Weissbluth Method

Nap Facts: 36 Months

weissbluthmethod — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 01:43:53 +0000

At 36 months of age, 92% of children are napping one nap/day. 80% of children who nap are napping between 1.5-2.5 hours.
Napping is less influenced by genetics than parenting practices.
Marc
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child

Weissbluth Method Infant Nap App.

Filed under: Nap Facts

Nap Facts: 24 Months

weissbluthmethod — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:41:00 +0000

At 24 months, 95% of children are taking 1 nap/day and 5% are taking 2 naps/day.
The average total duration of naps is 2.3 hours and the range is 1-4 hours. 99% of children nap between 1.5-3.5 hours.
Nap duration is largely under genetic control: some infants will usually take long or very long naps and others will usually take brief or very brief naps. Adjust the bedtime to keep your baby’s sleep tank full between 4-5 pm. Don’t compare babies.
Marc

Filed under: Nap Facts

Nap Facts: 21 Months

weissbluthmethod — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 01:38:12 +0000

At 21 months of age, 88% of children are taking 1 nap and 12% are taking 2 naps/day.
The average total duration of naps is 2.4 hours and the range is 1-4 hours. 97% of children nap between 1.5-3.5 hours.
Nap duration is largely under genetic control: some infants will usually take long or very long naps and others will usually take brief or very brief naps. Adjust the bedtime to keep your baby’s sleep tank full between 4-5 pm. Don’t compare babies.
Marc
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child

Weissbluth Method Infant Nap App.

Filed under: Nap Facts

Nap Facts: 18 Months

weissbluthmethod — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 01:34:26 +0000

At 18 months of age, 77% of children are taking 1 nap/day and 23% are taking 2 naps/day.
The average total duration of naps is 2.5 hours and the range is 1-4 hours/day. 98% of children nap between 1.5-3.5 hours.
Nap duration is largely under genetic control: some infants will usually take long or very long naps and others will usually take brief or very brief naps. Adjust the bedtime to keep your baby’s sleep tank full between 4-5 pm. Don’t compare babies.
Marc

Weissbluth Method Infant Nap App.

Filed under: Nap Facts

Nap Facts: 15 Months

weissbluthmethod — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 01:30:08 +0000

At 15 months of age, 44% of infants take 2 naps/day and 56% of infants take 1 nap/day.
The average total duration of naps is 2.7 hours and the range is 1-5.5 hours/day. 91% of infants nap 1.3-3.5 hours/day.
Nap duration is largely under genetic control: some infants will usually take long or very long naps and others will usually take brief or very brief naps. Adjust the bedtime to keep your baby’s sleep tank full between 4-5 pm. Don’t compare babies.
Marc

Weissbluth Method Infant Nap App.

Filed under: Nap Facts

Nap Facts: 9 Months

weissbluthmethod — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 01:15:29 +0000

At 9 months of age, about 90% of infants take 2 naps /day and 5% take 3 naps /day and 5% take 1 nap/day.
The average total duration of naps is 3 hours but the range is 1-5.5 hours. 93% of infants nap between 2-4 hours.
Nap duration is largely under genetic control: some infants will usually take long or very long naps and others will usually take brief or very brief naps. Adjust the bedtime to keep your baby’s sleep tank full between 4-5 pm. Don’t compare babies.
Marc

Weissbluth Method Infant Nap App.

Filed under: Nap Facts

Nap Facts: 6 months

weissbluthmethod — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 01:05:38 +0000

At 6 months of age, about 80% of infants take 2 naps/day and 20% of infants take 3 naps/day.
The average total duration of naps is 3.5 hours but the range is 1-6 hours. 80% of infants sleep 2.5-4 hours/day. 5% sleep less than 2.5 hours/day and 15% sleep more than 4 hours/day. Don’t compare naps between babies.

Attempts to extend brief naps by swaddling, replacing the pacifier, or a quick feeding are likely to fail because they are more socially stimulating than soothing.
Marc

Weissbluth Method Infant Nap App.

Filed under: Nap Facts

Cool video on the effects of media on attention span

weissbluthmethod — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:39:58 +0000

Dimitri Christakis is one of the thought leaders in the field of media and child development. Here is a ~15 min. TED Talk that I found to be really interesting about how fast moving imagery (like in the Baby Einstein videos) can entrain shorter attention spans and inhibit learning. Although they are animal studies, they are elegant experiments and his discussion is engaging.
Enjoy!
-Daniel Weissbluth, MD

Filed under: Media Topics

Nap Facts 4-6 Months

weissbluthmethod — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 01:56:24 +0000

Some babies have predictable mid-morning and mid-day naps. Each nap is 1-2 hours. Other babies still have brief naps or a mixture of long and brief naps. Post-colic babies and others who have not yet learned self-soothing skills are more likely to have brief naps. Don’t compare napping patterns in babies and be patient.

Some babies have a brief late afternoon 3rd nap and two major naps (mid-morning and mid-day). Perhaps these babies are able to have a later bedtime than those who sleep less during the day. Don’t compare bedtimes.

The variability between babies is often frustrating when parents compare their baby to other babies. Accept the fact that babies are different and stay on course to ensure good quality night sleep (especially a bedtime at night that is in synch with emerging drowsy signs). In general, practice soothing your baby when drowsy signs are first emerging but sometimes (especially if the wake-up time is very early) also try to stretch your baby towards mid-morning and mid-day to have the naps occur in synch with nap rhythms.
Marc
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child

Weissbluth Method Infant Nap App.

Filed under: Nap Facts

Nap Facts: Birth to 3 months

weissbluthmethod — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 01:33:06 +0000

Naps are irregular and brief. Help your baby learn self-soothing skills as soon as you come home from the hospital: put your baby down drowsy but awake, keep the intervals of wakefulness short to avoid a second wind, and get dad (or anyone else) on board to do nap duty when available. Swaddling and pacifiers might help and will not harm your baby. For those with colic, do whatever works to maximize sleep and minimize crying: swings, strollers, cars, sleep at mom’s breast or on dad’s chest.

Focus on night sleep and after 6 weeks of age, counting from the due date, move the bedtime earlier. Watch for drowsy signs at night and catch the wave.

Some brief naps might be extended by re-swaddling, a quick feeding, or replacing a pacifier.

Marc Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child

Weissbluth Method Infant Nap App.

Filed under: Nap Facts