For many new parents, sleep can be both a blessing and a challenge. One common sleep habit that puzzles many new parents is contact napping—when a baby will only sleep while being held. This guide explores the benefits and challenges of contact naps and offers practical tips on transitioning your baby to independent sleep at the right time.
What is Contact Napping?
Contact napping occurs when a baby naps in a caregiver’s arms, typically resting against their chest. Contact naps provide babies with warmth, security, and the soothing rhythm of their caregiver’s heartbeat and breathing. Most babies greatly prefer this sleeping position, especially in the first few months, refusing sometimes to nap any other way.
This practice is also known as "contact sleeping" or "held napping" and is particularly common in the fourth trimester - the first three months of a baby's life as he or she gets used to life outside the womb.
Is Contact Napping Safe?
Safety, of course, is the first priority for parents when it comes to infant sleep patterns. Contact napping can be safe if done properly, but there are some rules to follow.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says that the best and safest way for a baby to sleep is on its back on a firm, flat surface without loose bedding, pillows, or soft toys. This is mostly at night, when the parents themselves might be sleeping.
For day contact naps with supervision, safety considerations are:
● Staying awake and alert while carrying your baby
● Having your baby's airway free
● Avoid soft surfaces like couches where a baby might fall into openings
● Carefully avoiding dozing off yourself while cradling the baby
The AAP advises that while contact naps can be comforting, babies should always be placed in a crib or bassinet for unsupervised sleep to reduce the risk of SIDS and suffocation.
What Are the Benefits of Contact Naps?
For Babies
Contact napping has numerous advantages for infants, particularly in their early development:
1. Physiological Regulation: Physical contact is helpful in enabling babies' smoother regulation of breathing, heart rate, and body temperature.
2. Stress Reduction: Caregiver body contact reduces cortisol levels (stress hormone) among infants, promoting quality sleep.
3. Brain Development: Sensory input from holding - touch, smell, sound, and heat - is wonderful stimulation for the formation of neural pathways.
4. Secure Attachment: Being held often supports the formation of secure attachment with caregiver and baby, with lasting emotional and social dividends.
5. Longer Sleep Duration: Most babies sleep longer and more soundly during contact naps because of the comfort and security of being held.
For Parents
Although contact naps may limit the mobility of the parent to move around or accomplish things, they have great benefits for caregivers as well:
1. Bonding Opportunity: Contact naps are precious bonding time, and they enhance the parent-child bond.
2. Hormone Release: Physical contact releases oxytocin (the "love hormone") in parents, which can reduce stress and provide emotional security.
3. Responsive Parenting: Contact napping enables parents to become sensitive to their baby's needs and cycles.
4. Easier Feeding: For breastfeeding mothers, contact naps can ease easier response to hunger signals and demand feeding.
What Are the Disadvantages of Contact Naps?
For Babies
Though contact naps offer numerous benefits, they also have some drawbacks:
1. Issues of Dependence: Some babies become accustomed to sleeping while being held, which is problematic in developing independent sleep later in life.
2. Temperature Control: Babies can also overheat when held too long, especially when overdressed or held in tight body contact with parents under blankets.
3. Limited Self-Soothing Skills: Babies who only nap with contact may have fewer opportunities for developing independent sleep skills.
For Parents
Contact napping can cause severe problems for parents:
1. Physical Strain: Cradling a sleeping baby for extended periods can lead to back, neck, and arm pain.
2. Restricted Mobility: Parents are literally "trapped" when they have contact naps and are not able to complete household tasks or attend to themselves.
3. Sleep Deprivation: Parents who hold babies through all sleep will feel even more exhausted and sleep-deprived.
4. Mental Strain: The constant demands of contact napping can sometimes leave parents feeling overwhelmed, especially without adequate support.
5. Practical Difficulty: Without babywearing or other support strategies, contact napping can limit parents’ ability to care for other children or manage work responsibilities.
Can Babies Become Dependent on Contact Naps?
This is a common concern for parents. According to child sleep experts, Babies naturally develop strong sleep associations with being held. However, this does not mean you are creating bad habits by responding to your baby’s needs, especially during the first few months.
Sleep associations are normal, and all humans (even adults) have sleep associations. The problem is not whether your baby will have sleep associations, but which ones they have and how flexible they are.
The majority of babies naturally become independent sleepers as they mature, even if they started off as exclusive contact naps. However, if exclusive contact napping continues through a significant portion of the second half of the first year, some babies will struggle more to adjust to independent sleep without intentional intervention.
When Should You Stop Contact Naps?
