Tips for Independent Naps

Contact naps are a hot topic with my clients. Some love the snuggles, others feel trapped during nap time, and most have both feelings exist simultaneously. It is normal to love contact naps and also feel trapped by these naps at the same time.

Am I Doing Too Many Contact Naps?

Before we get into tips for independent naps, I cannot stress enough that you can’t spoil your newborn. Newborns cannot learn to self-soothe. It is normal for them to need to be rocked to sleep and held for many naps. Don’t worry about “spoiling” your baby with too many contact naps in the first 4 months. Our job in the newborn months is to help our babies sleep when they need rest, even if this involves intervention from you.

Can't get your newborn to nap independently at all? See tips below!

Tips For Independent Newborn Naps

While contact naps can be beautiful and enjoyable, it can also feel overwhelming if your baby will only nap in your arms. It is normal for a newborn to want contact naps. But it is also great to start practicing independent naps as well. Here are my top tips for implementing some independent naps with your newborn.

1. Swaddle. Your baby’s startle reflex is very strong at this age. Newborns tend to jerk, squirm, startle, and wake themselves up frequently. It is important to swaddle them nice and snug before laying them down for a nap.

2. Follow their age-appropriate wake windows and sleepy cues. Getting your baby down for a nap before they become overtired will make it much easier to successfully implement an independent nap.

3. Transfer carefully. Once you have your baby swaddled, you can rock them fully to sleep. When transferring them into the crib or bassinet, you want to hold them on their side and close to your body for as long as possible before laying them down. Lay your baby down on their side first, then slowly roll them to their back. Keep your hand on their chest or jostle them back and forth for a minute to ensure that they stay asleep. You can also practice laying them down drowsy and jostling them to sleep in the bassinet. Laying them down drowsy can help eliminate the risk of them waking on the transfer.

4. Practice in the morning. The first nap of the day is usually the first to solidify and is the easiest one to practice an independent nap. As the day goes on, it is very normal for independent naps to become trickier.

5. Help your baby extend naps. Try not to be discouraged by short independent naps. Even 20-30 minutes in the bassinet is a win. When you can, rock your baby back to sleep if they wake up after a short nap (less than an hour). You can try laying them back down or finish off with a contact nap.

Independent Naps For Older Babies

But what about babies who are older than 4 months? If contact naps are working for you, there is absolutely nothing wrong with continuing them past the 4 month mark. A sleep habit only becomes a “bad” habit if it is unsafe or no longer sustainable for you.

That being said, your 4+ month old can learn to rely on contact naps in order to sleep. This can mean you may find it hard to get independent naps longer than 30-45 minutes and your baby may be waking every 2-3 hours at night still.

If you are ready to move away from contact naps and/or you are still experiencing short naps, frequent night wake-ups, and a harder time getting your baby to sleep, you can now teach your baby to consistently sleep independently. Teaching your baby to fall asleep and stay asleep independently is going to eliminate the need to contact nap.

Around 4 months, most babies are developmentally ready to learn to fall asleep and get on consistent 1-2 hour independent naps. Wondering how to do this? Check this out.

Wondering if you can contact nap with your baby that was already sleep trained or knows how to nap independently? Yes, of course you can! Random contact naps here and there will not ruin your baby's independent sleep skills. But if you start doing contact naps a majority of the time or your baby starts to rely on them to sleep, then they can affect your baby's ability to sleep on their own.