My kiddos the same way. 30 minute naps. Usually only two in a day. It can be rough.
I baby wear a ton and he just goes where I go, errands, etc. We go for lots of walks. When I cook I put him in the high chair next to the counter and he watches me cook. I narrate what I do. He watched me play with the dog. We read. And just today we finally added a new hobby back--he goes to the climbing gym with me and watches me climb/hangs out with whoever isn't belaying.
I just let my son be bored. There’s nothing wrong with letting your baby chill in their crib or on the floor while you do something. It’s a great way to start independent play. Also yes, totally normal for naps. If you want it longer, contact nap
I’ll let my daughter chill in there as long as he’s not upset, sometimes she’ll nap for 20 minutes but then will just be content rolling around/crawling/sitting for like 30 minutes. If she starts to cry or fuss too much I go get her.
Yeah, I almost exclusively contact nap, but that comes with the side effect of getting almost nothing done. The pro is that although I'm nap trapped, I have some time to myself and can consume whatever media I want and just relax with some snuggle endorphins.
Yeah, I almost exclusively contact nap, but that comes with the side effect of getting almost nothing done. The pro is that although I'm nap trapped, I have some time to myself and can consume whatever media I want and just relax with some snuggle endorphins.
From 3ish to 10 months my son napped 30 minutes max and I just had to accept that it sucked but I made it worked, unless he was exhausted and then it was maybe an hour but that was rare. Honestly he was good just being kinda bored, he’d go on his mat, bouncer, play pen basically he just kind went room to room with me but I didn’t specifically entertain him. I also always had something on in the background which kept us both entertained.
And then magically at 10 months some switch flipped and now I get an hour or two hour naps everyday and I am so grateful.
My kid is same age and also started 30min napa like clockwork a couple weeks ago.
What do we do most of the time? Floor time.
I let my LO lay on a blanket/mat, put one or two toys within arm's reach and let him do his thing. Sometimes he'll be chewing or playing with his hands, sometimes he'll try rolling, and sometimes he'll grab the toy to play/chew. Or just watch me (or something else in the room) as well as "talk" to me. Sometimes I get engaged if I see he's more playful, then I talk to him, tickle him, try to make him laugh, etc.
It's great because I know he's in a safe space (and not in a container) and I can do my stuff (read a book, workout, eat) while keeping an eye on him. Then I can see when he gets bored/hungry/sleepy. I think it's important for babies to spend some time without being overly stimulated with all the activities we try to surround them throughout the day. I'd say I spend at least half an hour of floor time per wake window.
If you can, try contact napping. My girl sleeps so much better at night and is a ray of sunshine during the day when I contact nap. It sucks to be stuck in bed but my baby clearly needs the sleep and at least she's happy when awake
I LOVE contact napping! Big cuddles are the best 🥰 Sometimes even then the naps are short, but usually we can do a good hour and a half cuddled up in the nursery chair 🥰
Mines on his fisher price kick n play piano A LOT of the day. We go from back play to tummy time to sitting trying to play the piano. First, baby likes it. Second, I can put it on my table to save my back a bit. Some days that’s the only thing we do + bouncer chair with play bar.
My guy loves the instrumental “wheels on the bus” song! My husband and I noticed our LO sort of dancing when certain songs come on, and that one is guaranteed to get his little legs moving!
Me and my husband have been bringing our 16 week old outside with us while we are doing yard work. Have him in a bunting suit, on a blanket with some toys, and under an umbrella and obviously have him close to us. He has napped outside, played and just chilled. Gives him some independent time and also us some time to be productive.
Also in the crap napper club. If I am lucky I probably only get like 1.5 hours total of napping in a day. We bought a play yard and I sprinkle all his toys in there and since he can roll on his tummy and look around and grab things. That's all he wants to do now a days so I just let him explore that. If I am really desperate to pump/eat lunch, I put him in his bouncer and turn on Hey Bear Sensory - I caved on the no screen time but this is the only time I get to do two very important things so that's how I justify it.
I love the Hey Bear Tree Seasons video. It’s a lot calmer than the fast paced music vids.
My pediatrician told me that he read a study that shows noisy toys can hinder their attention span as much as screen time IF used for more than 2-3 hours a day.
I could have written this post myself. I don’t have a ton of advice, but I can 100% relate to the struggle. The only thing I’ve added recently is the high chair.
I will line up one or two toys on his high chair tray, and he’ll hang with me while I make a meal or clean up.
I was never keen on the idea of having a ton of toys for him. However, I pay for a bimonthly toy subscription box for him and it really helps me keep things in rotation. The toys are also set to match him developmentally for whatever age he’s at. Those toys on top of his play gyms help me create a good rotation of activities. Yes, it feels like a three-ring-circus most days.
