How to Establish a Nap Routine

Sleep is one of the most important parts of your newborn baby’s wellbeing and development. From the day you bring your baby home you can start practicing healthy sleep habits that establish a foundation of consistency for the rest of your baby’s life.

Nap time is an important part of your new baby’s rest, as newborns sleep for the majority of the day—including several naps. Making sure you are consistent with your baby’s nap schedule can help prevent your baby from becoming overtired and can help make nighttime sleep much easier.

In this article, the experts from Sleep Shop NYC will discuss how to establish a nap routine for your new baby.

Learn to Understand Your Baby

Even though your newborn baby can’t speak, they still have a lot of ways that they communicate with you—especially when it comes to their core needs, like sleep. It is crucial to start keying in to when your baby is tired and what signals they give you when they are getting sleepy. This can help you avoid an overtired baby, which can make it more difficult to get your baby to sleep!

It can be helpful to have time intervals that you would like your baby to try and rest at; however, the best barometer for nap time is always paying attention to your baby’s signals.

Be consistent

Beyond a schedule, try to keep as consistent of an environment as you can for your baby. Try to always put your baby to sleep in a crib when possible and create a calming space for your baby to fall asleep in. The room your baby rests in should be dim, cool, and well ventilated.

Knowing how much your baby needs to sleep

The amount of sleep your baby will need varies on their age and individual needs. However, when establishing a routine it can be helpful to use daily/age guidelines as a starting point.

Sleep needs vary for every child, but there are some general guidelines that can help you ensure that your baby is well rested.

Newborn-3 months: Fourteen to seventeen hours. In addition to nighttime sleep, newborn babies require three to five naps per day.

4-12 months: Twelve to sixteen hours of sleep between nighttime sleep and two to three naps is a good guideline for infants.

1-2 years: As your child settles into their toddler years they should be sleeping through the night without issue. At this age they need about 11-14 hours and 1-2 naps per day.

3-5 years: Ten to thirteen hours. Children may still need one nap.

About Sleep Shop

The Sleep Shop is led by Melissa, a mother of four, and is a member of the International Association of Professional Sleep Consultants.

We offer one-one-one unlimited consulting, sleep classes with our founder, phone consultations, 1-week jumpstarts, infant sleep guides, 2 weeks of consulting, toddler nap guides, toddler sleep guides, toddler total resets, and “the toddler tune-up”.

We offer sleep consulting services in all of New York City including Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Flat Iron District, Turtle Bay, Tribeca, Upper East Side, Soho, Staten Island, and the greater NYC area.