save our sleep article - catnapping 8 to 16 weeks

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Catnapping, Babies Aged 8 to 16 Weeks

Catnapping, Babies Aged 8 to 16 weeks

The Save Our Sleep® Article Catnapping, Babies

Aged 8 to 16 Weeks. I define catnapping as daytime sleeps that are shorter than 40 minutes. The first

time catnapping becomes a problem is when your baby starts to sleep in daytime

sleep cycles (the process of drifting between light and deep sleep). An adult

changes sleep cycle every 90 minutes but in babies it can be as short as twenty minutes. Daytime sleep cycles usually start when your baby is around eight

weeks old. Most parents who contact me with concerns about catnapping do so

when their babies are between eight and 16 weeks old. It is generally accepted that babies in this age range should have two daytime sleeps of between 80 and

120 minutes in duration, and another shorter nap as well.

Many parents find that when they finally get their baby to sleep, they wake after twenty to 40 minutes and start crying. This is not because the baby has had

enough sleep and is ready to get up but because she has not learned to resettle

from one sleep cycle to the next. As babies become more aware of their environment and its distractions, it is the parents’ responsibility to teach their

baby to move from one sleep cycle to the next as quickly and as quietly as

possible.

Babies will never develop the skill to resettle themselves until they have learned

to put themselves to sleep in the first place. If a baby is unable to resettle herself

she will invariably start to cry, as that is her only method of communication. This

doesn’t usually mean that something is seriously wrong. However, in my

experience, 95 per cent of babies who only manage short catnaps, without

stringing together multiple sleep cycles, will spend most of the day grumpy and irritable through lack of sleep. This is irrespective of how well they sleep at night.

There are a few reasons I have found for a baby to catnap. The first and most

common reason is the baby has always been aided to sleep, that is, given a

dummy (pacifier, soother) to suck on or fed, rocked or shushed to sleep by a

parent. The second reason I have found babies to catnap is hunger. The hunger

can be caused by snack feeding or can be brought on from dummy use, as I

believe the sucking reflex causes the baby’s digestive system to work too fast. The hunger can also be because your baby is not being offered enough milk.

Please remember never to give your baby a set amount of milk in a bottle and always offer your baby both breasts when breast feeding.

If you feel your baby’s catnapping problem could be the result of your baby not knowing how to self-settle, I suggest you follow the self settling guides for your

baby’s age later in this article.


Amy’s story Amy was fifteen weeks old and had failed sleep school twice when I met her.

After talking to parents Gail and Enan, I discovered Amy’s routine was very

similar to mine and she was put to bed with no sleep aids, only her comforter, so these factors weren’t the issue. So where was the problem? It turned out Amy

had not been able to self-settle at all before sleep school. After sleep school,

when Gail or Enan put Amy in bed and asked her to go to sleep, she would usually take anything from ten minutes to one hour and twenty minutes to settle,

always waking again after just one sleep cycle. Gail had been told at sleep school

to then try to resettle Amy until her next feed was due.

Unfortunately, neither Gail nor Enan had ever managed to resettle Amy and I

explained that I felt the problem stemmed from these failed attempts. I

suggested putting Amy in her cot, asking her to go to sleep and getting her up when she next woke, no matter how little sleep Amy had had. Then, when the

next sleep was due, the settling time should reduce to about half, and again for

each subsequent sleep. This would happen because they would be giving Amy a

clear message that she will get up after she has had a sleep. If they continued to

ask Amy to resettle and then, after maybe 40 minutes of a resettling challenge,

they go in and pick her up, all they are doing is teaching Amy that if she fights

sleep they will eventually come in and get her. This was why the ‘going to sleep’ time was not getting any shorter. I explained that once Amy went to sleep with

no protesting, she would resettle naturally and sleep longer.

The next day Gail put Amy to bed at 9 am and it took Amy until 9.40 am to get to sleep. Then, like clockwork Amy woke at 10.20 am and Gail got her up. Gail

was concerned about how to keep Amy up until 1 pm but she managed it. At the

1 pm sleep it took Amy only eighteen minutes to get to sleep but again Amy was

up after 40 minutes. That night at 7 pm it only took Amy eight minutes to get to sleep.

On day two Amy took twelve minutes to get to sleep at 9 am but this meant that at 9.52 am Amy was awake. Now Gail was really concerned about how she was

going to keep Amy up until 1 pm as because Amy had settled faster, she now

had longer to stay awake before the next sleep. To Gail, the problem looked worse. It was too hot outside for a walk so we decided to put Amy in the baby

swing where she could nap before her next feed if she wanted to.