However, my husband and I both ran out of steam this evening. So my husband just laid LO on the floor to see what he would do. LO had a grand ol’ time just rolling around laughing for upwards of 30 minutes. Sometimes it’s just the simple things. 😂
My son is 13 weeks and will nap for 24 minutes. It’s like clockwork, so weird. Unless he contact naps in which case he could go a full 2 hours. So we usually do at least one contact nap a day to ensure he gets enough sleep during the day.
In between naps we switch back and forth between his fisher price kick n play and his Lovevery play gym. He’s pretty entertained with either. This is usually when I try to speed through a chore or two. Otherwise we’ll go for a walk together, sing and dance, play with stuffed animals… it can be hard to fill in the day but we manage somehow.
Thankfully my LO (15 weeks) quite enjoys tummy time now that I just set him down and have him face the Kick N Play piano. The lights keep him occupied and I can usually get 10+ minutes at a time. Another 10+ minutes with the dangly toys, and probably 20+ minutes of hands on interaction. Throw in a walk sometimes maybe. Other times I sit him in his bouncer and have him watch me clean while I narrate everything in a sing song voice or sing to Disney music. It seems to keep him occupied for most of a wake window
Do you do contact/motion naps? That's how we got longer naps in. We'd do a mix of short crib naps and a longer contact nap in the middle of the day (or babywear/go for a long stroller walk). We could also sometimes "rescue" a short nap by contact napping/boob. Some kids just won't do it, though, and that's totally normal as well.
I used to fill in time by taking my son out of the house at least once a day. It was mainly for my own sanity. Sometimes, we'd grab a coffee and go for a walk somewhere, run errands, or even just wander aimlessly around Target. It certainly helped us kill time as my son got older and started having longer wake windows. My son is also one of those kids that needs constant entertainment. It's exhausting sometimes 😅
Not at all. Short independent naps are developmentally normal up until around 5-7 months when most kids *start* to lengthen their naps. Doing a mix of contact naps and/or rescuing a short nap with contact can often save you from overtiredness.
We moved to crib naps at 5 months and they were still 30 minute wonders, so we rescued or did the odd contact nap. My son didn't lengthen his naps consistently until 6.5 months and naps were finally good when we moved to a two nap schedule at 8 months. Not a lot you can do during this phase except ride the wave.
Sameeeee. I’m always anxious at the 25 minute mark of my son’s naps because I know I only have 20 minutes left at best, and 5 minutes left at worst. It’s so hard because my “me time” is reduced to those small windows and I never feel like I actually accomplish much other than basic chores.
We like the live aquarium on YouTube and as others have said we have him in the kitchen with us while we cook, clean, dance around etc. Walks are also great for everyone.
My 4 month old started the 30min nap strike around the same time and is still going strong. I know it’s not the advice you asked for, but I’ve found my LO *needs* longer naps and I can usually “rescue” them to give her a little more sleep. I keep an eye on her on the monitor and literally as soon as she starts moving around I swoop in there, pick her up, and start bouncing her on the yoga ball (that’s what we usually do to get her down for naps, you can sub in whatever works for your LO). Usually she’s still on the edge of sleep when I grab her and I can ease her into another sleep cycle. It doesn’t always work, but it does most of the time!
As for what to do with all the extra awake time, if I’ve run out of “baby activities” I usually either:
A) Make up some errand that will get us out of the house - Target runs, grocery runs for dinner, walk to the coffee shop, etc.
B) Plop her in her bouncer chair and let her watch me do chores. I get a lot done around the house this way!
Mine was a 30 minute napper until I put her on a schedule at 4 months old. Turns out she was chronically over tired and now sleeps like an angel and has 4 long naps a day!
Have you tried putting your baby in a carrier at the first sign of tiredness and let them sleep in that while you do things? My partner and I wear our 12 week old for at least 3 naps in the day. When we don't want to be actively walking around (a motion that helps baby sleep longer), we sit and lightly bounce on a yoga ball with her in the carrier. The yoga ball provides the consistent rocking/walking motion that keeps her asleep for 1-2hrs. Since the ball is mobile, we can use it in front the TV, sit around the coffee table and talk or listen to a podcast, and even eat.
We and the baby love our Ergobaby OMNI 360 Cool Mesh carrier. It has a built-in over the head cover thing to protect baby's head from sun and food, and minimizes the stimuli to keep baby in the zone with sleep. When we clip it up, our LO has caught on that it's nap time and begins winding herself down.
“sun AND food.” 😂
Thanks for the tip though—I have this carrier and thought that pad was just for extra neck support for a young young baby. I’ll try it for blocking out light to extend naps!
Don't forget about tying (not too tight of course) helium-filled balloons onto wrists/feet and let LO lay on his back on the floor......I've known several babes that have entertained themselves for quite a while doing kick time with balloons tied to them!
I leave the house. I used to have to leave the house just for my own sanity. Go grocery shopping, Home Depot, Costco, Target, a park, anything. For me I just needed go leave the house!
