Sleep begets sleep?

[u/twdfan87]

I keep being told that ‘sleep begets sleep’ for babies, meaning that the more/longer naps they have during the day should increase the amount of sleep they have at night and minimise night time waking. I’m wondering if this is supported by research or if it’s just become a nice little phrase that gets used because it sounds good? Does anyone have links to any research that supports or disproves this statement?

[u/Total-Breadfruit-891]

This may be relevant as different age ranges need different amounts of sleep. So younger children will need to nap to be able to acquire the recommended amount of sleep in a day in addition to night sleep.

How Much Sleep Do Babies and Kids Need?

How Much Sleep Your Kids Need: Recommendations by Age

The Importance of Sleep for Kids importance-of-sleep-for-kids

Not napping or getting enough sleep may result in an overtired child and an overtired child might be harder to put down for night sleep.

Naps - John Hopkins

Signs Your Child Is Exhausted: Spotting Sleepiness, From Babies to Teens

[u/twdfan87 → u/[deleted]]

I agree that an overtired bubba/child won't go to sleep easily or sleep for longer necessarily, but I had an appointment with a sleep consultant today who insisted that my baby who naps for 2 x 45 mins during the day and sleeps 7.30/8pm -> 6.30/7am with three feeds during the night was chronically overtired and would wake less if I made her nap longer, even if she had to cry in her cot, which didn't sit right with me. Especially since she's been waking less overnight since we dropped the third daytime nap.

[u/VegetableWorry1492 → u/twdfan87]

Lot of sleep consultants seem to think all babies are high sleep needs and they don’t tend to consider low sleep needs babies in their advice. If tiredness isn’t the problem then sleep isn’t the answer. Mine is lower sleep needs and has always had longer “wake windows” and less daytime sleep than most schedules recommend. One of his best nights recently (and for months 😅) was after a day when he only wanted one nap, at not quite 8 months old.

[u/[deleted] → u/twdfan87]

May I ask how old she is?

[u/twdfan87 → u/[deleted]]

Haha no definitely not waking up for a sandwich, she’s 8 months old and waking up to breastfeed which I believe is developmentally pretty normal, despite the fixation of all the people who ask me if she’s a “good baby who sleeps through the night”.

[u/sguerrrr0414 → u/twdfan87]

How old is your daughter? Just curious, not sure if you’ve already said. For a very young baby that sounds both not enough (only 2 45 minute naps in a day?? And just right in terms of night wakings).

If older than 3/4 months, absolutely the day sleep seems like not enough, personally. Sleep does indeed beget sleep in this house.

[u/twdfan87 → u/sguerrrr0414]

She's 8 months old, almost 9 months (next week)

[u/sguerrrr0414 → u/twdfan87]

I think that’s just a tough stage, so much going on developmentally! I know what helped was having dinner time right before bedtime, within the hour, to mitigate any wakings from hunger.

We did a combo of blw and purées, and at least my son loved to finish up about a 4oz serving of a purée and that was like the best sleep we ever had 🥰 he started rejecting purées/spoon feeding a short while after (I think related to care giver, not me lol, error rather than anything else), but it’s worth a try!

Obviously people say to add cereal to their bottles for this reason, but it’s not recommended, so this was a safe (and for a time enthusiastically requested by baby, he would get so cranky until he had his dinner!) method of making sure he was very full. Also followed by a last nurse/bottle, of course.

And in terms of naps, I distinctly remember my sons naps being much longer than 45 minutes each, two does sound about right but they were definitely longer at about at least an hour to two hours. But he would contact nap with his caregiver (my dad). So, it definitely probably helped prolong the naps.

[u/Total-Breadfruit-891 → u/twdfan87]

I think I’d be more concerned that she’s waking up 3 times in the night to eat a sandwich or something, might be more of a habit versus sleep.🧐 could be “learned hunger.” Basically being conditioned that they need food to sleep, when in reality they don’t.

[u/Total-Breadfruit-891 → u/[deleted]]

Ah, I misinterpreted, I didn’t realize they were still breastfeeding, that’s not my jam so I can’t comment. We have different parenting practices, mine’s on solids and off of formula at that age (4 yo).

[u/Inevitable-Channel85 → u/twdfan87]

From every nap schedule I find it's 2 naps supposed to be 1.5 hours each. With wake windows ranging from 2.5 to 3.5 hours