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Hi Aditi,
That’s a great question—and I completely understand your concern. You’re absolutely right that once your little one learns to fall asleep independently and starts connecting her sleep cycles on her own, her nap lengths will naturally begin to improve.
In the meantime, though, it’s all about finding a balance that works best for both her and you.
It’s totally okay to rescue one or two naps with contact naps if that helps her get more restorative sleep during the day. Short naps can lead to more frequent wake windows, which can build up sleep pressure and make the end of the day more challenging. So if you find that extending a couple of naps makes the day run more smoothly, that’s a great option.
If you are going to rescue naps, I’d recommend focusing on the first and second naps, as these are usually the most restorative and easiest to extend.
There are a few ways to go about this:
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Option 1: Settle her to sleep in your arms (without movement, if you’re not yet using the settling pyramid for naps), then transfer her to the crib. As her first sleep cycle is ending, go into her room just before she stirs and gently pat or shush her back to sleep. This doesn’t work for every baby, but some respond really well to this kind of gentle resettling.
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Option 2: If she stirs and isn’t able to resettle in the crib, you can pick her up and hold her for the next sleep cycle.
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Option 3: You can skip the crib entirely and go straight to a contact nap from the start.
Ideally, she’ll get at least part of the nap in the crib, but if that’s not working right now, it’s completely fine to go with what helps her get the sleep she needs.
Does that sound okay?
Emma
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