What Does a Typical Day for Your 3-4 Month Old Look Like?

Updated on July 10, 2008
L.K. asks from Allen, TX
6 answers

My first baby had severe reflux and colic so I can't really compare my new baby daughter to him. So I am just curious what a day looks like for a 3-4 month old as far as eating, sleeping and playing. Here's our day: last "meal" is usually between 7:30 and 9pm, put her down by 10pm, and she will usually make it til between 3:30 and 4 before eating again. Sometimes she wakes at 1:30 and I can give her a pacifier repeatedly until around 4am. Once she eats she goes right back to sleep until around 7am. Then she eats again, plays a little, and sleeps from 8-9. From then on it's anyone's guess as to eating, sleeping, and playing. Most the time she doesn't play more than an hour before sleeping again and naps are usually only 45 minutes at the most. She will go anywhere from 2.5 - 4 hours between feeds during the day. She is exclusively breast feed. Any suggestions or comments?

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N.O.

answers from Dallas on

WOW, you basically just said what my 3 mnths old schedule is like. He was born April 1st and has been the best little baby. He's sleeping pretty good through the night, wakes up to feed at night and goes right back to sleep. When he's awake during the day it's usually about an hour to two and then naps for about 45 minutes to an hour.
He sleeps alot during the day in his swing and is also exclusively breastfed and usually he ends up in the bed with me at night.
You sound like you're doing everything right. They don't typically have a set "schedule" until about 6 mnths old and even then it can be off at times.
Keep up the good work and congratulations on your new baby girl! : )

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A.B.

answers from Dallas on

Another vote for Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. I love that book. I also just finished babywise, I think it's actually called On Becoming Baby Wise; Giving Your Infant the Gift of Nighttime Sleep. It's pretty good, and starts them on a very loose routine from birth. Its methods stabilize sleep patterns by normalizing feeding times. It's very compatible with Healthy Sleep Habits. That schedule sounds very similar to what my four month old is doing too. The morning nap is the first to settle into a time, the rest remain fluid for a little while yet. Good luck and happy reading.

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L.P.

answers from Dallas on

Well my 3 month olds day usually goes like this.... wake up between 7-8 am, eats around 9, naps although its anyones guess as to when, eats by 1 pm, another quick catnap if her first nap was early enough, eats around 4-5pm, playtime with mommy and daddy (during the day she is with a babysitter, so she plays when she is awake, she likes to "talk" with the older children there and they LOVE her!), quick catnap (30 mins at most), sit outside usually between 7-8pm cause that is her fussy time and that is the only way we can keep her from crying, bathtime between 8-9pm, then eat and in bed by 9:30. She usually sleeps until 3 or 4 in the morning, if she wakes earlier than that she gets by with a paci, eats between 4-5 am, and starts all over....

I am reading a book called Healthy Sleeping Habits, Happy Child, because I really think she is not sleeping enough and that is why she gets fussy in the evenings, and it makes sense. You should check it out I have had alot of other moms recommend it, although have yet to use it yet because they don't start until 4 months old.

I have also heard of Babywise, but have yet found it...
Hope this helps!

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C.A.

answers from Dallas on

I love, love, love the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. We formula feed, so things are a little different. My twins are 10 weeks old and take about 4 naps a day -with the longest ones being 2-3 hours, and sleep around 9-10 hours at night. The book discusses sleep rhythms from birth through adolescence - so you could potentially get a lot of use out of it.

C.

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J.J.

answers from Dallas on

My 4 month old's schedule is typically: Wake around 7:30 or 8 and eat(breastfeed) right away. The morning is usually busy with my toddler's activities, but obviously we try to include her. I try to get her to nap around 10-11, but it doesn't always work. She eats again at 11. If she didn't sleep before, I get her down for a nap after lunch. If she did sleep, we play a little. She eats again around 2, and then we try a PM nap. This one is usually longer - till around 4ish. We do our cereal feeding at 5pm. Then family dinner is around 5:45 so that is her bouncy seat time next to the table. Bath time is 7pm, followed my another breastfeed and off to sleep by 7:45. She usually sleeps through the night, although last night she didn't. I think the teething is kicking in :(

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K.M.

answers from Dallas on

I can't say enough about the Babywise book. We used it for our 14 month old son and our youngest son also. Our youngest son is about to be 3 months old on the 20th. My older son started sleeping thru the nights at 16 weeks with the Babywise. It works by setting parent directed feedings. I don't use a strict by the clock schedule with either one of them...but I do follow a routine schedule...it just happens at different times each day, give or take 30 minutes or so.
Our younger one actually slept from 9pm to 5am last night, but afraid it may be a fluke thing. We'll see how he does tonight. ;)
Typical day for him is wake around 5am for feeding. Then he will go back to sleep until next feeding. My husband does the 5 am one...then I do the next one which is around 8am. He then will stay awake for a bit...today he was doing a pattern of feed, 2 hours wake, 2 hours sleep. I think he is coming more into a schedule...which will hopefully lead him into sleeping all night consistently. But basically it is that routine all day...feed, wake, sleep. And he typically gets fed every 3 hours. When he's awake, I rotate him between his pak-n-play with a mobile attached to it and his bouncer with his little bee which he loves to talk to. I also try to spend some time with him holding and socializing with him during his wake periods...all this in between playing with my 14 month old, and feeding and changing him. Good times. :)
Alot of the times he doesn't like to be held though...so back to bouncer or pak-n-play. He has reflux so we bought him one of those Amby beds. That really made a difference with his sleeping. Before that, the only thing we could get him to sleep in for any duration was his swing.
I think the parent directed feedings make all the difference. But that's just my opinion. And every baby is different.
I followed the Babywise book loosely...mainly just followed the parent directed feedings approach...and that was enough to get us where we needed to be...a baby sleeping thru the night.

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