Twelve weeks and no long naps

[Sleeplessinsaltend]

So this is my fourth baby and I’m at the end of my tether. He just doesn’t nap unless I’m pushing him in the pram. I’ve got two young ones to look after and it’s impossible.
He goes down for twenty minutes at a time four times a day but is awake 7am - 8pm. He’s cheerful, never crying with tiredness. He’s a lovely fat little thing so I know he’s not hungry, he’s dry and comfy. But he’s awake and I’m starting to worry that it will effect his development
Anyone had this - all my others slept for good long stretches in the morning and afternoon. He is a good night sleeper so that’s a consolation.

I mean if he’s happy, feeding well, putting on weight and meeting developmental milestones he’ll be getting the right amount of sleep for him. Cat napping is really really common at this age - my DS only consistently did long naps at about 8 months plus. There is zero evidence that short naps affect development - the supposed ‘biological need’ for small babies to do long naps is a very recent phenomenon, connected to the sleep training industry. I think you were probably just quite lucky with your other children - there are reams of threads on here re: babies who only do short naps or don’t nap at all.

Will he tolerate a pram being pushed to and fro on the spot to lengthen them? Or being worn in a sling while you look after your older ones? Or being in a bouncer if he likes movement?

Good luck x

I work that out as around 2h awake time and 20 minutes nap during the daytime. Then 8pm-7am solid sleep without waking. Sounds alright to me. He will learn to link and consolidate naps in time.

My suggestions would be to try putting down earlier to get a longer nap. So nap after 90 min awake. Also try to resettle baby when first stirring awake.