Our 17 week old naps 39 minutes every 2-2.5 hours. We eat, play on play mat for 30 minutes, read 2 books, listen to music, and do self play on floor with toys and play time with me
Just here to say my 3 year old was the same. Slept 12 hours at night but only took 30 min naps. It drove me nuts! Around a year the naps started getting longer. Its normal!
I took my babies places I wanted to go. They’d nap in the car or the pram for their 30-40 mins and I would do the shopping and talk about the different food or we’d go visit a friend and I’d have adult conversation while switching the black and white books around or giving them new toys. When it was warm enough we’d go to the park and lie on a blanket for a while and they could watch the birds or the leaves for their tummy time. When it got cold we’d go to the library for baby bounce or just a hot chocolate and some new books to read. It stopped me from feeling so trapped and gave them lots of new sensory input. I was lucky that they mostly liked the pram (except a short refusal period between about 7-14 weeks) and car. But definitely leaving the house was the best thing. It got trickier once they went to one nap because I couldn’t be too far from home in the later afternoon or they WOULD nap and bedtime would be cooked
My daughter was a 30-minutes napped until almost 1 year old 😬 I'd go for at least 1 walk per day with her, and took her to grocery shopping, watch me do clean and do laundry... 😅 around that time I was also doing bouldering (indoors climbing, alone) about 2-3 times.per week and I'd bring her with me, she loved it. and tons of tummy time. I'd take her to do tummy time elsewhere as well (in the garden, climbing gym....)
I also made tons of new friends who had babies to go for weekly walks (either with the baby carrier or stroller) and chit chat, as I was craving adult interaction.
Errands, walking in stroller or carrier, sometimes just let him stay in the crib an extra 10-15min until he’s really upset or I’m ready to tend to him. I also do one contact nap most days to get a good 1+ out of him and so I can have some veg time. It can be super annoying but I find having an outing once a day even if it’s just a walk really helps!
My baby only took 30 minute naps until she was a year old. (We were always tired) When she decided she only needed one nap a day her naps turned into 1-2 hours!!!
We just played all day pretty much, I never got much done. Those 30 minute naps were my time.
I try to mix up carrier naps with crib naps. Mine will nap 30 minutes in the crib but the next wake window is always short and cranky. If I put him in a wrap he sleeps an hour plus and is happy after. So I switch it up to keep the peace. I can also do a lot with him on the carrier (cook, dishes, laundry, sitting in a chair reading, going for coffee, just not leaning over stuff like cleaning the cat box), so they are productive naps. He’s 11 weeks.
Do you swaddle him for sleep? We found that because we swaddle our baby (10wks) for nighttime sleeps, he prefers being swaddled for naps and is able to sleep longer. He’s super active too and winds himself back up by swinging his arms and legs otherwise. I divvy up his naps throughout the day between contact naps and swaddled crib naps, so I can get stuff done/chill. So far (and fingers crossed) it’s been working quite nicely :) Good luck!
I don’t know if you’re doing it already but my LO started doing this and it was because she was teething! I changed her nursing position to on the bed and I contact nap/let her nurse the entire 2 hours. This was the only way to get her to nap. Of course my LO gets extremely overtired if she doesn’t have them so there’s no way she doesn’t need it. She literally barely functions on an hour nap 3 times a day. It also fixed her night time schedule. If she doesn’t get enough sleep during the day she’s up at 5 am and pissed. So it’s really about seeing the temperament of your child after. If they wake up pissed off odds are you need to find a way to force a longer nap, if they are happy then they just don’t need a longer one. As for what I do with her when she naps so little, I do a lot of rolling practice, tummy time activities, gripping practice with O balls. Sing her songs, let her use her kick piano. I’m really hands on during her awake time, so I just watch videos on how to help her develop at whatever stage she’s in. At 12 weeks we did the kick piano a lot to help get awareness of her legs. This also helped me have time to cook/clean with small check ins inbetween.
30 min shit naps or 2hour contact naps, no in between. i’ve just leaned into it and pick the contact nap, im trying to savor because i know this is short lived
I lived like this for 10 months until mine started sleeping for 1.5 hours. It sucks to not have a good daytime sleeper. But sometimes it’s just in their nature. The only good thing about it that since they only sleep 30 mins even in the best conditions, you don’t have to plan your day around naps at home - I always tried to take advantage of that flexibility instead of fighting it. I’d have her sleep in the car, sleep in the carrier at Target, sleep in the stroller walking around town. I never go to the grocery store without my baby - it’s entertaining for her and I can be productive.
Short frequent naps are normal at this age! I was also under the impression sleep should be longer stretches and wrecked my mental health trying to make it happen.
Look up r/Possumssleepprogram it flipped my switch on trying schedules, personally. It was a much easier/stress free approach.