There is no single "right time" to wean contact naps - it depends on your baby's age and your family's needs. Consider the following:
● Baby's Age: During the first 3-4 months (fourth trimester), most babies actually do need the security of contact naps. Beyond 4-6 months, some babies begin to be more receptive to independent napping.
● Development: Some developmental milestones, like rolling or increased awareness of the surroundings, can help make babies more willing to sleep independently.
● Your Well-being: If contact naps are taking a significant toll on your physical or mental health, it is likely time to start considering transitions.
● Family Circumstances: Your work situation, needs of other children, and support systems in place all factor into this decision.
Most families compromise on some contact naps and phasing in independent naps slowly. Keep in mind that sleep is developmental and your strategy may change as your baby matures.
How to Phase Out Contact Naps and Transfer to Crib
When you are ready to teach your baby only contact naps to sleep alone, these steps work well in making a gentle transition:
1. Start with One Nap: Choose one nap of the day (the first morning nap, typically) to practice crib sleeping, but continue to hold for other naps.
2. Practice the "Drowsy But Awake" Skill: Place your baby in his crib when sleepy but awake so that he learns to fall asleep in the crib.
3. Create a Routine Nap Schedule: Establish pre-nap cues like turning off the lights, listening to white noise, and a brief calming activity to signal time for sleep. And also, use a white noise machine to mimic the familiar sounds babies hear in the womb, promoting better sleep. Remote-controlled sound machines like Momcozy's allow caregivers to adjust settings without disturbing the baby.
4. Consider Room Temperature and Comfort: Your baby's crib should be made comfortable with an appropriate room temperature and sleep apparel.
Choosing breathable and soft fabrics for sleepwear, like the bamboo fabric used in Momcozy's baby pajamas, can help maintain a comfortable temperature without overheating. While no fabric can fully replicate the warmth and security of a caregiver’s arms, a cozy sleep environment can support better crib sleep transitions.
5. Gradual Method: Start by keeping your baby close until very sleepy, then place them in the crib with your hand on their chest for comfort. Gradually reduce physical touch as they build confidence.
6. Try the "Crib Transfer": For the baby who will sleep in a parent's arms, learn to do the slow transfer technique - wait until he is in a deep sleep (about 15-20 minutes after he goes to sleep), then slowly, slowly transfer very slowly, close to your body until the final moment.
7. Comfort When Needed: When your baby wakes and fusses, comfort him by patting gently, shushing, or brief picking up and putting down again rather than resuming immediately a contact nap.
8. Be Patient and Flexible: Transition may take weeks and have some reverses. When illness, developmental leaps, or major changes happen, your baby may need more contact napping temporarily.
Remember that the goal is not to force independent sleep but to quietly move your baby toward this skill in a responsive state.
FAQs About Contact Naps
Do You Endorse Babywearing During Contact Naps?
Babywearing can be an excellent compromise for contact naps, providing your baby with the closeness they need and leaving your hands free for other activities. When babywearing with a carrier or wrap during naps:
● Use proper positioning with open airways
● Regularly check your baby
● Only use carriers that match the age and weight of the baby
When Do Babies Outgrow Contact Naps?
Most babies begin transitioning to independent sleep between 4-8 months, though the exact timing varies based on temperament and sleep environment, though timelines vary significantly for each child. Some aspects that influence this transition include:
● Unique temperament
● Sleep requirements and patterns
● Environmental considerations
● Parenting style
By 9-12 months, many babies who initially preferred contact naps will start to tolerate at least some crib naps with gentle encouragement. But others are contact nap-ers all the way through toddlerhood.
NO. During the first three months of life (the fourth trimester), babies are acclimating to being out of the womb and often truly do need the regulation provided by body contact. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization (WHO) recognize that responsive care, including holding babies for sleep when needed, is appropriate and beneficial at this time.
Developmental psychology studies indicate that babies cannot be "spooned" by attending to their needs in the initial months. To the contrary, responsiveness on a consistent basis enables babies to achieve secure attachment, which is associated with greater autonomy in later childhood.
Conclusion
Contact napping is one of many typical and normal infant sleep habits. While it causes inconvenience for parents, it also has major benefits for babies, particularly in the first few months.
Instead of thinking of contact naps as either all good or all bad, think of them as one stage in your baby's sleep development. By learning about the science of infant sleep requirements, using proper products like a sound machine and baby pajamas, and transitioning with patience and responsiveness, you can encourage your baby to establish healthy sleep patterns while preserving the vital connections of trust and security.
