Baby naps

Why I don’t really stress about naps

by Kathryn Stagg, IBCLC Lactation Consultant and Holistic Sleep Coach

Now you would think as a holistic sleep coach I would be all about the naps. And true, there can be some tweaks that can be made here and there around timing and number of naps which can impact how the day, and also how the night goes.

But a lot of work I do is undoing all the myths around naps. Especially the notion of "bad habits". And that only long cot naps count.

You see, from an evolutionary point of view, this is how baby humans would have napped back before all the gadgets:

The first month to 6 weeks, generally the birthing parent would have a period of confinement, being looked after by others in the family or village. Babies would be cuddled by either mum or helper. They would never had been left alone for fear of predators.

Once birth recovery was complete babies would have been placed in a sling or wrap and taken along to work the fields, see to the animals, gather fruit or whatever other tasks were deemed "woman's work" in their society. Baby would need to feed regularly. They would sleep in between feeds if they needed to, safe close to their mother and rocked by her movement. Or they may have watched the world go by instead.

Once they were becoming more mobile and heavier they would have likely been left for a bit with the elders back at the village. And they may have slept on the sleeping mat nearby or in the arms of grandma or whoever.

Anyway, my point being that if given a safe environment with milk and motion available on tap, a baby will sleep if they need to. Or stay awake if they don't need to. And later a toddler is much more likely to sleep at home, but are still fine to sleep out and about.

Some babies do have a preference for sling or pram, some do prefer a quieter environment with fewer distractions, and may nap a bit better at home. But this can be in contact if the cot doesn't work.

All sleep, wherever or however it is taken, is good sleep.

The other thing that is important to remember is that naps are temporary! By the time they are preschool age they are unlikely to be having any. So who cares what "bad habits" you have formed around napping when they won't be doing it forever.

Kathryn Stagg’s website https://kathrynstaggibclc.com/

and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kathrynstaggibclc/

Feeding-to-sleep contact naps and naps-on-the-go

Article by an ABM Peer Supporter & Admin for the NWL Breastfeeding groups

I’m just back from a family holiday to France and once again feel so grateful that my toddler (like her older brother before her) is totally happy a) feeding to sleep anywhere and everywhere and b) napping-on-the-go.

I’m so glad I ignored the naysayers and the external voices first time round who tried to tell me that contact naps were a bad habit and that my baby should be sleeping in a cot for naps on a strict routine. I never managed to get him to nap in a cot and felt like a total failure because of it in the first few months. Quite quickly I came to realise that it was completely biologically normal for him to feed to sleep and to then prefer sleeping on me, needing that closeness, connection and the comfort he got from my touch, heartbeat and warmth. We’ve always had rhythms in terms of nap timings but have enjoyed great flexibility in terms of being able to nap anywhere on the go - whether in the buggy, in the car or in my arms or the sling. Noise, light and environmental sleep associations are irrelevant for us and that’s very freeing!

Of course every baby and family is different, and some may prefer cot based naps and that’s great. But this is a post for all the new parents who feel pressured to get their baby into a cot but either feel instinctively that they would prefer to do contact naps or need to do contact naps / naps on the go. I have experienced no negatives - bar, I guess, that I haven’t had that time to do chores or other stuff I may have wanted to do. But I’m quite happy with that and have relished instead all those hours to cuddle, read, do life admin, catch up on comms, admin on these groups, do some work, rest and snooze (particularly when night sleep has been really bad).

The washing can wait but I only have my babies as little as they are for a very short period!

Above are a couple of my favourite photos of feeding-to-sleep-naps-on-the-go: with my son when he was 2.5 years old, half way up a mountain watching the Tour de France; and with my daughter, who is 2 and a bit, on the ferry going to France this summer (and itching to get my next Demon Copperhead fix). I also have a photo of my daughter napping on me at a castle in France this holiday, and of my son when he was aged 3, in my arms in a ski lodge bar having a post-fed nap. He continued to feed to sleep and contact nap for some naps until he stopped napping later that year.

So… if it’s working for you, no need to change it!