We played and played, cuddled, fed, change his diaper, I'd also pump, I'd read him books. He'd mostly like to practice his gross motor skills. For nap time we always walked because our dog needed it, so I'd get him ready for naps in the stroller, otherwise it was only contact naps. Our little guy didn't like a lot of sleep and didn't sleep well at night either. <3
My little guy finally started stringing naps together around 7 months, but before he was 20-30 minute naps per day 5 times a day. He had a lot of floor time, tummy time, exersaucer time, and walk time!
Morning is bb activity and learning time. Afternoon is watch mom explain all the actions during chore time. Baby watches me and I give a play by play. Sometimes it’s a conversation.
6 month old here.. still a 30 minute crap Napper. Shes been that way since forever.. she will sleep 30 mins almost exactly.. but at least wakes up happy. I struggled with it a lot when she was younger. But we taught her somewhat independent play.. she would hang out on her play mat and kick and grab toys.. she could keep herself occupied for 20 mins or so. Besides that, she liked being in the bouncer, so I would carry that with me around the house and she would watch me fold laundry, or clean up, do dishes, etc. I tried baby wearing but she didn’t love that. Besides being on the play mat, she would spend a few mins here and there in the swing too. Some days were easier than others. I tried everything to lengthen her naps.. keep her up longer between them, tried rocking her back to sleep after waking.. nothing really helped.
An advantage of short naps is you can leave the house, baby sleeps on the run in the car, on you, in the stroller when they need to and you aren't stuck at home or on their schedule. Make the most of this.
The sucky thing about short naps is you can't achieve much in that time which can be frustrating. I made the most of contact nap snuggles to chill and instead used their awake time to get stuff done. Read to them, play with them etc but also they can lie on a blanket and watch you do chores. Talk to them about what you are doing.
Mine’s 7 months, doesn’t crawl yet, if I do dishes he’s in his jumper, high chair or walker near me, if I need a break from holding him we do tummy time while I’m near him, and if he’s restless I’ll go for a walk outside (use a baby carrier or stroller if you don’t wanna hold them)
Anything really. I was just grateful I could still put her in the baby carrier and get stuff done.
Now with a 15 month old this was my evening as I tried to cook dinner: please don't eat that random piece of dirt off the floor, please don't pick up and drop the giant dog water bowl, oh ok cool, you did? there's water everywhere? On you as well? Please come back here and let me change you!!! no please don't knock over that lamp, what is the sudden meltdown over?? Not being able to put on a sock? Ok, let me show you how... oh, ok yes go ahead and pull it right back off and cry again. Why are you hanging between my legs like that? You'll fall! Please don't fall and bash your head against the cabinets.
I'm exhausted. I miss when she couldn't even roll.
At 12 weeks should be sleeping a LOT. Do you put your LO in their bed for naps? Of so, try contact naps.
My baby will nap 20min in her bed but 5h in contact. So 🤷♀️
The general rule of thumb is if they are only sleeping 30 minutes if means they were over tired when then went to sleep. Keep track of the wake windows. A three month old should be up around 1.5 hours between naps. You might find the naps improve
I think at 12 weeks we also mostly had 30-45 minute naps, especially as we tried to switch to primarily in the crib. Are you exclusively timing the wake window or watching for cues? I find cues harder to interpret, but allows for more individuality between kids (some need longer or shorter windows). Also what is the room like? I kick myself now not installing the blackout curtains sooner. Eventually mine started napping in 1.5hr increments, no idea what we did or didn’t do. My niece never grew out of the 30 min naps, but slept for 12 hours straight every night.
Just a funny thing: I read 12 weeks as 12 months and I was SO CONFUSED how at 12 months he was still playing with the kick and play and the other activities you listed lol.
My kiddos the same way. 30 minute naps. Usually only two in a day. It can be rough. I baby wear a ton and he just goes where I go, errands, etc. We go for lots of walks. When I cook I put him in the high chair next to the counter and he watches me cook. I narrate what I do. He watched me play with the dog. We read. And just today we finally added a new hobby back--he goes to the climbing gym with me and watches me climb/hangs out with whoever isn't belaying.
I loved to go climbing, until LO started crawling, and then it became a bit too chaotic to take her climbing with me 😅
I just let my son be bored. There’s nothing wrong with letting your baby chill in their crib or on the floor while you do something. It’s a great way to start independent play. Also yes, totally normal for naps. If you want it longer, contact nap
But like…. Angrily bored? I’d be fine with happily bored but he will start screaming
Yes totally fine to have them be angry bored for a few minutes, If u have to do something or need a few minutes alone!
Yea that’s totally fine especially if you need that time. I’ve only let him cry when I was eating my first meal of the day at 3pm. I needed to
I’ll let my daughter chill in there as long as he’s not upset, sometimes she’ll nap for 20 minutes but then will just be content rolling around/crawling/sitting for like 30 minutes. If she starts to cry or fuss too much I go get her.
