Bridge nap
Also called bridge naps, bridging nap, bridging naps
A bridge nap is a short extra nap that carries a baby or toddler through to bedtime after a short or early last nap. Parents and sleep consultants use it most during nap transitions, when a baby is dropping from three naps to two or from two to one.
How it's said
...will sometimes have a little bridge nap if he needs it to not be too overtired.
Any earlier wake-up or shorter naps would mean I'd do a mini bridging 3rd nap.
...it simply bridges the gap between a short nap and bedtime, allowing your child to stay awake longer.
Who says it
Not to be confused with
- A catnap is any short nap, often one a baby takes again and again. A bridge nap is a short nap fitted in on purpose to reach bedtime, though some sleep writers call bridge naps cat naps too.
Where it came from
Bridge nap is a baby sleep consultants' word. The Sleep Serenity blog explains the name: it is less a true nap than a short sleep that bridges the gap between a short nap and bedtime. Sleep specialist Tara Mitchell, writing for the baby brand ErgoPouch, uses it in a guide to nap transitions.
The same picture appears in Spanish, where the baby brand Mamás Mateas calls it a siesta puente and ties it to the move from three naps to two or two to one.