How to Get Your Baby to Nap

Back when I was pregnant with my first child, I labored under the misconception that getting your baby to nap was a no-brainer. I assumed that each day at 1 p.m. I'd put my baby in their crib, where they'd sleep peacefully for several hours. I would straighten the house, return calls, check my e-mail, and refresh myself for an afternoon of child-rearing.

That fantasy scenario proved to be as elusive as the perfect diaper bag. I soon discovered the ugly truth about a baby's peaceful nap: What should be a restorative rest period for everyone all too often becomes a battleground between the baby and you.

Rest assured, though, there are ways to help your little one snooze throughout the day. Keep reading for tips on how to get your baby to nap. Experts also share the ideal nap timeline and strategies for coping with the most common napping dilemmas.

How to Create the Best Baby Nap Schedule

How Many Naps Does a Baby Need?

In the early days, infants sleep so much and so irregularly that they don't need to nap—they can't even distinguish night from day. In fact, your baby's circadian rhythm doesn't appear until they're about a few months old.

For the first two months, babies sleep from 10.5 to 18 hours per day, with each stretch lasting anywhere from 30 minutes to three hours. These large amounts of sleep for a newborn allow rapid growth. Some newborns may seem to sleep all day; others run through short cycles of eating and catnapping.

"In the early days, you don't have to worry about when or how long your baby is sleeping, as long as they're sleeping," says Jodi Mindell, PhD, author of Sleeping Through the Night and associate director of the Sleep Center of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

So forget about rigid nap schedules for a tiny baby, and don't feel guilty if they fall asleep in the car or on your lap. "Sleep is sleep, and it all counts," says Mindell.

By the time your baby reaches that 3-month milestone, things start to even out and become more predictable. Although every baby develops at their own pace, here are some general guidelines on the number of hours spent sleeping at night and napping during the day:

By 3 months of age: At 3 months, most babies will sleep about nine to 10 hours at night (some infants might stay asleep for a six- to eight-hour stretch during the night). They'll also sleep four to five hours per day, napping two to three times a day. If your baby isn't napping regularly, you can start working on a nap schedule.By 6 months of age: By the time your baby is 6 months old, they're hopefully sleeping through the night. In fact, about two-thirds of babies this age are sleeping consistently once they are put down in the evening. You can anticipate about 10 hours of sleep per night and four hours spent napping—usually in the form of two naps per day, although some babies continue to nap three times a day.By 9 months of age: Around this age, your baby's bedtime should be solidified, which for many families is around 7 or 8 p.m. Most babies are taking two naps a day. The total time spent asleep during the day is about three hours and the total nighttime sleep is about 11 hours.By 1 year old: By the time your baby reaches their first birthday, they're spending about 11 hours asleep at night and about three hours asleep during the day. But they may start transitioning to one nap a day.

Tips for Getting Your Baby to Nap

Sleep experts and parents agree that the key to successful napping is consistency. In other words, your baby should nap at the same time, in the same place, with the same routine each day. The challenge is getting them to sleep when and where you want them to—and not according to their own whims.

Here are some expert tips on how to put your baby down for a nap.

Use morning wake time to set their nap schedule.

One recommended system, according to Mindell, is to set nap time according to the hour your baby awakens each morning. With this approach, you need to remember that your little one will need to go down for a nap roughly two hours later. Start getting them in nap mode by following a routine like feeding, diaper change, and a short book well before that two-hour mark, though.

Encourage your baby to nap by the clock.

Another option is to choose a nap time by the clock. Around 6 months of age, some parents consistently put their baby down for a nap in the crib at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. every day.

This technique gives your day more predictability and you can plan things around your baby's nap schedule. But a nap at the same time every day means that your baby needs to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day too—something younger babies may not do yet.

Put your baby down before exhaustion hits.

Regardless of how you choose to schedule naps, getting your baby into their crib before they're exhausted is key, says Mindell. "The biggest mistake parents make is waiting too long for the morning nap."

Try not to wait for signs like eye rubbing or you risk losing your window of napping. The end result could be a cranky, overtired child who's ready to explode. Instead, start prepping them for a nap well before the time you expect them to sleep.

Pay attention to the nap location.

While timing is important, you also shouldn't discount location, says Mindell. "Ideally, your baby should nap where they sleep at night, in their crib or bassinet in a dark room."

