How Long Should I Let Baby Nap?

They say day sleep should be 3-5 hours a day, but... How long should EACH nap be?
The length of naps depend on the adjusted age of your child. Why?⁠
⁠
Let's take a detour 🚌 to sleep science! A platinum level nap lasts two sleep cycles🥇. The complexity in the question on nap length comes because the sleep cycles of a 3 month old are shorter than the sleep cycles of a 8 month old🙉! As your child grows📈, their body clock develops and changes every 2 months or so. You see this in the sleep regressions that happen throughout the first two years of their life, those pesky times that keep you on your toes🙈. A younger baby has shorter sleep cycles of 20-30 minutes, while an older baby's sleep cycles last ~45 minutes - 1 hour. 🤯⁠
⁠
Getting back on topic👩‍🏫, a younger baby will have more naps in a day that are shorter to match their sleep cycles and what they are developmentally prepared for. An older baby will have less naps with longer sleep cycles. So when we say "You want 3-5 hours of day sleep", it is broken up differently to match what your Lovebug is prepared for.⁠
⁠
Does this sound SUPER complicated? Duh🥺 It's annoying! And frustrating to keep track of your child's age and where they are developmentally to keep a schedule that matches their growing body and brain! That's why we LOVE the Lovebug schedule in our app📱! Our schedule is programed to match your child's development and learn from their individual activities so that you will always keep them in the platinum level of restfulness. It sees your baby when they're sleeping, and knows when they're awake 🎅 - and BAM! It will update to help you keep them on track without the stress. You know what that means? Great moods! Larger brains! Faster learners! Curious tots! 👼🏿⁠
⁠
STAY TUNED! Our next post will cover part #2 of "Should you, if ever, wake a sleeping baby" (enter foreboding music...😈☠️)⁠
⁠
P.S. This is sweet Lovebug baby Jack!😍Isn't he precious!?

*Note - This was a newborn photo shoot. Please always practice safe sleep with your baby. Baby should always be placed on his/her back to sleep, with no loose blankets in sleep area.*