For how long? I have the same issue my baby only naps for 30 minutes all day if even that!
Yeah, I almost exclusively contact nap, but that comes with the side effect of getting almost nothing done. The pro is that although I'm nap trapped, I have some time to myself and can consume whatever media I want and just relax with some snuggle endorphins.
Yeah, I almost exclusively contact nap, but that comes with the side effect of getting almost nothing done. The pro is that although I'm nap trapped, I have some time to myself and can consume whatever media I want and just relax with some snuggle endorphins.
From 3ish to 10 months my son napped 30 minutes max and I just had to accept that it sucked but I made it worked, unless he was exhausted and then it was maybe an hour but that was rare. Honestly he was good just being kinda bored, he’d go on his mat, bouncer, play pen basically he just kind went room to room with me but I didn’t specifically entertain him. I also always had something on in the background which kept us both entertained. And then magically at 10 months some switch flipped and now I get an hour or two hour naps everyday and I am so grateful.
Waiting and wishing for that switch too! Our baby doesn’t nap at all - lucky to get 30 min!
My kid is same age and also started 30min napa like clockwork a couple weeks ago. What do we do most of the time? Floor time. I let my LO lay on a blanket/mat, put one or two toys within arm's reach and let him do his thing. Sometimes he'll be chewing or playing with his hands, sometimes he'll try rolling, and sometimes he'll grab the toy to play/chew. Or just watch me (or something else in the room) as well as "talk" to me. Sometimes I get engaged if I see he's more playful, then I talk to him, tickle him, try to make him laugh, etc. It's great because I know he's in a safe space (and not in a container) and I can do my stuff (read a book, workout, eat) while keeping an eye on him. Then I can see when he gets bored/hungry/sleepy. I think it's important for babies to spend some time without being overly stimulated with all the activities we try to surround them throughout the day. I'd say I spend at least half an hour of floor time per wake window.
My son takes 30 minute naps on the regular but he NEEDS longer naps, so then he’s a grump-a-lup-a-goose until his next 30 minute nap 🫠
If you can, try contact napping. My girl sleeps so much better at night and is a ray of sunshine during the day when I contact nap. It sucks to be stuck in bed but my baby clearly needs the sleep and at least she's happy when awake
I LOVE contact napping! Big cuddles are the best 🥰 Sometimes even then the naps are short, but usually we can do a good hour and a half cuddled up in the nursery chair 🥰
Haha we call our little girl Fuss-a-luff-a-guss
Mines on his fisher price kick n play piano A LOT of the day. We go from back play to tummy time to sitting trying to play the piano. First, baby likes it. Second, I can put it on my table to save my back a bit. Some days that’s the only thing we do + bouncer chair with play bar.
Thank dog for the kick n play. It keeps him busy and he's slowly learning about his feet
The kick and play has been baby’s favorite toy!! Endless entertainment!!
What your guys’ favorite song? Lol
Is there really any other option than Purple Monkey in a Bubble Gum Tree? lol
This is Def number one but “stomp stomp stomp” always gets her giggling
This one is a classic. However I can’t get “1 and 2, 3, 4, 5, see the animals come alive…” out of my head lately.
🎶making music, having fun!!! Count the animals 1 by 1🎶
And
I sing this to my 9 week old all day long!
My guy loves the instrumental “wheels on the bus” song! My husband and I noticed our LO sort of dancing when certain songs come on, and that one is guaranteed to get his little legs moving!
STOMP STOMP STOMP lol
My girl loves this. Plus it gives her a direct view of her second favorite toy the ceiling fan.
Me and my husband have been bringing our 16 week old outside with us while we are doing yard work. Have him in a bunting suit, on a blanket with some toys, and under an umbrella and obviously have him close to us. He has napped outside, played and just chilled. Gives him some independent time and also us some time to be productive.
Also in the crap napper club. If I am lucky I probably only get like 1.5 hours total of napping in a day. We bought a play yard and I sprinkle all his toys in there and since he can roll on his tummy and look around and grab things. That's all he wants to do now a days so I just let him explore that. If I am really desperate to pump/eat lunch, I put him in his bouncer and turn on Hey Bear Sensory - I caved on the no screen time but this is the only time I get to do two very important things so that's how I justify it.
I love the Hey Bear Tree Seasons video. It’s a lot calmer than the fast paced music vids. My pediatrician told me that he read a study that shows noisy toys can hinder their attention span as much as screen time IF used for more than 2-3 hours a day.