Where your child drops off to dreamland is also vital for their future ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. Case in point: If your 3-month-old dozes each morning in the swing, you're going to be stuck rocking a much heavier child in your arms when they outgrow the swing several months later. Plus, sleeping in a swing is not safe for babies, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Encourage self-soothing.

If your baby needs a bottle or breastfeeding to snooze, they won't know how to soothe themselves back to sleep when they wake up, says Sharon Greenip, spokesperson for Zero to Three, an early-childhood research and advocacy group in Washington, D.C.

The key is to find soothing cues to help your little one fall asleep on their own that don't require your constant attendance. A daily ritual, similar to but shorter than your bedtime ritual, can do just that.

Be consistent.

Babies learn through repetition, says Greenip. "Predictability gives babies a sense of comfort and security."

Sitting with your baby in the same chair for a pre-nap story or singing a favorite song each day signals that it's nap time. Kathleen Holt, of Houston, has sung the same song— John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads"—to her daughter at every nap and bedtime since she was 4 months old.

"I'm ready for something else, but since it works so well, I don't dare change it," she says. "I just put her in her crib, start to sing, and that's it."

Basics of Safe Sleep

Babies should be placed to sleep on their backs and in their own space, even for naps. You can use their crib or a pack-n-play as long as it contains a firm mattress and a fitted sheet—nothing else. Refrain from putting your baby on a couch or chair. You also should avoid infant swings and bouncy seats. If your little one falls asleep in the car, be sure to transfer them to their crib or a pack-n-play when you get home.

What to Do If Your Baby Won't Nap

As every new parent knows, life happens, and even the most diligent parent can be thrown off schedule. Here, are some of the most common situations that sabotage your baby's nap schedule and how to avoid them.

Your baby missed a nap.

You're crazed with errands, your sitter forgot the routine, or you've all slept late. For whatever reason, your baby missed their nap, and now you're paying for it.

"If my toddler, Cody, doesn't nap in the early afternoon, he sleeps through dinner and wakes up miserable and starving, or he has a meltdown," says Denise Newman, of Berkeley, California. Her solution? Make sure your child naps, even if they're not at home or there's a major distraction going on.

"If we're at someone else's house, I'll lie down with him in a bedroom," she says. "He even napped during his sister's birthday party."

Your baby napped in the car for a few minutes.

It's similar to catnapping but more destructive. Basically, your child falls asleep in the car for a few minutes, and when they wake up, they won't sleep—at all. They also are testy and irritable.

"Sometimes 10 minutes can be enough to keep a child awake, but not enough to keep them going," says Mindell. The solution? Catch your child before they snooze. Open a window, or try singing to keep them awake until you get home.

To avoid future carnaps, pinpoint the times when you're most likely to be out and about and choose your baby's nap time accordingly. If you find you need to make a big-time shift—say, a half-hour—adjust the time by gradually moving it in 15-minute increments. Instead of 12:30, go to 12:15 and then 12, until you're at the time you need.

Your baby is sick.

Colds and other common childhood illnesses interfere with good napping because they often interrupt nighttime sleep, throwing your baby off schedule. If your child is up all night and falling asleep at breakfast, bring them back to their crib so they still have a mental connection between naps and their crib. After the illness passes, return to your rituals to help get napping back on track.

You're on vacation.

Your baby couldn't care less that they're in sunny Nassau. A different crib and major schedule disruptions can ruin their nap timing and leave them cranky. The good news? If you've stuck to a routine at home, you can adapt it to your vacation.

They're reaching developmental milestones.

When your 8-month-old conquers pulling themselves up, they'll probably prefer working on their new skill rather than taking a boring nap. Give naps a try, but don't worry if your child won't sleep now and then.

"Put your child in their crib for an hour, even if they just play," says Mindell. "When time is up, take them out." After your child masters the milestone, they'll be ready to start their nap routine again.

Older siblings cause distraction.

Older siblings are big and can do lots of cool stuff. What baby wouldn't want to stay up and play with them? They also need attention, particularly if they're toddlers, and you can't leave them to their own devices while you implement your baby's nap routine.

One solution? Family rest time. Your baby goes to their crib, and your older kids settle down with a book or, conceivably, a nap themselves. It worked like a charm in my house. No one missed out on any fun, and everyone got some much-needed rest.