How long should a 3 month old baby sleep?

Cases when a child at 3 months sleeps poorly is not uncommon. A large number of mothers and fathers face this, so you should not be afraid of this phenomenon. But experts do not advise ignoring the restless sleep of your beloved child, especially in the first year of life. To clarify the situation, parents should clarify the very wording of the question “sleeps poorly.” Often, this hides indications of the baby’s intermittent sleep and frequent night awakenings, which are completely different from the usual full night’s rest for an adult.

How much should a 3 month old baby sleep?

The main tasks of a newborn baby are to eat enough and sleep a lot, gaining strength. He will need them for full growth and development. Therefore, after returning from the maternity hospital, babies sleep day and night, waking up only for the next feeding and diaper change.

A 3-month-old baby, unlike a newborn, begins to behave a little differently. He develops a need to explore the world around him and communicate with his parents, which is why the baby experiences longer periods of wakefulness.

At this age, the baby does not yet realize that he is tired and wants to rest. For this reason, parents should know how much a baby sleeps at 3 months and how much sleep he should have during the day and at night.

Why does a child refuse to sleep?

A baby's sleep changes at 3 months. At this age, babies begin to become interested in everything that happens around them, as a result of which their daily routine may change. From a recent “sleepyhead”, by the age of three months a baby can turn into a fidget who sleeps poorly during the day and is capricious at night.

Sleep disturbances in infants occur due to various reasons.

If a child at 3 months begins to sleep poorly during the day and at night, the reasons may be as follows:

• disease;
• family situation;
• organization of recreation;
• mode failure.

If day or night sleep is ignored and there is no effect from motion sickness, the child’s well-being should be assessed.

Need to analyze:

• whether his appetite has changed;
• how many hours did the baby sleep last night;
• number of awakenings.

If a 3-month-old child sleeps poorly, regardless of the time of day, he may have a fever, a tummy ache from colic, or teething. Health problems primarily cause sleep disorders. Therefore, if a 3-month-old child sleeps restlessly at night and hardly rests during the day, you need to contact a pediatrician, who will try to find out the reason for what is happening and tell him what to do.

Some babies strive to sleep on their stomach almost from birth. Many young mothers follow the lead of their baby, believing that this position soothes stomach cramps. But experts are categorically against this approach.

The method of lying on your tummy for a few minutes during the day, but not sleeping in a similar position, solves the fight against flatulence. Of course, all children are individual, but a child should not sleep on his stomach at 3 months. This prohibition applies to all children under six months of age.

If your baby sleeps on his stomach, he may not wake up from a lack of oxygen caused by inhaling vomit or nasal congestion. This position also negatively affects the formation of his spine.

In case of frequent conflicts in the family, the baby begins to experience anxiety, which also affects his daily routine. What to do if a 3-month-old child sleeps little or poorly during the day? Perhaps think about the home atmosphere. In a family where calm and peace reign, all conditions have been created for the harmonious development of the baby.

Also, the fact that the baby does not sleep well at night is affected by the microclimate in the children's room. High ambient temperatures, dry air, too warm bedding - all this leads to restless sleep. It is not difficult to solve this problem by creating conditions for a comfortable stay. A mother will not encounter the fact that her 3-month-old child sleeps poorly and anxiously if the room temperature is about 22°C and the humidity is more than 50%.

And another reason why your baby’s sleep suffers is a busy day or overstimulation. For example, a baby may sleep restlessly because of guests who arrived the day before or a large number of new impressions. Active knowledge of the world consumes enormous resources of the child’s body, so it is not surprising that against this background, a child’s daytime or nighttime sleep at 3 months will be temporarily affected.

Additionally, the problem when failures occur in the mode appears due to the fact that the baby has confused day with night. This situation is familiar to most parents. If a child at 3 months sleeps a lot during the day and rests in the form of intermittent sleep for 40 minutes at night, then he does not feel the difference between the times of day. In this case, it is important to show him this difference by adjusting the baby’s daily routine.

First half of the year

Factors affecting a child's sleep vary as they grow older (we recommend reading:). What parents perceive as disorders may turn out to be normal. From the moment of birth, the newborn remains asleep almost around the clock. The duration of wakefulness is only 4 hours with breaks. The baby’s dream cycle is also small – up to 45 minutes. Such short periods of time cause concern for the mother, although a similar biorhythm is observed in all children of one month of age.

From 2 to 3 months, an infant sleeps up to 14-18 hours, but still does not distinguish day from night. He wakes up at any time of the day due to hunger or discomfort, then goes back to sleep. Every week, the toddler stays more and more awake during the day until the body is completely adjusted to sleeping only at night (we recommend reading:).

