Reply To: 8w old refuses naps during the day

[Emma H]

Hi Ana,

It’s so good to hear that the swaddle and pyramid work well for her bedtime. The reason this approach is effective at bedtime and not during the day is that her sleep pressure and circadian rhythm are working together to help her fall asleep. The fact that she has started to have a longer stretch of sleep at the beginning of the night also indicates that her circadian rhythm is starting to have an impact on her sleep, which is great.

At 8 weeks, the Period of PURPLE Crying might be peaking, which can make it tricky to get her to nap in the afternoon. During this fussy period, babies often find it challenging to fall asleep and may have very short naps, often preferring to cluster feed and be held.

Given that afternoon naps might be challenging, you might have more success with getting her to nap in the crib at the beginning of the day.

Here are a few things you can do to encourage her to nap in her crib:

1. Follow the Wake, Feed, Play, Sleep Routine:

   • At this age, you’ll notice that she is starting to stay awake after a feed. This is a good time to establish the wake, feed, play, and sleep routine. Often, a baby wakes from a nap, feeds, plays, and then shows signs that are often mistaken for hunger. We feed them again, and they fall asleep while feeding. This ‘sleep’ is very brief but enough to lower their sleep pressure, making them less tired and extending their wake window. To avoid this cycle, follow the wake, feed, play, and sleep routine. After she has been awake and starts showing tired signs, swaddle her, take her to her bedroom, complete her sleep routine, and then use the settling pyramid to help her fall asleep.

2. Embrace the Short Naps:

   • At this age, short naps (lasting around 20 minutes) are normal and can vary from nap to nap and day to day. If she falls asleep while feeding and wakes when you transfer her to the crib, her sleep pressure might have lowered, causing her to stay awake for another wake window (45 + minutes) before falling back to sleep. In these situations, if she wakes up and you can’t settle her back to sleep within 10 minutes, start the next wake, feed, play, and sleep routine.

3. Start Waking Her at a Consistent Time:

   • To help mature her circadian rhythm and encourage a consistent time for the first nap of the day, start waking her within a 30-minute window in the morning (if you haven’t already).

4. Settle Her in the Crib for Morning Naps:

   • Given that she is likely going through the peak of the Period of PURPLE Crying, afternoon naps might be more challenging. To address this, focus on using the settling pyramid for morning naps. When she shows tired signs, follow these steps:

     1. Take her into the bedroom and complete the sleep routine: swaddle her, turn on the white noise machine, and sing a lullaby while holding her.
     2. Lay her down in the crib while she is drowsy but still awake. Avoid feeding her as part of the nap routine to prevent her from falling asleep while feeding, which can lead to short naps (as she is likely to fall asleep briefly while feeding) and lower her sleep pressure.

     Once she is in the crib, use the settling pyramid techniques as needed to help her fall asleep.

Does this seem doable for you and your husband?

Emma