How to Manage the 4 to 3 Nap Transition
It's time to make a major change to your child's sleep routine. But don't let that cause you any stress! With the right plan, nap transitions can be smooth and even enjoyable.
After all, this is an exciting step in your child's development and one of the most notable ways that they will start to drift away from the newborn stage. Didn’t that time fly?
The 4 to 3 Nap Transition is all about going from 4 brief naps per day to 3 slightly longer, more spaced-out naps. Your child will be getting a bit less sleep during the day, and this will help them to get the most restful sleep overnight.
Around What Age Does the 4 to 3 Nap Transition Happen?
You can expect this change somewhere between 4 - 6 months old, but every baby will get there on their own time. Don't be surprised if your child is ready earlier or later than the 4-6 month range. As you've probably figured out by now, babies have minds of their own!
How to Know When Your Baby Is Ready
The 4 to 3 Nap Transition is not something that you can fully initiate on your own. Your baby has to be ready. So what are the signs you can look out for to know when they need a little extra help from you?
Is your baby...
Taking at least one 45 minute nap during the day?
Staying awake for at least 2 hours consecutively?
No longer showing sleep cues at a time when they would usually be tired?
Waking during the night, or staying awake for periods of time overnight?
Did You Answer Yes to Any of the Above?
If so, your child may be ready to start staying awake more during the day!
Before you know it, your baby will be awake for larger portions of the day and you'll get to see even more sweet glimpses of their developing personality. A loose schedule will start to form, and you will soon learn to expect when they will fall asleep and rise.
It all sounds great right? So let’s look at where to get started.
How To Go From 4 Naps to 3
A popular misconception about nap transitions is that they are achieved by somehow extending your baby’s naptime. But how long your baby stays asleep is one of the most difficult things to try and control. Outside of a full belly and a fresh diaper, there's not much that can be done to lengthen a nap. But what we can control is what time the baby goes down for rest.
Sometimes They Need a Little Push
I’m going to tell you something that may seem to go against everything you’ve read thus far about sleep training: be late for your baby’s naptime.
What?! Am I out of my mind? But hold on, I’ll explain. We don’t want to completely go crazy here and go down for a nap an hour late. That’s just asking for extra fussiness.
This is about finding a sweet spot between a gentle push and overtiredness. Everyone knows that an overtired baby is not easy to get down to sleep.
Try just going 15 or 20 minutes past the time you would have usually laid your baby down. You know your baby’s sleep cues best. Let them go a little longer than you usually would.
By going past their normal wake time a small amount, you can help your baby get used to staying awake for longer periods of time. This will naturally increase awake time, and subsequently, decrease the time your baby is spending asleep.
Over time they will adjust to this new schedule and keep to it on their own.
Once Your Baby is Staying Awake Longer…
Now that your baby is staying awake for longer periods of time, the first three naps of the day are starting to creep on a bit longer. That’s exactly what you want to see.
Once you are at a place where the last nap of the day is less than 30 minutes, it’s called a cat nap. A cat nap is defined as a nap that lasts only one sleep cycle - or about 30 minutes long in babies of this age. This final cat nap of the day is the nap we are going to remove from your child’s schedule.
So Do You Just Stop Taking The Cat Nap?
Well… Yes, and no. While it can be exciting to watch our children accomplish their milestones, it’s good to remember that this is not a race. Trying to go cold turkey on naps during a nap transition may cause more friction than necessary. There is a more gentle way to get there!
Consider Moving Bedtime Earlier Temporarily
Your child may struggle to stay awake until their normal bedtime when dropping the cat nap. This is totally normal, and how I suggest combatting it is moving bedtime earlier temporarily. It doesn’t have to go on like this forever- but moving bedtime an hour earlier, or even just 30 minutes can be a big help in getting your baby used to their new schedule.
Making Changes A Little At a Time
This process might not always be linear. Maybe one day, your baby naps at the exact times that you have outlined and the 4th nap drops off easily. You could be back to 4 naps again for the next three days before it happens again. That is completely normal, so don’t feel discouraged.
Consistency is what works best, and as time passes you will begin to see your baby’s awake windows growing! As they say “the days are long, but the years are short.” In no time at all you will get through this transition with your child and be enjoying more time with them awake. See you again when it’s time for the 3 to 2 nap transition!
What Can I Do To Set My Baby Up For Success?
One thing you can do to set your baby up for success is to make sure they are getting the best quality sleep. Especially during times when the sleep schedule is being manipulated, getting good quality rest can act as a buffer.
Staying On Top of Your Sleep Tracking Data with Baby Connect
I cannot stress enough how important it is to use a quality sleep-tracking system so you know what changes are happening. Sometimes they are minuscule, but being able to look at a weekly chart and see trending data will open your eyes to changes happening with your baby.
One way to do that is to use an app like Baby Connect - a baby sleep tracking app that automatically creates tables + charts that track your baby’s sleep, feedings, diaper changes, and much more.