It is a mistake to call all mothers overinsurers, because there are real reasons for concern. You should contact a specialist if:

1. a newborn's sleep is less than 16 hours a day (we recommend reading:);
2. a month-old baby does not sleep for 5 hours or more;
3. the baby is in an excited state, which makes it difficult for him to fall asleep;
4. sleep during the day or night lasts from 5 to 15 minutes.

Serious disorders may underlie these disorders. The best thing parents can do in this case is to show the child to a neurologist, and only then think about self-correction of sleep.

Factors affecting sleep quality from birth to 3 months

Among the common causes of sleep disorders, physiological ones are more common. Next comes the emotional state of the little one:

1. Waking up feeling hungry is normal for a baby. During the first month of life, a newborn listens to his body, ignoring the regime. All attempts to feed your baby by the hour may fail. If the baby wakes up and cries for a long time, it is enough to offer him something to eat.
2. Discomfort also does not contribute to good sleep. A full diaper, a wet diaper, too hot or cold - this is a list of factors that cause a child to sleep poorly and often wake up. At the first signs of poor sleep, you need to make sure that the baby is comfortable.
3. The work of the intestines in a new mode leads to increased formation of gases and colic. The child may not sleep enough due to pain. Colic affects infants aged from 3 weeks to 3 months, and attacks sometimes last for 3 hours. The main symptom of colic: the baby cries and grunts, pressing his legs to his tummy. Prevention is to regularly lay it on the stomach, and you can get rid of the pain with dill water. Pediatricians' advice also applies to proven medications or placing the baby's tummy next to the mother's tummy.
4. The older generation often makes comments that young parents are raising their children in greenhouse conditions. There are grandmothers who are confident that the child will sleep well even in the presence of noise or light. The famous doctor Komarovsky believes that everything should be in moderation. For a comfortable sleep, you need a calm environment and dim lighting.

During the first month, it is important for the child to feel the constant presence of his mother. If at the time of awakening he does not find the person closest to him, he begins to cry, which causes overexcitement

Emotional outbursts lead to the baby not sleeping well. In the case when the baby often wakes up at night, it makes sense to think about “relocating” him closer to his mother.

Sleep regression at 4 months

As soon as the mother sighed (the colic was over!), the tummy was replaced by the so-called regression, or crisis, of sleep, when suddenly the baby:

• begins to sleep restlessly both day and night, often wakes up;
• difficult to “go to sleep”;
• refuses to sleep in a stroller;
• sleeps for 20 minutes.

This condition is associated with rapid growth and development of the baby, which is observed in the period from 3 to 5 months. In addition to the fact that the child is becoming more and more actively accustomed to the world around him - he learns to roll over, grab a toy, etc. - his sleep also changes and becomes similar to the sleep of an adult. Now it consists of several phases - first the baby plunges into shallow sleep, and only then into deep sleep, the period of which begins just 15-20 minutes after falling asleep. The full sleep cycle remains approximately the same - 35-45 minutes.

Of course, the previously mentioned factors continue to influence the quality of sleep - hunger, lack of comfort, noise and even light from a night lamp.

How to accustom a 3-month-old baby to a routine?

Of course, infants will not follow a strict daily routine, as pediatricians advise. But you need to try to put your baby to bed at least at the same time.

It is also necessary to take into account that children at this age should not stay awake for more than 2 hours. Even if it seems that a child at 3 months is still active during the day, although he has not slept for a long time, this is a mistake. After two hours have passed since the previous sleep, you need to put the baby to bed by any means, otherwise difficulties will arise with this later. Such deviations from the regime lead to the child not sleeping well during the day or night.

Additionally, you should take your baby for a sufficient walk every day and wash him shortly before putting him to bed, preferably at the same time. If the weather permits, two daytime naps outside, an evening swim and a hearty dinner eliminate the situation when the baby does not sleep well at night.

Three month mark

Many children during the newborn period sleep 5-6 hours at night; upon reaching the 3-month mark, all children should do this. If initially the baby fell asleep on his own, and no additional measures were required, or, on the contrary, the child fell asleep under the breast, was rocked to sleep, cradled, carried in a stroller or driven in a car, then it’s time to change habits and develop a routine.

In order to develop a routine, it is necessary to form associative connections between certain actions and sleep. For a child, repeating positive actions is a sign of safety.

To do this you should:

• choose the time when the baby should go to bed;
• bathe before bed (if the procedure gives the child pleasure);
• change the diaper before putting the baby to bed;
• do not feed the child in bed or nearby (to separate food and sleep in his mind);
• if the baby wants to play (for example, with dad or dad to spend time with the child), limit the time to 10 minutes before bedtime and the game should be calm;
• You can give the baby’s things in the crib (a soft toy, if the baby is not allergic, a pacifier, something that helps the baby fall asleep and does not require your presence again to take it).

