Navigating the 4-3 Nap Transition
Wouldn’t it be amazing if our babies just told us when they needed to nap…and then stayed on that consistent schedule? I wish!! In reality babies are UNPREDICTABLE and have ever changing sleep needs…especially when they are getting ready to drop a nap!
There are four major nap transitions in a baby’s life, the first being when they go from 4 to 3 naps- sometime around 4-5 months. Compared to other nap transitions, this one is often considered the easiest and most natural…but it can still feel tricky when your in the middle of it.
There is a lot going on with sleep at this stage…
By 4-5 months your baby’s circadian rhythm is well established, and they may be in the middle of the major sleep change associated with the four month sleep regression! This sleep regression is a biological sleep change that all human babies go through, sometime around 3-5 months. During this transition your baby begins to sleep less like like a newborn and more like we adults do, in a four stage sleep cycle. It can be a tricky couple of weeks as your baby figures out how to navigate entering light sleep much more frequently! My biggest tip to avoid prolonged sleep disruptions at this time is to begin teaching your baby independent sleep skills! Babies who know how to self initiate sleep can much more easily connect their sleep into long stretches between feedings overnight. the 4-5 month mark is a wonderful time to begin establishing independent sleep skills.
Daytime sleep needs are also changing! at 3 months your baby’s naps were likely quite unpredictable, ranging from 20 minutes to 2 hours in length! This is a normal sleep pattern for newborns, who also can’t stay awake very long between naps. Once you reach the 4-5 month mark, its likely that your baby will need longer wake windows in order to nap well… this is where that 4-3 nap transition comes in!
Signs your baby is ready for the 4-3 nap transition:
At least one of their naps is longer than 1 hour.
Your baby can comfortably stay awake for 2 hours or more between naps.
Your baby is fighting their fourth nap. It’s consistently a struggle for them to fall asleep, even after increasing their wake window slightly.
Your baby’s fourth nap is starting too late in the afternoon (if it’s starting after 5:00pm it’s likely going to push bedtime too late!).
I recommend capping naps as necessary to fit in that 4th cat nap until your baby is at least 4 months of age! Three month old’s often need 4 naps to be able to clock enough total awake time in their day, and become overtired easily if we try to force them onto a three nap schedule.
Four tips to make the 4-3 transition as smooth as possible:
Continue to use wake windows! I know the idea of a by the clock schedule is so tempting, but until your baby is down to two naps I recommend a flexible, wake window based schedule.
Begin waking your baby up by the same time every morning. Setting that can help your baby develop a predictable sleep pattern!
Do not offer baby’s first nap until 8:00am or later- regardless of when they woke up that morning! Its worth it to stretch them a little longer to prevent their day from ending too early (we don’t want a bedtime before 6pm!). Early morning wake ups can also start up if nap 1 is consistently being offered too early on the clock.
Be okay with an early bedtime! Anytime your baby drops a nap, bedtime will go earlier. It will then slowly get later again as baby grows (and wake windows increase again!). Focus on your baby’s day being around 12-13h in length, bedtime may be as early as 6-6:30 pm some nights!
Don’t force it! Dropping a nap prematurely can lead to overtiredness. Overtired babies often struggle with early mornings, short naps, and struggle to self settle. Bouncing back and forth between 3 and 4 nap days is totally okay! Adding a fourth nap back in can be especially helpful if you need a later bedtime that night, or have a wonky day while out and about!
Example sleep schedules:
A 4 month old on four naps:
Wake: 6:30am
Nap: 8:00am-9:00am
Nap: 11:00am-11:45am
Nap: 1:45-2:30pm
Nap: 4:30pm-5:00pm
Bedtime: 7:00pm
A 4 month old on three naps:
Wake: 6:30am
Nap: 8:30am-9:45am
Nap: 11:45am-1:45am
Nap: 4:00pm-4:30pm
Bedtime: 6:45pm
Remember- these are just examples! Please don’t try to replicate these times in your baby’s day, instead just use their ideal wake window to dictate nap and bedtimes. If you are unsure of how to determine your baby’s ideal wake window this blog will help you! Typically, I find the average 4 month old does best with 2h wake windows. Once baby is closer to 5 months wake windows increase towards 2-2.5h- this alone may lead you right into a three nap day! If your 4-5 month old just can’t seem to nap longer than 30-45 minutes making a 3-4 nap transition impossible…check out my troubleshooting short naps checklist!
The best thing about the 4-3 nap transition is that you’ll finally find a little bit more predictability! Your baby will likely stay on a three nap schedule until sometime around 6-8 months.
If you are struggling with sleepless nights no matter what you seem to try, I am here to help! Book a sleep evaluation call here to chat with us about how I can support your family in finding better sleep!