3 month old's sleep

[Rose1999]

I'm really worried that my 3 month old doesn't get enough sleep. She naps sporadically for short bursts during the day and at night wakes 1-2 hourly and then takes a while to settle back down. I'm worried her development will be affected by her lack of sleep 😞

[Reb1986]

Hi Rose,

I have a 3.5 month old and I can tell you that I worry the same! Being a mum can be so difficult as you just want to make sure that you’re doing the best for your child.

My son was doing a long first stretch of sleep, but in the past couple of weeks does a three/four hour sleep, a two/three hour sleep and then maybe an hour.

We’re just extending his daytime wake windows to about 1 hour 45 mins. He naps anywhere from 45 mins (in his bed) to two hours in his pram.

The amount of time I spend wondering if this is normal, if he’s eating enough, if I’m engaging enough is huge! I think that’s just how it is….

Development is such a huge curve, and babies get fixated on one skill and work on that. What’s your baby enjoying at the moment? My son loves babbling. He’s also started lifting his legs up, which I think is about developing lower ab strength.

[Rose1999]

@Reb1986

Hi Rose,

I have a 3.5 month old and I can tell you that I worry the same! Being a mum can be so difficult as you just want to make sure that you’re doing the best for your child.

My son was doing a long first stretch of sleep, but in the past couple of weeks does a three/four hour sleep, a two/three hour sleep and then maybe an hour.

We’re just extending his daytime wake windows to about 1 hour 45 mins. He naps anywhere from 45 mins (in his bed) to two hours in his pram.

The amount of time I spend wondering if this is normal, if he’s eating enough, if I’m engaging enough is huge! I think that’s just how it is….

Development is such a huge curve, and babies get fixated on one skill and work on that. What’s your baby enjoying at the moment? My son loves babbling. He’s also started lifting his legs up, which I think is about developing lower ab strength.

Thank you for your response. My daughter loves singing mainly but she's become quite cranky recently. I don't quite know what I'm doing so wrong.

What time does your little one go to bed at night? Do you go up with them at the same time?

[Reb1986]

I wonder if you’ve found yourself singing their songs after they’ve gone to sleep? I have had “rock a bye your bear” stuck in my head! My MIL is totally amazing and used to work with small kids, so have been trying to copy her amazing acting skills when I sing too. No wonder my son laughs, I must look totally bonkers!

My son had two meltdowns today and I feel so guilty for not realising until the second that he was suffering from really bad gas. Then I could do a massage and bicycles. I think quite a lot of his fussiness is gas related. Did you just have the second rotavirus?

We’ve currently been aiming for bedtime between 8 and 9, but are going to try to shift it to 7 as he gets a little older. I go to bed when he does. Just about to go to sleep now. Thank goodness I have always been an early bedtime and early riser!

You are not doing anything wrong. At all! You’re doing a great job. All babies are different and when you read the “this is the schedule to follow” or “this is what they’re like” content it can make you panic! If you asked ten mums what they do, I’m certain there would be huge variety. (At least this is the pep talk I give myself!)

[BastetBaby]

I am also worried about this! My little one is nearly 3mo but very rarely gets the recommended about of sleep (12 hours in 24 is her average). She sleeps well at night (8-9pm bedtime, one wake to feed at 2am and another at 5am, wakes up at about 6am) but she's struggling with her naps. And it seems to be getting worse! She's starting to get overtired and in the evenings she'll sometimes be awake for 3 hours!

I just tried to put her down for a nap in her crib, but she woke after 20 minutes and was clearly not done. I tried soothing her back to sleep to no avail, gave up and took her through to our living room, then she fell asleep in my arms...