Newborn Takes Short Naps

Is your sweet little bundle of joy only taking 20 minute naps? 30 minute naps? 40 minutes naps? If your newborn is taking short naps it can be extremely frustrating for everyone involved. We have so many parents that follow our advice and then reach out feeling defeated and like they’re doing something wrong! We want parents to feel empowered and confident in their parenting abilities!

So let’s figure out together why newborns take short naps, and what we can do to fix it.

Why do newborns take short naps?

Short answer. It’s completely normal [sorry]. Newborns have randomized sleep patterns before their circadian rhythm starts to set in. Your baby may consolidate some naps, but not all…and that’s normal too!

What is happening is that they are only completing one sleep cycle.

Babies under 12 weeks old cycle through two stages of sleep:

REM Sleep [which is an active sleep where they are dreaming, their eyes are moving and their bodies may twitch and jerk]

and non-REM sleep  [where their bodies are still and they are hard to wake up].

They spend 20-30 minutes in each phase for a total of a 40-60 minute sleep cycle…but not only do some babies only do one cycle of sleep, but sometimes they don’t even make it past one phase of sleep!

How to Fix Short Newborn Naps?

1. Put them to sleep in their own sleep space. We can’t stress this enough. When your baby comes into a light sleep, if they realize that their environment has changed THEY WILL WAKE UP. If you put your baby to sleep in their crib or bassinet, there is a much higher likelihood that they will stay asleep when they cycle through.
2. Set them up for success. Set up an ideal sleep environment [Dark room, sound machine, comfortable temperature] and get them in a tight swaddle. If they’re comfortable they’re much more likely to stay asleep.
3. Get them on a routine. We’re big fans of the three hour schedule [eat play sleep]. It helps parents recognize sleepy cues and hunger cues so they can better respond to their baby. If your baby is well fed, and put to sleep when they are tired then they are much more likely to sleep longer.

I’m already doing those things!

Have you already started sleep conditioning? Are you putting your baby to sleep swaddled in their sleep environment? Are they eating on a schedule and you’re trying to work the sleep in between? Then lets get into some advanced advice for a newborn who takes short naps.

1. Is your baby awake or asleep when you leave the room? If your baby is able to fall asleep by themselves then they are more likely to fall BACK to sleep by themselves. Want to learn more?
2. What are you doing when they wake up? Are you running right in and scooping them up? To encourage your baby to connect sleep cycles, you want to try one of two methods [or a combination]
   1. Give them some time. Pause. Wait and see if they will go back down. We are NOT telling you to let your baby cry it out. But give them a few minutes of space. They may fuss, they may cry, they may look around, they may get worked up. Or they may make some noises and go back to sleep!
   2. Go in immediately when they usually wake up or a couple of minutes before, and implement the sleep steps to try to get your baby back to sleep. Sometimes a couple of days of encouraging a longer nap helps your baby get with the program!
3. Give yourself some grace. You can’t force a baby to sleep. You can encourage, but ultimately it’s their choice! Consider it one of the first lessons in parenting an independent baby! If you give them the tools to succeed, eventually the naps will come. Some babies don’t take longer naps until 5 months or older! Just make sure that you are paying attention to their appropriate wake windows.