Short naps are very common in young babies. The naps may or may not give them the rest they need. Some parents may consider using ferber method for short naps to lengthen these small sleeping periods or to teach the baby to take a short nap on their own.
In this blog, we’ll explore what are short naps, how to use the ferber method for these naps, and when the babies may start taking longer naps.
What are short naps?
Shorts naps are when a baby sleeps for 45-50 minutes or less and wakes up within the time frame of one hour. Usually, babies in their first few months tend to take short naps, in which they wake up just after 1 sleep cycle. This kind of nap is considered a short nap.
As the babies grow, the short naps turn into long ones ranging from 1.5-3 hours, which means the baby has successfully transitioned from 1 sleep cycle to the next one.
Are short naps good for babies?
Well, most of the things related to babies vary from baby to baby. If your baby is doing well with short naps, you shouldn’t worry and let him continue it till he gets bigger and starts to take long naps altogether.
We understand that it gets overwhelming for the parents to handle the child with short naps because you can’t do much in 40-50 minutes but in the initial months, most babies take short naps. So you have to keep up with it.
But If you see your baby is irritable, cranky, or tired after a short nap, you should try to extend the nap time by taking some measures such as:
- Lightly massaging before nap.
- Following a routine for naps.
- Using blackout curtains to reduce light in the room.
- Using a white noise machine to mask the noise.
- Monitoring the room temperature etc.
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Can I use the Ferber method for short naps?
Yes, you can definitely try the Ferber method for short naps too if your baby responds well to the technique for longer naps.
How to follow the Ferber method for short naps:
- Be consistent with the timings. Ensure that your baby takes a short nap at the same time each day. Obviously, this whole process will take some time but consistency with the timings makes a massive difference in any routine.
- Follow the routine rituals that you follow for naps like giving a light massage, singing lullabies, or gently stroking in hair.
- Blackout curtains are must-haves if your external lights reach your baby’s room. Sleeping in the dark will help the baby sleep for longer.
- The temperature of the room should be somewhere around 18-22 °C, with dim lights, and all the external sounds should be soundproofed. You can use a white noise machine to cancel out the external noise.
I recommend Homedics SoundSleep White Noise Sound Machine. It’s very compact and comes in very handy.
- Always put the baby to bed drowsy but awake. So that the baby can differentiate between sleeping on his own and being slept and put in the bed.
- Pat his back and sing a lullaby. You can use any other comforting technique that you usually use. The rule is to not pick the child.
- After comforting for 2 minutes, leave the room and wait for the progressive waiting interval if the baby starts crying instantly.
- If the baby doesn’t self-soothe and sleep on his own, enter the room and soothe him without picking him up.
- Again leave the room in two minutes.
- Keep trying for 30 minutes in total. If the baby doesn’t sleep in this time bracket, just finish the nap period and try again for the next nap.
- If the baby falls asleep on his own after you have finished trying, it’s okay, let him take a short nap. At least he is sleeping without your help.
Can the Ferber method help fix short naps?
Babies naturally take short naps at a young age and this will change as they grow up. Gradually, their naps will become longer and fewer in number.
However, the Ferber method can help to lengthen the short naps if the baby wakes up and needs the parent’s soothing to go back to sleep.
At what age do babies stop taking short naps:
Although every baby is different, most babies will have a consistent and predictable nap schedule (Including short naps) between the ages of 3 to 4 months.
At around 6 months of age, many babies start to develop more established nap patterns. Some naps might extend to 1 to 2 hours, and some babies might start taking even longer naps.
The number of naps will also drop to 2 to 3 per day.
After the age of 6 months, short naps will gradually become longer.
By following a good sleep training method and all the steps given above there is a chance that your child might adopt the habit of self-soothing and it can also improve his sleep stretches. From a short naper, he can develop long, predictable, and improved naps.
Summary:
You can use Ferber method for short naps. You can teach your baby to take a short nap on his own by this method. It can even help lengthen the short nap as well.
Want to learn more about the Ferber method? Click here.
