3 month old not sleeping through the night.. HELP

[JasminP]

Hey ladies,
Just need a bit of advice on this.
I have my DD who is 3 month old, I also have my DS who is 3 years old. My DD is a terrible sleeper, she sleeps mostly all day, and then come 11pm she is wide awake untill 4.30am. My DS then Wakes up at 7.30am and I'm exhausted. I try everything to try and wake her up during the day, she stays awake for a little while then goes straight back to sleep. And at night I ensure her nappy is clean, she's fed etc. And she just sits up awake not going to sleep. Any ideas how I can get her to sleep at the right time?

Good lord I was about to come on and say it’s normal for a 3 month old not to sleep through but that’s something else! Sounds like she’s still opposite on her day and night- black out blinds, lots of light in the day and noise etc? We found swaddling our DD at night st that age seemed to help a bit. Sounds so tiring sending lots of well wishes it improves soon!

@Napqueem1234 Yeah I'm going to have to make it as fun with a lot of light during the day and keep it calm and relaxed during the evening. See if we can flip it the way it should be.
Are some babies in their cots by now, she also hates her moses basket.
Thanks a lot for your help.

Hopefully now she's 3 months she will swap her days and nights soon. My sister was exactly the same and suddenly at 3 months she slept properly (for a baby) at night. She wouldn't go down before 5am before that. Yes definitely try black outs, white noise, swaddling until she can roll. I still think it's good to make the room dark for naps as it encourages better sleep. Saying that my 3 month old sleeps in the sling mostly!!

You can definitely try her in her cot, nothing to lose if she hates the moses. You could put her in a sleeping bag if she isn't already. If cot seems gigantic you can carefully roll up towels and put them under a fitted sheet to give her bumpers and make her feel cosy as long as it's safe.

How are you feeding? What do you feel about cosleeping? You definitely need to get her in daylight during the day, nightlight only for night time, no TV and only change her nappy if absolutely necessary.

Thank you for your help.
At the moment she is sleeping in a poddle pod in our bed or on my chest, which I worry because I know it's not completely safe. I breastfeed but looking to stop. I take her out daily for an hours walk without fail. And make it as light in the daytime. I'll have to sort get cot and get her in there. I think maybe that's what is best.

Yikes! What do you do with her between 11:30-4? If she’s happy could you leave her awake next to you to see if she drifts off? I know people say you shouldn’t but can you feed her to sleep??

Have you started a bedtime routine yet? Same for morning - babies benefit from consistency. I have 9 week old, I bath at 6:30pm, bring into darkened room to dry her and dress for bed. Give her a feed (breastfeeding too) and cuddles/settle. She'll fall asleep so I bring her downstairs into the pram. Dh then does a bottle formula feed at 10:30 (I go to bed around 9) and he'll bring her into the cot next to me. She'll sleep shading till 2:30 feed, then 5:30 feed, then 7am I get her up, curtains open lights on and start the day. But it's easier for me to do this as I don't have a toddler too, so just try your best. Also make sure you have playtime during the day as well as the walks.

@sideshowjen
Sometimes I sit in the darkness with her, but she sits there chatting away. Or DH sits with her whilst I get some sleep. Sometimes she naps for an hour then wakes up again. She does fall asleep when feeding her, but not for long.
I haven't started a routine yet, wasn't sure if bathing everyday was OK.
I guess it is, what bath products do you use?
Sounds like you have it mastered, I'm jealous. My DS is in bed by 7pm, but DS is certainly a lot more needy.
I'll try my best to get her routine sorted with her cot done. Fingers crossed she works out her days and nights.
I do have playtime with her also everyday.

Routine might help so worth giving it a go. We bathe baby every day but only use the Waitrose mini top to toe wash every other day (otherwise just bathe in water or dump some breast milk in the bath).
When my baby jabbered away at night, unless he was distressed or crying I would just fall asleep next to him as I was (and still generally am) so knackered. As long as baby is safe in their crib and generally happy might be worth trying if you can x

God that sounds tough!!

Please dont feel you are failing. Whilst I do believe that a well implemented routine does help a baby sleep better there isnt a huge amount you can do at 3 months old and other people who have better sleeping babies may just be a bit luckier than you!

U can tell me to bog off but have u tried:

1. Proper black out curtains
2. In the morning wake her up at 7 - I know it feels rough but it might start pushing her clock round a bit.
3. First feed of the day - do it with lots of sunlight and lights. She needs to know its wake up time..
4. Naps in darkness.
5. Quiet bath then dimmed lights (if she is downstairs with you) and quiet TV.

Good luck. This too shall pass. It might pass like a kidney stone, but it will pass.

Start by getting her up at 7am, and try to work the day from there. It will be tough but hopefully it will reset her body clock. Plenty of light during the day, play etc. From 6pm, winding down for the night, bath, feed, dark room etc.

As well as the above suggestions I'd also suggest white noise as she sleeps better during the day. Sounds tough.

Thank you all so much for your support, it really is appreciated and make me feel a whole lot better. I will try everything you have suggested fingers crossed something works! Thank you again so much.