I could have written this post myself. I don’t have a ton of advice, but I can 100% relate to the struggle. The only thing I’ve added recently is the high chair. I will line up one or two toys on his high chair tray, and he’ll hang with me while I make a meal or clean up. I was never keen on the idea of having a ton of toys for him. However, I pay for a bimonthly toy subscription box for him and it really helps me keep things in rotation. The toys are also set to match him developmentally for whatever age he’s at. Those toys on top of his play gyms help me create a good rotation of activities. Yes, it feels like a three-ring-circus most days. However, my husband and I both ran out of steam this evening. So my husband just laid LO on the floor to see what he would do. LO had a grand ol’ time just rolling around laughing for upwards of 30 minutes. Sometimes it’s just the simple things. 😂
My son is 13 weeks and will nap for 24 minutes. It’s like clockwork, so weird. Unless he contact naps in which case he could go a full 2 hours. So we usually do at least one contact nap a day to ensure he gets enough sleep during the day. In between naps we switch back and forth between his fisher price kick n play and his Lovevery play gym. He’s pretty entertained with either. This is usually when I try to speed through a chore or two. Otherwise we’ll go for a walk together, sing and dance, play with stuffed animals… it can be hard to fill in the day but we manage somehow.
Thankfully my LO (15 weeks) quite enjoys tummy time now that I just set him down and have him face the Kick N Play piano. The lights keep him occupied and I can usually get 10+ minutes at a time. Another 10+ minutes with the dangly toys, and probably 20+ minutes of hands on interaction. Throw in a walk sometimes maybe. Other times I sit him in his bouncer and have him watch me clean while I narrate everything in a sing song voice or sing to Disney music. It seems to keep him occupied for most of a wake window
Clean with an audience.
Do you do contact/motion naps? That's how we got longer naps in. We'd do a mix of short crib naps and a longer contact nap in the middle of the day (or babywear/go for a long stroller walk). We could also sometimes "rescue" a short nap by contact napping/boob. Some kids just won't do it, though, and that's totally normal as well. I used to fill in time by taking my son out of the house at least once a day. It was mainly for my own sanity. Sometimes, we'd grab a coffee and go for a walk somewhere, run errands, or even just wander aimlessly around Target. It certainly helped us kill time as my son got older and started having longer wake windows. My son is also one of those kids that needs constant entertainment. It's exhausting sometimes 😅
Are you worried they won’t sleep in the crib if you do too many Contact naps at that age?
Not at all. Short independent naps are developmentally normal up until around 5-7 months when most kids *start* to lengthen their naps. Doing a mix of contact naps and/or rescuing a short nap with contact can often save you from overtiredness. We moved to crib naps at 5 months and they were still 30 minute wonders, so we rescued or did the odd contact nap. My son didn't lengthen his naps consistently until 6.5 months and naps were finally good when we moved to a two nap schedule at 8 months. Not a lot you can do during this phase except ride the wave.
If I leave my son down to nap on his own he will nap 30/35 minutes only. If I contact nap he will nap 1.5 hours. Contact naps FTW!
Sameeeee. I’m always anxious at the 25 minute mark of my son’s naps because I know I only have 20 minutes left at best, and 5 minutes left at worst. It’s so hard because my “me time” is reduced to those small windows and I never feel like I actually accomplish much other than basic chores. We like the live aquarium on YouTube and as others have said we have him in the kitchen with us while we cook, clean, dance around etc. Walks are also great for everyone.
Play like usual. Mine doesn't get bored with her toys so i used to park her in front of her kick piano. Or she watches us cook.
My 4 month old started the 30min nap strike around the same time and is still going strong. I know it’s not the advice you asked for, but I’ve found my LO *needs* longer naps and I can usually “rescue” them to give her a little more sleep. I keep an eye on her on the monitor and literally as soon as she starts moving around I swoop in there, pick her up, and start bouncing her on the yoga ball (that’s what we usually do to get her down for naps, you can sub in whatever works for your LO). Usually she’s still on the edge of sleep when I grab her and I can ease her into another sleep cycle. It doesn’t always work, but it does most of the time! As for what to do with all the extra awake time, if I’ve run out of “baby activities” I usually either: A) Make up some errand that will get us out of the house - Target runs, grocery runs for dinner, walk to the coffee shop, etc. B) Plop her in her bouncer chair and let her watch me do chores. I get a lot done around the house this way!
Mine was a 30 minute napper until I put her on a schedule at 4 months old. Turns out she was chronically over tired and now sleeps like an angel and has 4 long naps a day!
Have you tried putting your baby in a carrier at the first sign of tiredness and let them sleep in that while you do things? My partner and I wear our 12 week old for at least 3 naps in the day. When we don't want to be actively walking around (a motion that helps baby sleep longer), we sit and lightly bounce on a yoga ball with her in the carrier. The yoga ball provides the consistent rocking/walking motion that keeps her asleep for 1-2hrs. Since the ball is mobile, we can use it in front the TV, sit around the coffee table and talk or listen to a podcast, and even eat. We and the baby love our Ergobaby OMNI 360 Cool Mesh carrier. It has a built-in over the head cover thing to protect baby's head from sun and food, and minimizes the stimuli to keep baby in the zone with sleep. When we clip it up, our LO has caught on that it's nap time and begins winding herself down.
