Why does my baby nap briefly but sleep for hours at night?

It looked the wrong way round

One month and a week corrected, sleeping no more than an hour at a time during the day but going six hours straight at night.

We assumed we'd got something backwards. She was alert during the day, not cranky, and gaining weight — and still it felt like a problem that needed solving.

That's the usual order

Night sleep often stretches out first. Daytime naps may take much longer.

So a baby with long nights and short days isn't confused. She's ahead on the harder half of it.

The daytime is also working against her. Light, noise, people, things to look at, and a body clock that is designed to keep her more alert when it's bright. A forty-minute nap is one complete sleep cycle, and surfacing at the end of it into a bright interesting room is a perfectly reasonable decision on her part.

What we tried, and what was worth it

Darkening the room for daytime naps helped a little. So did noticing when the wake window had clearly stretched too long — short naps often follow a baby who went down overtired.

What didn't help, and made things worse, was keeping her up longer hoping she'd sleep more deeply.

We never shortened her night sleep to try to force more daytime naps. That usually makes a tired baby even more tired.

When we lined up the actual evidence rather than the feeling. Alert when awake. Not cranky. Feeding well. Gaining.

That combination means the sleep is working, whatever shape it's in.

Naps do lengthen — slowly, unevenly, and usually around the time you've stopped expecting them to.