Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Sleep

Join our Sleep forum for tips on creating a sleep routine for your baby or toddler. Need more advice on your childs development? Sign up to our Ages and Stages newsletter here.

Establishing a routine for a 3.5 month old

1 reply

SomeSunnySunday · 30/03/2015 22:11

You'd think I'd have a clue, she's my 3rd baby, but when the others were little we were in the house all day, and they just fell into a routine naturally. I was never strict about it, but liked to know roughly when naps and bedtime would be, and that they were getting enough sleep.

DD is 3 and a half months, and we have no routine. Naps are random. Some days she'll have an epic 3 hour nap in the morning or middle of the day. Some days she'll have a series of 45 minute naps. Some days she hardly seems to sleep at all, then will crash out around 5pm and sleep until 9ish (then be up until midnight). Overall I don't think that she gets enough sleep.

On a good day, bedtime is 10-11pm. This has been fine up to now, but I start a course next month and will need evenings to study.

At the moment our day (as a family) looks like this:

8am - school run, in car. About half an hour there and back.

12.30 - nursery run on foot. About 20 minutes there and back.

2.30 school run in car. Half an hour, with some hanging about the playground in the middle.

4pm nursery run on foot. 20 mins again.

I usually take DD on the nursery run in a sling, but can also use a pram. She used to sleep well in her car seat (and I could just lift it in to the house / transfer her to a Moses basket) but now it's short naps only in the car seat, and she doesn't transfer well.

Any idea how to build a loose routine, aiming for bed by around 8pm, around this? And how to get there from our current state of randomness? She's a good sleeper at night, and can fall asleep on her own (e.g on her baby gym) when tired (and equally will stay awake in the car if not tired, but almost always sleeps in the sling regardless of when her last nap was). She's exclusively bf, there's not much pattern to when feeds are either Grin.

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
FATEdestiny · 30/03/2015 22:19

Timing your feeds is key to timing your naps at this age. Are feeds random too? Or more routine?

For example I would work out feeds so that I was always doing a nappy change and feed at 7.30, 12.00, 2.00 and 3.30 - these times all allow for half an hour to changed, feed, wrap up warm and settle before your four school/nursery runs. Then just do some finger crossing that she falls asleep during the journey and stays asleep as long as possible.

Alternatively, if you can keep her awake for the journey and she'll be put down to sleep easily at home - aim for naps at home, say 9am, 1.30pm, 3.00pm and 5.00pm

New posts on this thread. Refresh page