Does sleep really get better after the 3 month mark?

[ayylauren]

My DS has just turned 11 weeks and for the past week or so his sleep has deteriorated. He is a reluctant napper during the day anyways, so I usually try get him out in the pram/car to avoid an over tired baby. DP was giving one bottle of formula at bedtime as part of a "routine" and DS would sleep for a stretch which helped me out a lot. However now DS refuses a bottle (so is EFB) and will now only stay asleep 2 hour max and wants to feed every time he wakes. Is he having a fussy phase, suffering with FOMO?? I've heard a lot of people say they improve at 12 weeks but is this really true?

Not in my experience. Mine had ups and downs but basically stayed the same until 5 months and then dramatically improved.

I would just go with the flow till approx 4 months and then as long as there's no illness, teething or other reason for poor sleep, start putting in a bit of effort to encourage good sleep habits.

There is no precise time they change OP. Unfortunate its a rough estimate so don't think there will be a huge turn around in a weeks time or you may be very disappointed. They are all different, but you will get there eventually. It's fucking tough being up so often during the night, and having one that hardly baps during the day but it does get better, although it feels like an eternity when you are living it.

Nope. Sorry.

For me, thirteen weeks it got dramatically better so it could well be the same for you.

Probably not what you want to hear, but my DS (6 months) didn’t get better at night after 3 months.

But he did get better at sleeping in the cot in the day.

Now 6 months and have just sleep trained so he’s sleeping for longer stretches (6hrs then 4hrs then 2 hours at night). Previously he’d only go for 1.5 - 3 hrs at a time.
However from speaking to other people it does seem like my DS is a particularly bad sleeper - so hopefully you’ll have better luck.

Sorry OP, impossible to say. I thought we were doing really well, 4-5 hr stretches from 9pm to 9am but then the 4 months regression hit and it all changed. Then teething, then figuring out solids, weaning. Then another regression. And another. Our first true improvement started around 10-12 months. I never sleep trained though but always followed the same bedtime routine. Still do at toddlerhood :)

No.

All babies are different. Mine's 13 months and still doesn't sleep.
I hope things improve for you.

Every baby is different. Some improve around that time, some don’t. My first baby read the manual and did everything perfectly. My second is 14 months and still sleeps terribly. I used the same routines for both 🤷‍♀️

My baby’s fussiness seemed to peak at around 12 weeks and then get better. So if fussing is a part of the problem that might improve soon.

Mines over 18 months old and still have mixed sleep. If we get a full night we are lucky!

@Liervik

My baby slept nicely until 8 weeks, ok until 4 months and it all went to shit. 7 months old now, and there's a general upwards trend over time since 4 months. So newborn she'd do 3 hour chunks, 3-4 hours at 8 weeks, 4 months I nearly cracked after a few nights of 1 hour chunks, and she gradually tended to do 1x3 hours, then 4, then 5. Now we've had another regression, I'm lucky to get a 3 hour chunk. But when we have had a spate of bad nights, she tends to get back to where she was fairly quickly. 5-8 weeks was awful though, she woke up, but also wanted to be permanently BF or being walked around, basically constant attention, especially in the evening when I was tired, but now she'll happily play by herself for a bit and naps more predictably I can get on with doing things, whereas at 8 weeks, I could never tell if she would sleep for 3 minutes or 3 hours. So I guess not better, but easier to manage?

This is the same as mine. When he's tired he needs constant attention, walking him around the house, seems to be very angry if you aren't holding him exactly how he wants. He used to BF for comfort lots but now if he's tired and grumpy he will refuse the breast but can't settle himself to sleep on his own!! Nightmare. We have resulted to rocking in the pram the past few nights

I remember when I was going through this phase with DS and people would say, wait for 3 months, wait for 6 months, wait for this.

The only one that was true to the word was my mum saying he's going to be a terror like I was and won't sleep through the night until 2.5 years. She was right.

I wish back then so many people hadn't given me false hope that sleep was coming soon and instead I'd focussed on how to make the most of his sleep time. I still now make sure I nap when he does on days i'm not working if I am able to.

It's really tough, but try not to fixate on a date when things might be better because it's really disappointing if it doesn't get better by then.

Rocking chair?

Er… DD slept through spontaneously at the 19 month mark, having previously woken a minimum of 6 times a night on a good night. I survived on hormones and Haribo and hatred of inanimate objects but I’m probably more tired now she’s a sleep-through toddler than I was when she was an immobile baby. Does this help?!

Hi
I am not sure what to do regarding a sleepover for my little one.
She is only 1 month only and I have had family asking to have her for a sleepover I do want to let her go but I feel that I am l packing her off and leaving her.

Any advice please would be appreciated

I have 3DC and they’ve all been different.

This one did not improve after the 3 month mark, in fact she got worse. It’s tough right now (6 months) but it’ll settle down… one day

My middle child slept through like a dream until 7 months old and then decided she didn’t need sleep anymore!

@Mummy0921 for me that would’ve been way too early but it depends on whether they are offering because sleep is really bad atm and you don’t have any support i.e. being a single mum.

Generally - if it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it

Mine didn’t.. as pp say something appears to torture you - rolling, weaning, growth spurts.

First nailed nighttime vs daytime very quickly and would sleep 6.30-6.30 with 3-4 feeds, which gradually tailed off at 12 months. Not bad but not horrendous. No big improvements or regressions, just steady progress.

Daytimes however considerably improved at 3-4 months. She was always a catnapper of a maximum 28 minutes in one go, but around 12-17 weeks she started to be able to be awake without being inconsolably overtired, which made everything much more bearable. DD2 is looking like she’s going very much the same way, though it’s easier this time as I know the grumpiness may improve soon.

Hang in there, take things one day at a time and one day you’ll wake up feeling almost human.

*not bad but not brilliant

I think generally yes a lot of babies settle down a little around the 3 month mark. I think it kept me going to think that it would get better.

I saw improvements in sleep after 6-8wks when she wld go longer between feeds overnight and again at 3/4 months sometimes started going through the night without milk. Sadly regressed again at various times. Even at almost 2 now she hardly ever sleeps through and is in my bed a lot. Sometimes has to be taken downstairs to settle down. I am always exhausted 😩 My first born slept through from 6 wks though so it's just ur luck 🤷🏻‍♀️