45 mins nap!

[SarahDay1990]

My LO is almost 9 weeks but regardless of how they go to nap - self settle, car, sling, pram etc - they will not nap for longer than 45 mins at a time. I know they wake because it’s one sleep cycle but is this ok? I read that anything less than one hour isn’t restorative. By the end of the day my LO is screaming with tiredness but I just can’t seem to lengthen the nap…they can self settle but just won’t go back to sleep after 45 mins - I’ve tried white noise, swaddle, dark room etc…

45 minute naps is fine. My second only used to nap for about 45 minutes at a time, so she would just nap more frequently. Don't try and force her to go back to sleep when she's not tired, thats just stressful for both of you.

What I learnt after having my second was that all the books and websites are garbage, just do what's best for you and your baby (within reason obviously!)

We had a 45mins napper here too. It got better as she got older. I did lengthen naps by contact napping at that age.

This is totally normal, it will change over time but many if not most babies will shift to 45 minute naps around 6-12 weeks until about 6 months of age where they start getting longer again then most babies will start to switch to longer naps of 1-2 hours. My top tip would be to make sure you always get a cup of tea and put your feet up for ten minutes at the start of the nap rather than thinking “I’ll just run around doing xyz while they’re asleep” and then before you know it 45 minutes has gone!