Sleeping and napping are vitally important for an infant. An infant’s brain and body are growing at a very rapid rate, and such growth requires the slow metabolic rate provided by sleeping and napping. Daytime napping follows a typical course that nonetheless can vary from baby to baby. During the first two months of life most babies will sleep for three or four hour periods during the day and night. There is no clear pattern to this sleeping and napping and you are best advised to simply adapt to your baby’s own time table. As the speed of brain and body growth eases a bit by the third of fourth month, your baby may begin to show a more regular nap pattern.

At mid year, your baby will probably take three naps a day, one in the morning and two in the afternoon. By the end of first year, most infants are down to two solid naps a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

When your baby begins to show a more predictable nap pattern, at about three or four months, you can begin to help set a nap schedule. To do this, you need to learn the signals your baby gives, that nap time is in the offing. You can use these signals to help you shape a regular nap schedule. These signals include restlessness, and/or eye rubbing at mid morning or after a meal. If you keep a record of the time the sleep signals show up, you can anticipate them and put the baby down ten or fifteen minutes before the sleep signals usually appear. Prepare for the nap time by engaging in quiet activities just before putting him or her down. As the baby gets older and sleeps less you can still use the sleep signals to set up a less frequent nap schedule. While consistency is important it is usually impossible to keep the same schedule every day. That is really not a problem as long as you stick to the over all pattern most of the time.

A couple of other suggestions. It is helpful if you can put your baby to nap in his crib where he or she is used to sleeping. You really don’t have to change him or her into pajamas but make sure whatever your baby is wearing is loose and comfortable. If possible, it is always best to engage the baby in quiet, activities in the period before nap time. Finally all babies are different, but if you tune in to your baby’s sleep signals and build your activities around them, you have the best chance of having a baby with a predictable nap schedule.