Day/night Routine for 3 Month Old

I really think having a somewhat predictable schedule is very important for babies and parents. I read through babywise and used a lot of the suggestions, but not all. The 1st thing I did around 3 months is put my daughter on a feeding schedule. She had 5-6 (6 ounce) bottles a day. (6AM, 9AM, Noon, 3PM, 6PM and 9PM). Somedays we were off by an hour or so, but it was still predictable. She started taking regular naps a few weeks later at 9AM and 1 PM for around 2 hours each. Somedays we would be running errands during her nap, so she would go down as soon as we got home. I think a flexible schedule is best. I think sleeping at night is very important, so don't allow your son to nap so late that he doesn't go to bed at a regular time. I also felt that 4 months was easier than 3 months to try to get them on schedule.

Hi E.,
I HIGHLY recommend the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. Dr. Weissbluth has been a pediatrician for 30+ yrs, founded the original Sleep Disorders Center at Chicago's Children's Memorial Hospital, is a Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at Northwestern University School of Medicine, has written chapters on sleep problems in textbooks for pediatricians, has lectured to parents groups, and even been on Oprah. This doctor explains the reason sleep scheduling is so important for mental and physical health. I have used his methods on my daughter since her birth with terrific results. At your son's age, his biological sleep/wake rhythms are beginning to evolve. My daughter's sleep schedule at this age was: wake up at 6:30-7am, morning nap at 9am, early afternoon nap around 12:30-1pm, a brief late afternoon nap around 4pm and bedtime by 7pm. When I noticed Paige taking a longer late afternoon I eliminated it and moved her bedtime to 6pm. She would usually sleep all night but sometimes woke to eat once around 12am. I also made sure she slept in her crib with her room dark and relatively quiet. An early bedtime maybe inconvenient but Dr. Weissbluth is very adamant about the need for it. I found that Paige was less fussy when I implemented a schedule as she knew what to expect. I also started putting her in her bed at the end of our routine awake or asleep. Feel free to email me with questions.
L.

I think it's whatever works for you. I was never a "schedule" person, we did whatever, whenever. (Though I can certainly see where a schedule can be useful, I'm not disciplined enough.) But the nap times change as they grow anyway, so I'm not sure how easy it will be to schedule them exactly.

With my older daughter, I ran around crazy trying to adapt to whatever she wanted to do. Life was always so hectic and I had a hard time scheduling the things I needed to do (grocery shopping, making dinner, getting to work on time, etc.) because I never had any idea what she would be doing at any given time.

That just didn't work for me, so with baby #2 I asked a good friend of mine who has a very orderly house and well-behaved children, what her secret was. She told me she uses the BabyWise method, which involves scheduling. Well, the minute my second child was born, we started putting the BabyWise method into play, and life got a lot easier! I could always make plans in advance because I knew the times she would be napping, eating, playing, etc. My daughter was (and is) very happy, I think because she always knows what is going to happen next. For me it has been a godsend. If you are interested in looking at the book, the title is "On Becoming Baby Wise" by Gary Ezzo.