Cat Naps
Today we’re gonna talk about cat naps.
We’ll discuss catnaps as they relate to babies and children and talk about all the reasons why babies cat nap, how to lengthen the catnap, how to use it to your benefit and how to avoid them from happening altogether.
Before we get into it, did you know that cat naps aren’t all bad and can actually be a powerful little little tool when it comes to our baby’s sleep. There are so many benefits to the catnap so keep reading if this relates to you.
What is a catnap anyway?
By definition a cat nap is ‘a short, light sleep; a doze’. We could all benefit from a catnap at some point during the day, babies, children and adults alike. Catnaps are rejuvenating, great little pick-me-ups that help give us that extra energy needed to make it through the day, especially when sleep pressure is really low and feeling like our eyes are starting to shut.
On the flip side, however, catnaps can be a hindrance, especially if your baby is a chronic cat-napper and only taking very short naps. They are often like pesky, unwelcome pests that enter your home without permission and certainly without regard for your time or schedule. No one wants a chronic cat-napper on their hands and it can be especially frustrating to have one because it doesn’t leave mom or dad time to do much of anything and a large portion of the day is spent getting your baby down for a nap…again.
So why do babies cat nap? Keep reading…
COMMON REASONS WHY BABIES CAT NAP
To bridge the last nap till bedtime.
When they're on a multiple nap schedule.
Babies who don’t have much of a schedule.
When they are taking too many naps for their age.
When they can't connect sleep cycles on their own.
When they are put down too late or too early.
Newborns who naturally have shorter sleep cycles.
When they are natural cat-nappers and don’t require a lot of daytime sleep.
So what are the benefits of a cat nap?
A catnap can be a helpful tool to bridge the last nap till bedtime. You can use a catnap to prevent major over tiredness which will ultimately help babies sleep better at night and even prevent early morning waking. I find that a late afternoon catnap is much more conducive for young babies and newborns and not so much so for toddlers or older children. Catnapping for older babies and in the toddler stage should be saved for midday and not too late in the afternoon, as this can really interfere with bedtime. There are other ways to help toddlers adjust to the day with less sleep without having to implement a cat nap. Sometimes they may need one, but often times a reinforced quiet time is enough to help them make it to bedtime.
Catnaps are great for babies transitioning from 3-2 naps or 2-1 etc…they often need that short nap to help their bodies adjust to new schedules with less sleep.
Your baby seems like a chronic cat-napper…now what?
You’re probably wondering if you’re doomed or just fresh out of luck and probably starting to reluctantly accept it, too. I have been there!I really know the feeling, trust me. You go through the day literally gearing up, preparing mentally and physically for your baby’s catnapping saga. You give yourself a pep talk beforehand saying that “ok, this is gonna be a short one, don’t even attempt to make that phone call or bother with the dishes” and “aint nothing I can do about it. So I may as well just sit here and wait.” Stuff like that… You’re probably sitting on the couch with your eyes glued to the clock waiting for it to hit 29 minutes because you know that at minute 30, you’re really doomed and your precious quiet time that JUST STARTED is already coming to an end. Ahhh!But, don’t worry, I am here to tell you that there is a lot you can do to help your catnapping baby.
Let’s get into some ways that can help and I can’t stress enough how important these things are for good quality naps and sleep in general.
Good quality awake time
Make sure your baby had a good quality awake time before their nap. Exercise, sunshine, tummy time, whatever it is.Proper feedings/food intake.
Your baby will not sleep well if he is not satiated or full.Proper wake window
Make sure your baby has a proper wake window before their nap. Not too long but definitely not too short. Both of those can result in catnapping. They need to build sleep pressure!Don’t rush in.
Make sure you aren’t rushing in the second your baby wakes up. Give her time to fall back asleep.Independent sleep skills
Make sure your baby has good independent sleep skills so she can learn to connect sleep cycles during naps otherwise you are definitely going to have a cat-napper on your hands.Conducive set up for sleep
Make sure you have a conducive set up for sleep. White noise, dark room, etc…Save the nap
Make sure you save the nap from time to time or help coax your baby back to sleep if they wake too early to help extend that sleep/crib time. You can do a contact nap, a stroller nap, whatever it is you need to do to get your baby to get back to sleep.
When will my baby stop catnapping?
I Briefly mentioned above that newborns tend to catnap, and this is normal. They have very short sleep cycles and are napping several times a day, so it makes sense that they catnap and don’t have much consolidated or organized sleep. Typically, as they get older, though, they naturally start dropping naps as their sleep requirements change and as their bodies start having more organized and predictable sleep patterns. With each nap that they drop, their daytime sleep (usually) becomes more consolidated, so by the time baby is on a 1 or even a 2 nap schedule, those naps are going to be longer whereas a baby taking 3+ naps a day, is likely going to be taking all or at least one cat nap.
Of course there are reasons that I mentioned above that would affect a baby’s ability to take longer than a 20-30 minute nap. So if your baby is well past the newborn stage and still chronically catnapping, factor out what might be causing him to catnap and fix it accordingly.
So you’ve tried everything and your baby is still catnapping…
So you have gone through the list and have factored out all possible reasons why your baby is cat-napping and you still can’t seem to fix it. Now what? This can be so frustrating! had a kid like this and I learned that he just had really low sleep needs. He still does and he’s much older now. This can happen and is actually really normal. Once in a while you come across a baby who really doesn’t need a lot of daytime sleep. Great in the long run cause you probably won’t be stuck at home for naps for years to come, but very annoying in the moment when all you want is an hour or two to get stuff done in the house and enjoy much needed peace and quiet.
So what do you do?
If this is your baby, you may have to accept this reality. It doesn’t mean that you need to take your baby out after a 20-30 minute nap, but it does mean you may need to adjust your expectations…just a bit. Instead of aiming for a 2 hour nap that likely won’t happen, aim for a 45 minute or a one hour nap. Try and avoid taking your baby out the second they wake up from a nap and at least encourage more crib time. Let them get used to laying in the crib happily, even if they are just resting and not actually sleeping. That counts for quiet, rest time, so don’t underestimate that. That in itself will help them make it to bedtime. And you may have to adjust bedtime a bit earlier to accomodate for such short naps. Sometimes babies outgrow this and sometimes they cat-nap until they are ready to drop their nap completely. It’s more rare, but it does happen.
That’s a wrap on catnaps. I hope you have found this post helpful and now have a better understanding of how and when to use the catnap.