Hello fellow moms-
I have a very alert 3 month old girl who was an excellent sleeper the first 10 weeks of her life. Now she is up and sleeps 1/2 hour-5 min cat naps all day long. she is sleeping through the night-please help tired mommmy needs a nap too-if that is possible.
Thank you all for the advice. I realized after reading your responses that I do a lot of these things I just thought there was something wrong with her and it was me. She seems to be doing better today however as I write this she is stirring. Perhaps she is teething? I was reading about possible teeth starting as early as 10 weeks. Well much love to all of you. Thank yo for the new ideas like slinging her while nursing. I do take car trips, and many noise things put her to sleep. Baby Einstein helps a lot. thank you all mostly for the feeling of not being alone in this tricky bt wonderflt hing called child rearing.
Both of my boys went through that around 3-4 months except they didn't sleep through the night. I made the rooms dark and actually covered the cradle with dark fabric and they grew out of it.
When my kids turned 3 months old, I started sleeping them in their own rooms. Before that, I had them in a bassinette beside my bed. I also put them on a nap schedule. I would wake them up around 7:30, put them down in their crib about 9:30 (before they fell asleep so they learned that crib=sleeptime). That nap was usually anywhere from 20 minutes-an hour. Then, usually the next nap came around 12 or 12:30, depending on how long the morning nap was. That nap usually lasted 2-3 hours. Then, that was it until bedtime around 7:30-8. The earlier you get them on a schedule, the easier it is for BOTH of you.
Hi C.. I have the same problem, however my daughter has been doing it from birth. She is 10 weeks old and has slept through the night every night so far - but she will not sleep more than 45 minutes (if we're lucky) during the day. She is constantly tired! She takes a dozen little cat naps throughout the day, most of which are about 15-20 minutes long. Very hard to get anything done. Please let me know if you find something that helps :) I have found that if I swaddle her for her naps, sometimes she will sleep 45 minutes or so.
my son did this when he was about 3 1/2 months old. usually if he was in the crib and woke up after napping less than an hour if i put him in his swing he would go back to sleep for an hour or longer. if not it usually occupied him long enough so that i could get a nap in. i work 3rd shift and take care of my son during the day so i really need those naps too!
Hello C.....
I too have a very alert 3 month old. He has been up most of the day for about a month now. However, he does take a long 3-4 hour nap in the afternoon. Everyone stresses the importance of having a good bedtime routine. I stress a good ALL DAY routine. Give her lunch at the same time everyday, then lay her down for nap, in her bed, at the same time everyday. Make sure that she isn't totally asleep when you do this and if she needs to cry herself to sleep a few times to get the hang of it, that is OK. If she takes a pacifier, go in and give it to her several times but don't pick her up. She will get the hang of it and it will be wonderful for you when she does. I have 6 children(ages 23, 18, 17, 5, 3.5 & 3 months)and have had almost the same routine with all of them but naptime is always at 12:30, so I can watch my afternoon shows. I also do childcare in my home, sometimes I have up to 10 kids of various ages, and the ALL go down at 12:30 for nap.
Good Luck & Happy Holidays!
It is normal for babies' sleep habits to change. You are lucky your baby sleeps through the night! I was sleep deprived for over 2 years. Rarely did mine sleep through the night until all of her baby teeth were in. Some babies just don't need as much sleep as the books say is "normal". You may, however, have luck getting her to nap by wearing her in a sling or other baby carrier. Run the vaccum cleaner and do other household chores while wearing her, and she may fall asleep. Then maybe you can sit in a recliner with her still attached and nap with her, or you may be able to remove her from your body while keeping her in the sling and lay her down. It depends on how easily she wakes up. If you nurse, try nursing her to sleep in the sling. Or just lay down and nurse her cuddled up next to you and maybe she will fall asleep. I also had luck with putting my baby in a swing and sitting her in front of a Baby Einstein video. When it was warm out I could put her in the swing and she'd fall asleep outside. There is also the car trick. Drive around till she falls asleep, then park and leave the car running, and take a nap in the car. Good luck!!
Hi C..
Hmmmmmm....my girls are 10 and 13 and were very good sleepers....we were blessed. First I would say make sure she doesnt have a medical reason that is changing her behavior...colic, teething or ear infection, etc.. At that age though she is probably at the doctor office frequently so that should be ruled out. Are you picking her up as soon as she cries or letting her be a bit by herself? In my experience the more you let them get to know how it is to be alone for just a little bit they will be better sleepers. Also i would try to put her down around the same time every day so she starts somewhat of a routine. Let me know...
Good luck and hold tight - those little lives go so so fast!
S. in painesville too
Hi C.,
I have a very alert 4 month old. She did this same thing for awhile. She went through a phase where she only took 15 minute cat naps through the day. It lasted about 3 weeks. Then she went back to taking 2-3 hour naps. I know how hard it is when they don't sleep - that means we don't sleep! All I can say is hopefully it is just a phase like it was with my little one. Good luck!