Biologically, the best time for a 3-month-old baby to fall asleep is:

• in summer 20.30-21.00;
• in winter 20.00-20.30.

Before putting your child to bed for the night, you can talk to him in a gentle voice and kiss him goodnight. Why should this be done? In this case, he will enjoy a short period of time before bedtime, and he will prepare for bed without much difficulty. But if this transition to independent sleep is not very easy, this does not mean that the child has any problems; perhaps he needs more time. And at 6-7 months it will be easier to do this. If a child does not sleep well at night, check to see if his temperature is elevated, if his nose is stuffy, if he is dressed too warmly or, on the contrary, not warm enough, maybe he has peed or had a bowel movement; Before bedtime, the portion may be larger than usual. If the child is suffering from gas or wants to drink, give him something to drink or rock him a little. But remember that the time has come to teach your child to sleep alone and fall asleep on his own.

What to do if your child doesn't sleep well?

In order for your baby to fall asleep easily, the home environment should be calm and comfortable. Optimal temperature and humidity in the room, ventilation during the day, bathing and a hearty dinner no later than eight o'clock in the evening will allow a 3-month-old child to sleep as long as it takes to rest.

If you put your baby to bed later, he will most likely be more capricious and tired, and the process of falling asleep will take an indefinite amount of time. Therefore, the child’s activity should not be a priority for a young mother. By putting your baby to bed at the same time, you can avoid many sleep problems.

Children who have confused day with night need to be shown the difference in the day. A lot of light and noise indicate hours of wakefulness and short sleep; dim light and silence indicate the onset of long rest.

If your baby sleeps a lot during the day and doesn’t want to go to bed at night, you don’t need to follow his lead. Let there be more light in the room in the morning, the TV on, household members talking loudly, and in the evening, on the contrary, soothing music will be turned on, communication is conducted in a whisper, and the room is illuminated only with the help of a table lamp.

Of course, solving the problem will not be easy. It will take a lot of time and patience for a baby to stop confusing day and night. But the benefits of the achieved regime will have a positive impact on the well-being of both the baby and his parents.

Knowing the answer to the question of how much sleep a baby should sleep at 3 months is too little. It is also necessary to take into account the needs of your baby, since all children are individual. Some are born bright fidgets, others, on the contrary, are ready to sleep a lot day and night, becoming real “sleepyheads” for their mother.

How much sleep per day does a 3 month old baby need? On average, the duration of rest at this age is 14-17 hours during the day. To get closer to this figure, parents must provide their baby with a comfortable environment for relaxation and try to establish his routine. Sufficient walks in the fresh air, regular bathing, established breast or artificial feeding and a calm atmosphere in the family can help with this. Under these conditions, a healthy, cheerful child of 3 months will not have problems sleeping well during the day or at night.

Artificial and natural feeding

At 3 months, the baby is fed either breast milk or an adapted formula. It’s too early to talk about complementary feeding at this age. The daily volume of food is 800–900 ml. It is divided into 6-7 servings: approximately 180 ml per serving. Breaks in the feeding schedule are 3–3.5 hours.

If the baby is bottle-fed, then it is easy to calculate how much food he receives. In addition, on packages with mixtures there are always tables of consumption rates for the diluted product in accordance with a certain age. Depending on the child’s behavior and well-being, these indicators can be slightly changed in one direction or another.

When breastfeeding, it is more difficult to determine the amount of milk you drink. You need to breastfeed for 20-30 minutes, but if your baby cries and doesn't stop sucking, he's still hungry. When the baby receives the required amount of milk, he grows and gains weight.

Mother's milk is an ideal food for a child: it contains all the necessary vitamins and microelements, and, unlike formula, it is better absorbed. According to some doctors, infants have stronger immunity and are less likely to suffer from allergies.

If a child is fed formula, the amount of food recommended by the pediatrician must be followed. It is impossible to overfeed a bottle-fed baby

Feeding by the hour and on demand

The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding on demand. This means that the breast is offered to the baby as often as he wants. Older pediatricians consider feeding by the hour more acceptable. Each of these methods has its pros and cons.

If you feed a baby for 3 months, you need to do this every 3 hours. The night break is 6 hours. The right and left breasts are alternated, and after each feeding the remaining milk is expressed.

Pros and cons of feeding by the hour - table

When feeding on demand, the baby has round-the-clock access to his mother's breast and spends as much time near her as he needs. In this case, women often refuse pacifiers and nipples.

Pros and cons of on-demand feeding - table