We all know that the internet is a BIG place, filled with lottttts of competing ideas, and this is true in the realm of child sleep, too. Not only are there different ideas about sleep training vs. NOT sleep training, this method vs. that method, sleep train at 4 months vs. 6 months, but there are also different schools of thought about what the *magic* schedule looks like. This blog post covers my scheduling recommendations, and why I choose them over everything else out there.
The Basics
There are two basic ways to structure Baby’s schedule: using the clock or using waketimes. Using the clock for naps means that Baby naps at the same times (based on the clock) every day. Using waketimes means that Baby’s nap start times are determined by the time Baby last woke from sleep; in other words, Baby is awake for a designated amount of time between sleeps, so nap start times will fluctuate based on how long previous naps (or nights) were.
Within those two options, there are also differing opinions about ideal wake-up times, how many naps Baby should have, and ideal bedtimes. This is why there are so many different scheduling recommendations out there!
My Experience
I hired a sleep consultant to help with Ada’s 33-minute naps when Ada was 6 months old. A huge factor with short naps is the schedule — if a baby is overtired, she’ll fight sleep; and if a baby is undertired, she’ll fight sleep! My sleep consultant helped tweak the schedule over the course of our two weeks together, and she helped me finally get Ada taking 1- to 2-hour naps. I will FOREVER be grateful to her.
My sleep consultant used waketimes, so that’s what I used for the next several months. I swore by these waketimes because they magically got me the naps I had missed out on for so long!
Around the time that Ada turned one, I started my sleep consultant certification course. I was blown away to learn that my program recommended clock naps (generally around 9am and 1pm). No way would that work for my baby, whose waketimes were already longer than the clock schedule would have! So for the first few weeks of certification, I scoffed every time the schedule was brought up — I honestly didn’t believe it would work, and I didn’t plan to use it.
But then I decided to give it a try, and to my great surprise, it did work! Even though the “waketimes” (if the clock naps were converted to waketimes) were shorter than what I had been using, the naps actually went better! And that’s how I was fully converted to by-the-clock naps.
When Should I NOT Use Clock Naps?
For babies under 6 months, stick to waketimes. These young babies’ sleep systems have not fully developed to work with clock naps, so instead we focus on avoiding overtired or undertired states, and we do that by finding the right waketimes. Sometime between 6 and 8 months, you can transition into clock naps.
Why Do Clock Naps Work?
Just as babies are constantly developing in other ways, their sleep goes through various developments, too! Around 6-8 months, circadian rhythms mature to the point where clock naps can begin to work. Then, once you START napping Baby by the clock, you really help solidify those circadian rhythms by using consistent light and dark patterns (light during wakeful times, complete darkness for sleep).
Why Are Clock Naps Awesome?
Like I mentioned above, I’ll forever be grateful for waketimes because that’s what got my girl taking long enough naps. BUT, clock naps are definitely superior in my mind, now! Here’s a few reasons why:
1. No Math
With waketimes, you constantly have to do math. It’s not like it’s difficult math, but still — you have to use your brain power to figure out exactly when the next nap will start, and it can be different from day to day.
2. No Close Monitoring
In order to use waketimes, you have to know exactly when your baby woke up in order to calculate when she should go down for a nap again. Naptime is supposed to be the time to relax or get things done! Not the time to check the monitor every few minutes.
3. Sibling Naps ALWAYS Overlap
If you do clock naps in the way I suggest, napping siblings will always have at least one nap at the same time. A break at naptime is CRUCIAL for mama, so it’s important to have at least one chunk in the day where all the kids are sleeping!
4. Longer Stretch in the Evenings For Family Fun
You’ll find some schedule ideas out there that have pretty balanced waketimes, whether the schedule technically uses waketimes or clock naps. So for instance, on a 2-nap schedule, the waketimes might be 2.5/3/3.5 — all right around 3 hours.
With the 9am and 1pm naps that I recommend, the waketimes aren’t so balanced. They’re a little shorter in the first couple wake windows, to allow for a longer stretch in the evening. This can be helpful if you ever want to go out and do something as a family in the evenings!
5. THEY WORK.
If clock naps at 9am & 1pm didn’t work, none of the above reasons would be relevant, but the good news is, they do work! These times seem to be the sweet spots for good naps on a huge variety of ages (for the first two naps on a 3-nap schedule, and only using the 1pm nap on a 1-nap schedule). Occasionally you may have to make slight tweaks to these nap times (they can typically swing 30 minutes in either direction), but most of the time, they do the trick!
Hopefully that helps give you a better idea about scheduling for your kiddo(s)! If you want a quick reference for how many naps and when they should occur (as well as waketime starting points for those younger babies!), grab my free Ideal Schedule Guide.