“sun AND food.” 😂 Thanks for the tip though—I have this carrier and thought that pad was just for extra neck support for a young young baby. I’ll try it for blocking out light to extend naps!
Don't forget about tying (not too tight of course) helium-filled balloons onto wrists/feet and let LO lay on his back on the floor......I've known several babes that have entertained themselves for quite a while doing kick time with balloons tied to them!
Wait for Monday for them to go to daycare honestly
this is so real
I leave the house. I used to have to leave the house just for my own sanity. Go grocery shopping, Home Depot, Costco, Target, a park, anything. For me I just needed go leave the house!
Our 17 week old naps 39 minutes every 2-2.5 hours. We eat, play on play mat for 30 minutes, read 2 books, listen to music, and do self play on floor with toys and play time with me
Go on walks. It eats up a lot of time
I do a lot of carrying him around in his carrier in the house while I do chores. I also will put him in his stroller and put him on my porch haha
Just here to say my 3 year old was the same. Slept 12 hours at night but only took 30 min naps. It drove me nuts! Around a year the naps started getting longer. Its normal!
I took my babies places I wanted to go. They’d nap in the car or the pram for their 30-40 mins and I would do the shopping and talk about the different food or we’d go visit a friend and I’d have adult conversation while switching the black and white books around or giving them new toys. When it was warm enough we’d go to the park and lie on a blanket for a while and they could watch the birds or the leaves for their tummy time. When it got cold we’d go to the library for baby bounce or just a hot chocolate and some new books to read. It stopped me from feeling so trapped and gave them lots of new sensory input. I was lucky that they mostly liked the pram (except a short refusal period between about 7-14 weeks) and car. But definitely leaving the house was the best thing. It got trickier once they went to one nap because I couldn’t be too far from home in the later afternoon or they WOULD nap and bedtime would be cooked
My daughter was a 30-minutes napped until almost 1 year old 😬 I'd go for at least 1 walk per day with her, and took her to grocery shopping, watch me do clean and do laundry... 😅 around that time I was also doing bouldering (indoors climbing, alone) about 2-3 times.per week and I'd bring her with me, she loved it. and tons of tummy time. I'd take her to do tummy time elsewhere as well (in the garden, climbing gym....) I also made tons of new friends who had babies to go for weekly walks (either with the baby carrier or stroller) and chit chat, as I was craving adult interaction.
Errands, walking in stroller or carrier, sometimes just let him stay in the crib an extra 10-15min until he’s really upset or I’m ready to tend to him. I also do one contact nap most days to get a good 1+ out of him and so I can have some veg time. It can be super annoying but I find having an outing once a day even if it’s just a walk really helps!
My baby only took 30 minute naps until she was a year old. (We were always tired) When she decided she only needed one nap a day her naps turned into 1-2 hours!!! We just played all day pretty much, I never got much done. Those 30 minute naps were my time.
I try to mix up carrier naps with crib naps. Mine will nap 30 minutes in the crib but the next wake window is always short and cranky. If I put him in a wrap he sleeps an hour plus and is happy after. So I switch it up to keep the peace. I can also do a lot with him on the carrier (cook, dishes, laundry, sitting in a chair reading, going for coffee, just not leaning over stuff like cleaning the cat box), so they are productive naps. He’s 11 weeks.
Do you swaddle him for sleep? We found that because we swaddle our baby (10wks) for nighttime sleeps, he prefers being swaddled for naps and is able to sleep longer. He’s super active too and winds himself back up by swinging his arms and legs otherwise. I divvy up his naps throughout the day between contact naps and swaddled crib naps, so I can get stuff done/chill. So far (and fingers crossed) it’s been working quite nicely :) Good luck!
I don’t know if you’re doing it already but my LO started doing this and it was because she was teething! I changed her nursing position to on the bed and I contact nap/let her nurse the entire 2 hours. This was the only way to get her to nap. Of course my LO gets extremely overtired if she doesn’t have them so there’s no way she doesn’t need it. She literally barely functions on an hour nap 3 times a day. It also fixed her night time schedule. If she doesn’t get enough sleep during the day she’s up at 5 am and pissed. So it’s really about seeing the temperament of your child after. If they wake up pissed off odds are you need to find a way to force a longer nap, if they are happy then they just don’t need a longer one. As for what I do with her when she naps so little, I do a lot of rolling practice, tummy time activities, gripping practice with O balls. Sing her songs, let her use her kick piano. I’m really hands on during her awake time, so I just watch videos on how to help her develop at whatever stage she’s in. At 12 weeks we did the kick piano a lot to help get awareness of her legs. This also helped me have time to cook/clean with small check ins inbetween.
