My daughter is 10 months now and I have worked very hard to make sure all of her needs are met. (Even if that means mine are not)
I started very early on creating a sleep schedule for her and have been very protective over her schedule and well being. I sometimes hear a lot of criticism when it comes to it as well. I’ve gotten really good at letting it go.
Naps are essential for cognitive learning.
A study by “The national Academy of Sciences” found that infants that sleep through the night and nap during the day, demonstrated higher levels of learning and memory.
http://m.pnas.org/content/112/5/1625.abstract
Not only do babies need sleep for learning but for growth. The body demands extra sleep during those growth spurts and there are a ton of growth spurts in the first year alone!
I also hear quite often about parents ditching naps so the baby sleeps through the night but that’s a huge myth. Studies have found that babies who nap during the day SLEEP BETTER at night.
It is recommended that infants sleep as much as they want.
- 3-8 months recommend 3 naps
- 9-12 months recommend 2 naps
So for all the mommies out there, when you think “maybe the nap isn’t that important,” think again!
This is one of the questions I receive quite often from friends who are about to have children. When I heard the question for the first time, I immediately said of course! At that moment, I couldn’t really pin-point what has changed but then I thought about it.