At 1 pm Amy went down without a noise and Gail had to wake her at 3 pm for

her breastfeed. Gail was convinced this was only because Amy was so exhausted

after being up for over three hours, but the next day and every day since Amy

has not catnapped.


TEACHING YOUR CHILD TO SETTLE

Self-settling guide for a baby who is between 8 and 16 weeks

At the recommended sleep time, swaddle your baby and put her in bed on her

back without a dummy. Walk out of the room leaving the door halfway open so your baby can hear you. Allow her to protest (cry) for the amount of time you

feel strong enough to leave her for (you will need to stay out for the

recommended minimum time as per the table if you are going to successfully

teach your baby to self-settle).

Age

After putting

your baby to bed, walk out of

the room for a

minimum time

of:

When you decide

you cannot listen to your

baby’s protest

cry any longer,

go in and try to settle her for the

below time

before taking a

break

After your ten

minute break, put your baby

back to bed and

start again with

the below minimum times

Newborn to 2 weeks

2 minutes

22 minutes

2 minutes

2 to 8 weeks

4 minutes

22 minutes

4 minutes

8 to 12 weeks

6 minutes

22 minutes

6 minutes

3 to 4 months

8 minutes

22 minutes

8 minutes

When timing the recommended minimum time, only count continuous protesting:

if there is a gap of five seconds or more you need to start timing again. The

longer you are able to resist going in and helping your baby settle, the faster

your baby will be able to learn the important skill of self-settling. When

employing transitional sleeping tactics as recommended here, always time the period of crying as one minute may seem like ten to a parent listening to their

baby protest.


It is important to remember that a protesting cry is normal and doesn’t necessarily mean that something is seriously wrong. In teaching a baby to settle

herself, inevitably there will be some protest cries. If you listen to your baby’s

cries, you will notice they become very high pitched after a while. Most parents

have never heard this pitch of crying before and they therefore give up, thinking there is a problem. However, when I am working with parents and their babies I

note this as a turning point: we are winning and the baby will soon be asleep.

This high-pitched crying is often described as ‘peaking’.

If you are strong enough to not respond to these high-pitched yells, your baby

will start to fall asleep. Also during this stage, there will be breaks in the baby’s

protests – these gaps will start to get longer and the shouting shorter until finally your baby is sound asleep. When you are sure your baby is asleep, wait a few

minutes before going in to reposition or cover her up. Try not to reposition her

too much as you may accidentally move her away from something she was

comforting herself with before falling asleep.

Parents need to remember that the crying will be less frequent and shorter in

duration as the baby develops the skills to settle herself. The challenge for parents is to resist the temptation to comfort their catnapping baby every time

she cries.

If your baby is sixteen weeks or younger, when you can’t handle the

protesting and the minimum time is up, go back into your baby’s room and

gently rub or pat your baby’s tummy keeping your baby in the safe back sleeping

position recommended by SIDS researchers. Try to avoid eye contact while

moving and settling the baby. You will try to settle her for 22 minutes. If after 22

minutes your baby has not settled, you could get your baby up for a ten-minute

break, but if you are still feeling strong, confident and patient, keep up the settling techniques as the break is for your benefit, not your baby’s. If you

choose to take a break, begin the whole process again afterwards, starting with

staying out for at least the minimum time.

It is normal that when your baby has settled to sleep she will wake again after

just one sleep cycle. As frustrating as this may seem, during the day you need to

get her up and praise her for going to sleep in the first place. You won the going-

to-sleep challenge! Your baby will soon start to resettle and sleep longer but only after she has learnt the skill of self-settling. If your baby wakes up before her

next feed is due I recommend you keep her wrapped, transfer her to her pram or car seat and go for a walk or a drive so she can perhaps have a nap before her

next milk feed. Another option would be to keep her wrapped and sit on the sofa

with her wrapped and on your chest and tap her back to the rhythm of your heart beat this might also encourage her to nap before her feed time.


If your baby wakes during the night, feed your baby if she is still having night feeds and then settle her with the appropriate settling techniques for her age. If

your baby is no longer having night feeds, do not go in to settle her until the

minimum protest time has passed. But remember that your baby is more likely

to get back to sleep if you stay out of her room – going in may wake her up further.

Tips:

• Make yourself a score chart allocating a point to the baby if you have to give up during settling or a point to yourself for a successful settle. You will surprise

yourself and after a few days you’ll be winning every time and remember that

good day sleep encourages good night sleep. The two complement each other.

• If your baby stops crying almost as soon as you pick her up, there is probably

not much wrong with her. If you are still not sure, try picking her up again when

she cries and see what happens. If she stops again, you can be reassured that it

can’t be too serious.

