..for a 3month old to not nap during the day? My fiances mom got me the book- What to expect, the first year- i havent read it through, i like to just read the "whats expected" for each month as my daughter gets to that age. This morning while she was playing on her play mat i was just flipping through pages and came across a section on napping. It says that up to 6 months a baby should be taking 4or5 naps approximatley an hour each, 6or7 naps aproxx. 30minutes each, or 2, 2hour long naps throughout the day to get enough rest. I know all babies are different and just because it happens with one doesnt mean things will go the same way with another, but my daughter turned 3 months old 2weeks ago and she rarely naps at all during the day. If she does its a 10-20minute nap in the morning and a 20-30 minute nap around 3ish in the afternoon. I guess what im asking is if thats ok?.. should i be trying to force her to take more naps throughout the day? I mean if its not healthy for her to be staying awake so long throughout the day then i will do what i can to have her take more naps. Should i be swaddling her and putting her in her bassinett a couple times a day and just leaving her there even if shes not tired/cranky??
i should add that she sleeps through the night 8pm-5am, eats and goes back to sleep for another 2 hours
My second son didn't nap either but slept through the night. I wouldn't worry about it if it doesn't bother you. It won't affect her health. I would have loved for my son to take more naps because I was exhausted but it just never happened. When I tried to put him down he would cry on and on and was frustrating for both of us. I ended up just letting him sleep whenever he felt like it and that worked out way better.
Every baby naps differently. As long as your baby is happy, healthy and isn't showing signs of needing more rest etc. Then she is fine! Some babies just do cat naps and that is ok!
Infants generally need 12-15 hours of sleep (newborns 15-18).
Whether they get 5 hours at night and take 5 naps during the day... Or sleep 12 hours at night, and 2 naps in the day... And all KINDS of variations all fall into the "normal" range.
LOL... It's something a lot of moms dong think about.. That that "great sleeper" at night usually isn't giving ANY breaks in the daytime!!! So great night time sleepers are getting the "Lucky you!!" from envious moms who do get 4 - 8 hours of "off" / nap time in the daytime.
Sounds like your wee one is sleeping 12 hours, just mostly at night.
That will probably CHANGE at some point (crawling and walking tend to mess with sleep patterns, as does teething)... But it doesn't sound like she's sleep deprived. Just on the low end of normal. For now.
As long as she is happy and thriving you have nothing to worry about! Books tends to describe some "average" and there is a wide range of "normal".
It's ok to rely on your instincts, as long as your baby is healthy, growing and developing you are fine! Don't fix it if it ain't broken!
I do not like the word 'normal' because there really is no normal. Everyone is different and that include babies.
As long as she is happy, healthy and growing she's fine. Babies are by nature a bit narcissistic, or self centered, they do what they need to do when they need to do it. When they are tired they sleep, when they need to poop they poop, ect.
my kid never napped because of reflux and didnt sleep through the night. im sure you'll know if there comes a point when shes tired and needs more sleep
Don't read too many books on babies. :-) I used to do that with my first and then get all upset that he didn't do what the book said. My only advice other than what you've gotten is to be sure she isn't getting overly tired as sometimes they do that and then won't sleep but it sounds to me like she is sleeping so well at night and if she's happy during waking hours in the day she is probably doing great. I would try to get her to sleep a bit longer in the day though if it was me. Maybe and hour in the morning sometime and 2 hours in the afternoon but if she won't then she won't. Do you put her in a swing in the day? Sometimes they'll nap a bit longer that way. But don't try that at night for long periods of sleep.
My good friend's daughter didn't sleep much from birth. She never napped and needed less sleep overall and was fine. She was a very pleasant toddler. She is a very smart, sensible, responsible 4th grader this year. Maybe some kids just sleep less and don't fit the mold exactly.
She sounds like she's thriving to me. My eldest daughter was exactly like that from birth, seriously. She would have short cat naps during the day if we were in the car or she fell asleep during a feeding, but that was it. She slept very, very well at night and was a solid and sound sleeper waking only once to eat during the night.
She's still like this and she's 12.
It's great that she sleeps through the night. She does seem to be napping with those extra two hours, though you probably think of it as an extension of night time. However, I would try to continue the 20 minute naps, at least in the afternoon.
Sometimes lack of naps as a baby is a portend of ADHD later on. I hope it's not for your baby.
Dawn
If she's happy and growing, she's fine.
Don't worry too much about what the books say. If she's tired, put her down for a nap. If she's awake, she's awake. The goal, of course, is for her to eventually be able to be put down awake in the evening, fall asleep on her own, and sleep through the night until morning.
That's the goal. How you get there is different for every baby.
ETA: I just read your SWH. You have the perfect baby that we all wish for at that age! She's sleeping great! Just keep doing what you're doing.
It sounds like she's doing great!
Our son napped all day - then partied all night.
It took us a long time to get his days and nights switched around.
When she wakes up from her naps, how is she. Is she screaming and like saying 'get me out of here!' or is she cooing and playful? Sometimes babies will wake a bit, play, roll over and sleep some more. So if she wakes up and is not hysterical, I would let her stay in her bed a bit more. I think usually after two or three hrs of wakeful time most babies need a rest bc they are learning so much! But she could be different as well, that is entirely possible. I would just try giving her a bit longer after waking to see if she wants to sleep some more. I also suggest making sure she is nice and full when she does go down so she doesn't wake hungry. Good luck!
your baby is normal and fine. this is to help give a guideline. no baby will follow the book perfectly. if a baby is tired it will sleep. i would put my daughter down for 3 naps a day as a baby (morning noonish and evening) that way when i layed her down for bed at 6-7 for the night when she woke for her next feeding i could feed her and go to bed myself and get a few solid hours of sleep.
I never believed in forced naps. Each child is different, so you can read all the books you want and there will always be an exception to the rule they will not tell you about. You baby's 3yro and doesn't take naps is actually a blessing. She will be better prepared for school, because they don't nap in kindergarden/1st grade. My mom had trouble getting me to nap and my son wasn't a napper either. Guess what? We were both gifted children. The brains of some kids are just too busy to nap. You might want to capitalize on the fact of nap time is over by using it as learning/development time. You can sit down with her and teach her how to color, read, build stuff with large Legos/mega blocks, sing, etc. Make it fun learning time.
