
What I learned is that newborns can only handle being awake for about an hour at a time until they are about 3 months old. Their wake window will continue to increase as they get older. if you keep a baby up too long, they become overtired and it makes it harder for them to fall asleep. Understanding this was key for us to becoming nap time pros. We were keeping Everly up too long, so when I went to put her down it ended in a screaming match and took over 30 minutes to put her down.
Below are wake windows for babies by age. Keeping track of your baby’s appropriate wake window will help you understand when they are ready for a nap. According to Owlet, babies wake windows are as follows:
Signs of Tiredness
Spotting the signs of tiredness is another key element to making sure you are getting your baby the correct amount of sleep. Getting your baby down for naps when they first start exhibiting signs of tiredness will also help them nap better. Once your baby starts showing early signs of tiredness, you will want to start their nap time routine. If you wait too long, it could make it harder for your baby to fall asleep, and it may even make their naps shorter. Here are some examples of early and late signs of tiredness in babies:
Keep Your Naptime and Bedtime Routine Consistent
Keeping your naptime and bedtime routines the same will help your baby understand when it’s time to sleep, and help them wind down easier. Here is an example of our naptime & bedtime routines
Nap time Routine
- I first start the sound machine. Hearing this noise lets her know that we are going to take a nap. I always use the same sound every time. She seems to like the sound of the wind.
- Then, I swaddle her. I use the same swaddle every time unless I am washing it.
- Once she is swaddled, I give her her pacifier and bounce and sway her gently until she falls asleep.
- Once asleep, I place her in her crib. She takes all of her naps in her crib.
It used to take us about 30 minutes to go down for a nap. I can now get her down for a nap in under 5 minutes almost every time.
Bedtime Routine
- We start our bedtime routine with a bath.
- After her bath, we put her in a clean onesie and she goes right into her Merlin’s Magic Sleepsuit. If you have not heard of this, it is complete magic. Check out my post on How the Merlin’s Magic Sleepsuit Saved My Sanity.
- After she is in her sleepsuit, I put her Owlet Smart Sock on her. This tracks her heart rate and her oxygen levels. It gives me such peace of mind at night, especially as she has begun sleeping longer stretches and in her crib. Then I start her sound machine and begin to bounce and rock her gently to sleep.
I have found this has worked for us. I have linked some of the products we use daily in our routines that help make sleep a breeze.
Naptime and Sleep Essentials
Now that you understand typical wake windows, and how to spot when your baby is ready for a nap, I wanted to share some of the products we use that help make nap-time easier, and to help keep your baby asleep longer through the night.
Blackout Curtains – This is a must for daytime napping and even nighttime sleeping. Keeping the room where your baby sleeps will help them stay asleep longer. According to The Baby Sleep Site, it can be difficult for babies to sleep in light rooms because they may find the smallest things entertaining, which can keep them from falling asleep and staying asleep.
Sound Machine – This does not only help our baby fall asleep, but it helps keep her asleep. It drowns out other noise in the house that could potentially wake her up. We have two sound machines. We have a small travel one called the Rohm, and the Larger one in her room that is called the Hatch.
Swaddle – We use the swaddle during the day for naptime only. I think that it helps her know that it is naptime as opposed to nighttime. I let her keep one arm out to help her get used to not being swaddled. We have tons of swaddles (probably 20) but we use the same swaddle every day. It is from Emerson and Friends. I love it because it is super stretchy and heavy. It is great because she stays swaddled tightly through her entire nap.
Merlin’s Magic Sleepsuit – This right here was a game-changer for sleep for us. Everly used to wake up multiple times in the night( 6+ times a night). With this suit, she only wakes up once to eat. She is sleeping almost 10 hours a night. If you have never heard of the Merlin’s Magic Sleepsuit, check out my post on How the Merlin’s Magic Sleepsuit Saved my Sanity.
Owlet Smart Sock – This little sock gave me so much peace of mind as I slept, knowing this would alter me if anything was wrong. We use this sock every night, I do not put it on her for nap time because I keep a close eye on her when she naps. It is also extremely nice having the baby monitor and sock in the same app. That way I do not have to check 2 different apps.
Mam Pacifier- Our baby loves her paci. We tried the Phillips Avent and cutie pat paci’s, but our baby had a hard time keeping them in her mouth. Which in return meant she was waking up more often looking for it. We tried the flatter paci by MAM. These worked great. They have an indent where her mouth closes which helps keep it in while she is sleeping. They even have a nighttime paci specifically made for sleep. These were a game-changer for us because she didn’t lose these as easily. The nighttime pacifiers also glow in the dark, helping you find them easily. I have linked the nighttime pacifiers below.
I hope you find this helpful in putting your baby down for naps and getting your baby to sleep longer stretches through the night. This is what helped us immensely.
