Night Time Sleeping for 3 Month Old

Hi H.,

I think that's pretty typical for that age. My son had a really hard time with naps. I knew he was tired and needed more sleep. We finally figured out that he would sleep 1-2 hours for naps if we swaddled him and put him in his swing. He'd also fall asleep if I carried him in the sling or the Baby Bjorn. I know you really need advice on the nighttime if you're going back to work, but maybe that will help for naps for the next couple weeks.

Jennifer

What I did for my 4 month old who kept waking up for nighttime feedings was I replaced her feedings with her pacifier, and I would rub her belly to calm her down. She still wakes up a couple of times a night, but she either makes herself go back to sleep, or I give her back her pacifier if she has spit it out of her mouth. I'd probably suggest for you that if he's waking up that often, is to either take away one feeding each night until you get him to sleep all night through, or you can just let him cry. Letting him cry is the hardest thing to do, but I have learned that it has solved a lot of sleeping issues that I've had with my little girl.

3 months, give or take a few weeks for personal variance, is a major growth spurt time. This may just be a passing pattern while he gets through it. He will be more needy during this time. It is exhausting for you, but hang in there.

Hi H.,

My daughter did the same thing at that age; slept good the first half of the night, then woke for two or three feedings in the wee hours, and cat-napped all day long. Our doc said that was fine, and eventually (around 5-6 mos) she started consolidating her day-time naps. She was a frequent waker at night through 10 mos, though I stopped feeding her at night between 6-7 mos. One thing that helped her (and me!) was sleep training (training her to put herself to sleep). It made her sleep longer during naps and at night; I did sleep training between 3-4 mos, and continued the principles until she became a great sleeper on her own. I did a modified cry-out method, where I laid her down almost asleep, she would wake right up and cry, and I would return in 5 min to soothe, then started waiting longer. This method took longer than some others, but it felt right for both of us, and eventually I could put her down awake and she would go right to sleep on her own, with no fuss. There are tons of methods; having an older son you probably have experience in one or more. Some kids catnap, but he'll get all the sleep he needs, don't worry!

I got the book The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems when my first was about 3 months and he was such a better sleeper (daytime and nighttime) within just a few days. It involves getting on a feeding and sleeping schedule during the day, getting a bedtime routine and how to deal with feedings at night. Now both of my kids are great sleepers. Sorry I don't have time to go into more detail - I think you can view other replies I've had on this subject (I really love this book!).
Good luck,
C.