5 Genius Hacks to Avoid Newborn Cat Naps and Get Longer Sleep Stretches

Getting your baby to learn to sleep for longer stretches is a game changer. Once you get a good sleep routine down with your newborn you have more time to rest as a new mom.

There are several strategies you can use to get your baby sleeping longer that don’t involve crying it out. Including waking your baby at certain times, swaddling, and using white noise.

Read on for 5 quick tips to get your baby to have longer naps.

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1. Follow your baby’s wake windows:

Newborn wake windows are like tiny pockets of alertness in a baby’s day. Imagine a newborn’s life as a series of naps with brief awake periods in between. These awake times, or wake windows, are when the baby is naturally alert and ready to interact.

For newborns, these windows are quite short, typically lasting only 45-60 minutes. During this time, parents can feed, change, and engage with their baby. It’s crucial to watch for sleepy cues and start the wind-down process before the window closes to avoid an overtired, fussy baby.

Encourage self-soothing:

Try to put your baby down awake for at least one nap daily when they show sleepy cues to help them learn to fall asleep independently.

Swaddle strategically

Consider swaddling your newborn during daytime naps to promote longer sleep.

Create a sleep-conducive environment

Ensure the baby’s sleep space is dark, quiet, and comfortable to encourage longer naps.

White noise machines are really helpful to drown out the sounds of older siblings, barking pets, or you relaxing and catching up on your favorite shows.

Establish a bedtime routine:

Implement a consistent pre-sleep routine to signal it’s time for a longer stretch of sleep.

Try to do the same things every time you put your baby to sleep. That could be soft music, white noise, you singing, you swaddling them for bed.

They will learn this routine and it becomes more important the older they grow.

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