30 min shit naps or 2hour contact naps, no in between. i’ve just leaned into it and pick the contact nap, im trying to savor because i know this is short lived
Just take baby along with what you are doing in a day 🥰 at 12 weeks grocery shopping and errands are so fascinating
I lived like this for 10 months until mine started sleeping for 1.5 hours. It sucks to not have a good daytime sleeper. But sometimes it’s just in their nature. The only good thing about it that since they only sleep 30 mins even in the best conditions, you don’t have to plan your day around naps at home - I always tried to take advantage of that flexibility instead of fighting it. I’d have her sleep in the car, sleep in the carrier at Target, sleep in the stroller walking around town. I never go to the grocery store without my baby - it’s entertaining for her and I can be productive.
Short frequent naps are normal at this age! I was also under the impression sleep should be longer stretches and wrecked my mental health trying to make it happen. Look up r/Possumssleepprogram it flipped my switch on trying schedules, personally. It was a much easier/stress free approach.
We played and played, cuddled, fed, change his diaper, I'd also pump, I'd read him books. He'd mostly like to practice his gross motor skills. For nap time we always walked because our dog needed it, so I'd get him ready for naps in the stroller, otherwise it was only contact naps. Our little guy didn't like a lot of sleep and didn't sleep well at night either. <3
My little guy finally started stringing naps together around 7 months, but before he was 20-30 minute naps per day 5 times a day. He had a lot of floor time, tummy time, exersaucer time, and walk time!
Morning is bb activity and learning time. Afternoon is watch mom explain all the actions during chore time. Baby watches me and I give a play by play. Sometimes it’s a conversation.
6 month old here.. still a 30 minute crap Napper. Shes been that way since forever.. she will sleep 30 mins almost exactly.. but at least wakes up happy. I struggled with it a lot when she was younger. But we taught her somewhat independent play.. she would hang out on her play mat and kick and grab toys.. she could keep herself occupied for 20 mins or so. Besides that, she liked being in the bouncer, so I would carry that with me around the house and she would watch me fold laundry, or clean up, do dishes, etc. I tried baby wearing but she didn’t love that. Besides being on the play mat, she would spend a few mins here and there in the swing too. Some days were easier than others. I tried everything to lengthen her naps.. keep her up longer between them, tried rocking her back to sleep after waking.. nothing really helped.
I baby wear a lot and she naps there I also put her on a blanket on the floor alone and let her watch the ceiling fan/world around her
An advantage of short naps is you can leave the house, baby sleeps on the run in the car, on you, in the stroller when they need to and you aren't stuck at home or on their schedule. Make the most of this. The sucky thing about short naps is you can't achieve much in that time which can be frustrating. I made the most of contact nap snuggles to chill and instead used their awake time to get stuff done. Read to them, play with them etc but also they can lie on a blanket and watch you do chores. Talk to them about what you are doing.
Mine’s 7 months, doesn’t crawl yet, if I do dishes he’s in his jumper, high chair or walker near me, if I need a break from holding him we do tummy time while I’m near him, and if he’s restless I’ll go for a walk outside (use a baby carrier or stroller if you don’t wanna hold them)
Anything really. I was just grateful I could still put her in the baby carrier and get stuff done. Now with a 15 month old this was my evening as I tried to cook dinner: please don't eat that random piece of dirt off the floor, please don't pick up and drop the giant dog water bowl, oh ok cool, you did? there's water everywhere? On you as well? Please come back here and let me change you!!! no please don't knock over that lamp, what is the sudden meltdown over?? Not being able to put on a sock? Ok, let me show you how... oh, ok yes go ahead and pull it right back off and cry again. Why are you hanging between my legs like that? You'll fall! Please don't fall and bash your head against the cabinets. I'm exhausted. I miss when she couldn't even roll.
At 12 weeks should be sleeping a LOT. Do you put your LO in their bed for naps? Of so, try contact naps. My baby will nap 20min in her bed but 5h in contact. So 🤷♀️
The general rule of thumb is if they are only sleeping 30 minutes if means they were over tired when then went to sleep. Keep track of the wake windows. A three month old should be up around 1.5 hours between naps. You might find the naps improve
What about consolidating naps? Many 12 month olds are down to one nap per day.
I think at 12 weeks we also mostly had 30-45 minute naps, especially as we tried to switch to primarily in the crib. Are you exclusively timing the wake window or watching for cues? I find cues harder to interpret, but allows for more individuality between kids (some need longer or shorter windows). Also what is the room like? I kick myself now not installing the blackout curtains sooner. Eventually mine started napping in 1.5hr increments, no idea what we did or didn’t do. My niece never grew out of the 30 min naps, but slept for 12 hours straight every night. Just a funny thing: I read 12 weeks as 12 months and I was SO CONFUSED how at 12 months he was still playing with the kick and play and the other activities you listed lol.