baby & toddler
IF YOUR BABY NEVER NAPS FOR
LONGER THAN 30 MINUTES...
he’snotcompletingafullsleepcycle.
“At the age of six months, a full sleep
cycle is 40 to 50 minutes,” says Lucy. “So,
a 30-minute nap isn’t long enough for
your baby to get the rest he needs. The
first nap of the day might well be a short
one − 40 minutes is adequate. But at least
one of his naps (the late morning or early
afternoon) should be over an hour long.”
To help your baby learn to sleep through
a full cycle:
● SEPARATE FEEDS FROM NAPS
“A regular feeding schedule supports
good sleep,” says Lucy. “Your baby
needs to have a full tummy before he
goes to sleep, so he isn’t waking up
with hunger pangs. But he needs time
to digest his feed before he goes to
sleep – about 45 minutes before a nap
and two hours before bedtime – so his
stomach is relaxed.” Leave some time
between waking up and feeding, too,
“Otherwise you might disrupt his sleep
cycles, because you’re encouraging
him to wake up for food,” says Lucy.
● HAVE A REALLY DARK ROOM “To
sleep well, babies need to be in a
dark environment,” says Lucy. “Use
a black-out blind for daytime sleeps
as well as at nighttime. It can mean
the difference between your baby
sleeping for less than one sleep
cycle, or staying asleep for two.”
● NAP AT HOME “Once your baby’s sleep
patterns start to mature (around four
months old), try to limit the amount
of time he naps on the move,” says
Lucy. “When he’s napping on the
move, his brain stays in the lighter
sleep phase and can’t cycle through
into deep, restorative sleep.” »IF YOUR TODDLER STILL WAKES UP
ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT...
he hasn’t learnt to stitch his sleep cycles together.
“Check that your baby isn’t overtired, isn’t hungry, and his room is dark, quiet
and at the right temperature,” says Lucy. “If all those things are in place, but he’s
still only napping through one sleep cycle, you need to spend seven days in a
row using my stay-and-support method to encourage him to keep sleeping. The
details are in my book, The Baby Sleep Solution, but it’s a low-key way of gently
teaching him to settle himself. I recommend spending 30 to 40 minutes each day
trying to get him back to sleep after he wakes at the end of the first sleep cycle.”L&L | SEPTEMBER 2019 | 35