Catnaps, Naps and Your Toddler

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

22 Aug 2006 12:00 PM

Napping is a wonderful and regular part of your baby and toddler's life. As a newborn, your precious bundle will sleep a great deal more than he or she will be awake. Your newborn and infant will usually nap two to three times a day. As they get older, their naps will shorten or the frequency of them will. By the time you reach toddler stage, they will likely be having just one nap per day.

My daughter often took a morning nap between 9 and 11 and then later a nap between 3 and 5. By the time she was 2, she was taking one long nap between 11 to 2 or 3 in the afternoon.

Naps are critical for your baby or toddler because it helps to keep them happy and less stressed. There is nothing worse than a tired, overwrought baby that nothing can satisfy. In fact, most mothers learn very quickly that they should plan their outings and other outdoor trips around their baby's nap.

One of the best ways I found to cope with this was to get the baby into the routine that matched my daily needs so that neither of us was suffering. Shopping trips early in the morning were the best time. She was usually awake by 6 a.m., so I could go to the store at 7 and shop, be home by 8 and then she was down for her nap by 8:30.

It may take both of you a while to get into the rhythm of it, but your best bet is to keep the stress lowered for both of you - make sure he or she naps on a regular basis and don't hold off the naps until they are overtired or they will have a real hard time going to sleep. That may sound odd, but I've seen it happen time and again - your baby is too tired to sleep - but they are too fussy for either of you to do anything else.

How do you cope with your baby's naps and your daily needs?

Related Articles:

Working at Home: 5 Ways to Keep Your Kids Busy

Why Am I So Tired?

Understanding Babies & Sleep

Heart to Heart: The Baby & The Bear

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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Libby Pelham (12880) 22 Aug 2006 12:53 PM

My 2 year old has no routine :-( He is napping now (ssshhhh), but often he waits until dinner time and naps in his high chair at 6 pm :-( I miss the days of two or three naps a day!

Catherine Ipcizade (5617) 22 Aug 2006 02:40 PM

That made me laugh, Libby. My two-year-old typically naps about 1 1/2 to 2 hours per day when I'm lucky...usually from 1-3.

Jaime Egan (2178) 24 Aug 2006 01:04 PM

Depending on what time my daughter wakes, she usually takes a nap about four or five hours after she gets up. Depending on what we have done that morning, she will sleep anywhere from 1-3 hours -- 3 if I'm really lucky. :-)