• Your baby may sleep for less at the recommended sleep times and this may vary slightly from day to day.

• When feeding in the night, make sure you keep the lights dim and avoid eye

contact or talking. Only change his nappy if absolutely necessary.

• If you have no luck with this advice and my routine, your baby could be

suffering from reflux or it could be the result of a dairy or other food allergy or intolerance. Please seek medical advice.

Frequently asked questions and answers.

I often get asked the same questions, so for your convenience we have included

the most requested below.

1. What is the difference between a sleep and a nap?

A sleep is when a baby sleeps for more than one sleep cycle, so it is usually over

40 minutes. But a nap is one sleep cycle or less than a sleep cycle so less than

40 minutes.

2. I am trying to follow your routine for my 11 week old baby but my baby will only stay awake for 1½ hours and than only sleeps for 45

minutes. Is this normal?

Yes, this is normal because after 1½ hours your baby is tired enough for a nap

but not tired enough for a sleep. By following the times set out in my routine, your baby will have stayed up longer and will be ready to sleep instead of nap.

Following the times set out in my routine is the most important part of curing

your baby’s catnapping.


3. My baby keeps falling asleep during a feed, what should I do? This is what I call a sleepy feeder. If he dozes off before taking enough milk to

get him to the next feed, you will start to have problems if trying to follow a

routine. If he dozes off, try changing his nappy or taking some of his clothes off

as the cool air might wake him. The other thing you could do is put him down somewhere safe to rest for ten minutes, and then try the feed again.

4. Why do you advise not to put a baby in his bed to sleep at some points

in your routines?

The reason for this is I believe in giving a baby very clear messages. If you know

your baby is tired and due a sleep, then you should put him in his bed. The

message your baby will start to learn is, that if you put him in his bed, he has to sleep. You should get in the habit of only getting him up when he has slept. But

at other points in the routine, I say your baby may need a nap, as we are not

sure if your baby will sleep. I recommend putting him down in a safe comfortable

place so if he doesn’t sleep, you may get him up without giving him mixed messages.

5. Is it normal for my baby to wake in the night but not need any attention?

Yes, it is normal for your baby to wake in the night. We all wake in the night. We

all sleep in sleep cycles starting with a shallow cycle followed by a deep cycle. Everyone wakes up after the deep cycle, before going into another shallow one.

As adults we just turn, get comfortable, then go back to sleep, but for young

children and babies, it can often take them a few minutes to get back to sleep.

Research shows that the more a parent tries to help a child get from one sleep

cycle to the next, the less likely it is that the child will sleep through the night.

Therefore, the less interference the better.

6. How will I know if my baby is ill?

The best way of telling if your baby is ill or in pain, is not by her crying but by

her behaviour. Her cry maybe much higher pitched than normal or she maybe

whimpering or moaning. An ill or seriously distressed baby will look, behave and

sound different. Signs you should look for are if your baby is pale, floppy, less

active than normal, holding or rubbing her ear or tummy, breathing differently-

more rapidly or irregularly than normal. If your baby is hot with a raised body

temperature, you need to check this with a thermometer as children may get hot from crying but crying will not increase your baby’s body temperature, your baby

may feel cold and clammy.

7. My doctor thinks my baby may have reflux. How can I be sure it’s not

another problem like you suggested in your misdiagnosis article? You should try your baby on my routine and make sure your baby is self-settling.

If you are on the routine and your baby is sleeping and eating at the correct times but the reflux symptoms are still there, your baby is most likely suffering

from a form of reflux. But if all the symptoms disappear, you will know it was not reflux.


8. Does using a dummy reduce the risk of SIDS?

Dummy use appears to reduce the risk of SIDS, but when you look at the

problems dummies cause I believe this benefit is outweighed.

• Dummies are the biggest cause of sleep problems

• Dummies interfere with the way your baby digests the milk in it’s’ tummy.

• Babies who suck on dummies are prone to more ear infections.

• Dummies delay speech.

9. Is it really alright to let my baby cry?

I do not think it is alright to let a baby cry. I believe the second a baby cries

you should run to them and comfort the baby. However I believe you may let a

baby protest, which to some may seem similar to a cry, but if you read my advice on crying I explain the difference. Imagine if you responded every time

your baby protested. She would soon learn that whenever she wanted your

attention all she had to do was protest. In fact, you would be causing her to protest more. It’s not fair on a baby to be taught that someone will respond to

every protest because, as your baby grows up, other people won’t like this

behaviour.

And don’t forget…

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save our sleep article - catnapping 8 to 16 weeks

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