3 Month Old Baby Wont Sleep

I had a baby the same way. Twice a day, I had to hold him in a place where the sun would shine in his face (mine was the sliding glass door - I had my back to the sun and put his face over my shoulder in the sun). I would stay there and sway until he slept, then lay him down and not pick him up for two hours. It got to where if I stood in the sun with him, he would go to sleep immediately. Also, I found that I had to "bind" him more (wrap the receiving blanket around him tighter) than the other kids. He felt safer that way and went to sleep faster. I think it's because he was a big baby (9 lb 7 oz) and felt safe when he thought he was being held (wrapped up). You might try one or both of those. Good luck!

A.,

It was difficult from your message to figure out what your baby's eating schedule is so I'll just dive in...

It's not really normal for a 3 month old baby to sleep 12 hours without waking to eat. She should be eating at least every three hours. So, if she's waking to do that, she's behaving perfectly normally. If not, you should wake her to feed her. Helping her get into a regular eating routine will help her get into a regular sleeping routine as well. That said, if she seems hungry sooner than three hours - FEED HER! :) She's smart and her body knows what it needs.

During the day, after you feed her and help her fall asleep, take a nap yourself. Those early days with a tiny baby are hard and you're probably exhausted yourself!

Remember that parenting doesn't end when the sun goes down. You'll probably be up at night like this for a few more months so rest as much as you can when she rests. If you feel worn out, get a babysitter for a few hours so you can take a nap!

You have to take care of yourself to take care of your sweet little Isabella. Hang in there!

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Your daughter is one day younger than my twins! My boy will sleep for 6 hours and his sister is not quite there yet. Of course the are really hungry when they wake up. Thankfully they eat and fall right back asleep. My twins are kids #5 and #6 for our family.

Remember while all babies are different, they have some similarities and general rules that often help out. This is when they start to figure out their schedule and as mom, you get to help them figure it out. They do not need to eat every three hours (as long as they are over one month old and 8 lbs., and in general healthy). My pediatrician told me that at two months the liver starts regulating that and will wake the baby up when they get hungry. At three months is when they start to sleep longer stretches, usually 6+ hours.
Our bodies use sunlight to help regulate our sleep cycle, so when they get up in the morning, open the blinds and let the sun in. When it is time for a nap, do something soothing for the baby (swaddling with blanket, rocking, singing, etc - unfortunately every child is different, but you will find what works for your child by trying different things out) and I try to darken the room.

Something I was told by my aunt with my first child, don't keep the house quiet when trying to get children to sleep - play the radio, vacuum, whatever so that they don't need silence to sleep. My twin's crib is literally next to the piano and the kids practice the piano every morning and the babies sleep through it (with 4 siblings, it is probably a good thing).

Looks like you've created some serious "sleep props" for your little one. It's only going to get worse if you don't nip it in the bud now. Get a book called "Babywise". It will help you get your daughter into better sleeping habits/patterns and get rid of the sleep props. It may be a hard few nights when trying to break her of this, but it will be worth it in the end. Oh, and don't let her fall asleep with a bottle in her mouth. It will be bad for her teeth that she will eventually get. Good luck.

Congratulations new mom!!!! I am sure that you are feeling overwhelmed. First, know that you can establish a sleep pattern for your baby. She should be sleeping several times a day and several hours at night. Try taking her into a place that is dark and soothing during the day. Throw a blanket over a window and rock her. Having a paci is ok. Feed her, but do not prop a bottle - it will destroy her teeth. Establish a routine and follow it the same each time you put her to sleep. Sing to her - she loves your voice. You are her momma. Enjoy the personal time that you have with her - she will respond. Ask for some help if you are tired. God bless you and your family.

Your daughter is just a day younger then my son : ) Try baby wearing to get her to sleep during the day. My son doesn't sleep well unless he's being held night or day. The holder lets me get stuff done durning the day and we co-sleep at night. Also try and relax baby's feed off your engery and will mimic your mode. They definitly can tell when someone is nervous or has fired nerves. Good luck

I am going to have to disagree with whoever said to wake up your baby to feed her. By 8 weeks they can sleep long periods of time without eating, if you wake her to feed her she will expect to eat during sleep time and start waking herself up, don't we want them to start sleeping through the night? YES! I don't have much advise for the rest of the problems, kids are all different so hopefully the advise others gave you will give you some ideas and something will work for you.

I agree that some kind of baby carrier would help a ton during the day. And if she sleeps more during the day maybe that'd help at night. If a wrap sounds too hard to figure out, there are plenty of styles. The easiest kind is a sling or pouch - they both go on one shoulder. The one I used the most was a mei tei/asian carrier. I found the one-shoulder types hard on my back, and the asian carriers weren't. They are easier to get on than a wrap.

I found that getting a good wrap (I like gypsymama. Moby is another popular one) and wrapping my baby up in that during the day helped so much with napping. THey nap, and you get to do housework, dishes, etc.... while they do. This helped them get used to set naps throughout the day. Another thing that worked for me was laying down with them so they nap and I nap together.

truly you are lucky:) I would take sleeping through the night for up all day:) Mine still wakes 3-4 times in the middle of the night to nurse and he is 4 months old. You are doing great! just your daughter figured out night and day sooner than most:)

Congratulations A. on having what sounds like a healthy girl. I like the name. My first is Isabela. :-) I agree with the ladies. Schedule is critical. I am assuming, you have that under control. Another possibility, especially if you have all the below stuff checked, is tender gums (pre-teething). I learned that even though they don't get their teeth until later, their gums could be bothering them, beginning with the 3 month age mark. Mine did. Made sense when her ped told me. The teeth don't just appear at the surface at 6+ months, they take time to develop and cut through the gums. So, it can be bothering them as early at 3 months. The crying for comfort, more than usuall, and calming down if something is in her mouth, can indicate that. Also, if she drools a lot, or has soft stools (internal drooling - doesn't let the drool come out, swallows it instead - causing additional acid than normal levels, therefore causing soft stools) it's a sure sign of early pre-teething. I loved and used Hyland's Teething Tablets for both my kids. It's a homeopathic, safe for babies life saver. Good luck.