Advice - Hillsborough,NJ

Hi J.,
just be happy that he is napping, and a 3 hour nap during the day is great! my 4.5 month old is a horrible napper, never more than 45 minutes, and she fights sleep all the time. I am also reading Healthy sleep habits, happy child, which is a great book and I highly recommend it. So far it has been helping my daughter sleep better at night. After I tackle her nighttime sleep (she gets up frequently), then hopefully i can help her sleep better during the day! every child is different, just make sure your son is not getting overtired (you know he is if he fusses alot, cries, and wakes up crying). good luck!

Hi J.,

I have a little one turning 4 months on friday! Not sure if this will help any but an average day for her is, up between 6-7, asleep in her swing between 8:30-9:30 for about 1.5 hrs then feeds around 12-12:30 then back down at around 1:30 for approx 3 hrs, give or take an hr. BUT as soon as I think I have her figured out she switches gears on me ;) Evening time's so far are inconsistent...trying to figure out a good schedule to fit, but usually in bed for the night between 8-9:30. Maybe try moving bedtime an hour early that way you get one last good feeding in for the night?! Comparing, your little one seems to be right on target! Hope this helps!

That seems like a very small amount of nap time to me as well. I have a 6 month old, and I know at 3 months my (b'fed) baby was sleeping approximatly like this:
6:30 wake up
8 or 8:30 nap
9 or 10 up
11:30 or 12 nap
1 or 1:30 up
4ish nap
5ish up
8ish to bed
She also woke 3-5 times through the night for feedings as well.

Now, that being said, my first child slept through the night at 3 months (8pm to 6am) and she had only 2 naps a day, each about 2 hours.
Does he eat alot at a sitting? And when he wakes, is he waking cranky or happy? Is he sleeping on his tummy or his back? Are you still swaddeling?
If he's waking cranky, you might want to add an extra nap and if you can bring yoursef to do it, let him CIO.
If he's waking happy then he must be getting enough rest.
At 3 months he should be eating 3-4 ounces 4 to 6 times a day (according to enfamil). You might also add in some cereal to see if it helps him nap more. I recommend starting with rice, it's the smoothest and least likely to have allergy issues.
If he's sleeping poorly on his back you might try letting him sleep on his tummy (provided he can lift and turn his head), since tummy sleeping is almost always sounder sleep for babies.

All in all, if he seems happy then let it be, but you can tweak it if you want. This is the age where you need to start establishing a sleep schedule, come 4 months their sleep patterns change little from there to 18ish months, so establishing a sleep schedule you can live with is KEY in the next 30ish days.
Good luck!

Hi J.! Our daughter is 4 months old now. At three months, she was sleeping about 12-13 hours a night, from about 9-9 or 10am or 8-8 or 9am. I breastfed exclusively, as do now, but I don't know if that would make much difference. She also usually slept at around 12 or 1pm, but sometimes for 1-3 hours, depending on the day... sometimes 4! Then another nap at around 5ish for only about an hour. Now that she's 4 months and learning to roll over, she tends to wake up early in the morning and just plays around in her crib, so she is still in bed, but sleeping less in the morning. Her naps now are about yours, just about 1.5-4 hours during one nap and then she sleeps early at around 730m or 8pm. This is a recent change for us. Hope this info helps. We are first parents, so I don't have advice, just our baby's schedule... Our pediatrician thinks our schedule is okay, but reminds us that babies at this age need about 15 or more hours of sleep a day. Maybe try another nap later in the day between the nap and bedtime? Even if he just rests quietly? Not sure. Hope this helps!

Part of it depends on how much he's sleeping at night. At 3 months, my daughter was still waking up 2 to 3 times a night to feed, but they were sleep feeds, so I would still consider it a full night's sleep, and she slept about 13 or so hours. Her naps during the day weren't even 3 hours, so to me that sounds good. She would take 10-20 minute catnaps during the day until she was like 5-6 months old, at which time it got easier, and she started to nap better.

So, overall, if he's sleeping well at night, that sounds fine to me.

Buy the book by Dr Weissbluth "Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child". It will explain everything and teach you ways to correct or prevent sleep problems.

Good Luck!

My son's naps didn't get into a groove until around 5 months. Before that, he'd nap lightly and randomly. Often, he'd have to be on me to sleep well. It was exhausting! But once he started moving more, his habits changed. I helped it along by putting him in his crib, and letting him fuss a little, three times a day. (These developed into fantastic naps pretty quickly!) But I wouldn't recommend that until your little one is a bit older!

Also, maybe stop doing that 10:15 PM scheduled bottle? You could try to put him down for the night way earlier (like 7 or 8!), and just feed him a bottle when he wakes up and wants to eat!