3 Mo Old Doesnt Nap

Hi K. - My pediatrician told me not to worry about them getting too little sleep, it just takes them a while to regulate themselves, but 15 minutes here and there is normal. Good luck going back to work today. - J.

Try letting him fuss for a while when you put him down for a nap. After he realizes that you are not coming to get him right away he may fall asleep on his own.

Hi, my son was like that, and I worried sick that he wasn't getting enough sleep, but now at 10 1/2 mos he is napping 2x a day, for 1-2 hrs each, just like the books say he should.

And basically, he just grew into it, I just made sure that he could sleep whenever it took over him. We tried a "nap schedule" for about a month and it was a big stress-making disaster.

Talk to your mom-in-law and make sure she knows it is a priority for you that he get his naps, and he should grow into them.

Oh, and we STILL don't have a nap schedule--i just go by when he looks tired, and it works fine now, but was really stressful when he wasn't napping in the beginning.

Good Luck!

Your 3-month old sleeps through the night!? I have 17-month old twins and one of them STILL doesn't sleep through the night. YOU ARE LUCKY!

Its normal for a 3 month old to take catnaps during the D.. He will take fewer but longer naps as he gets older. Probably 2 longer naps a D. by the time he is 6 months. For now, count your blessings that he sleeps so well at night. Good luck!

It could be he just needs a change in his nap schedule. My daughter at 3 months was doing the same thing and it turned out that she just needed to switched from 3 to 2 naps a day. Try keeping him up a little while after he gets fussy. then put him to sleep. Try to get him on a 2 nap a day schedule it may help.

K.,

I had the same problem with my daughter who is now 8. As a matter of fact, after about 2 yrs. old she wouldn't nap during the day at all. My mother tells me she was just like me when I was little. I still have trouble sleeping to this day. Her pediatrician said as long as she is in good spirits and doesn't seem lathargic and want to lay around all the time when she is awake that it is just fine. Of course, every child is different and the lack of sleep will affect each child differently. I would keep an eye on it and keep your pediatrician up to date on his sleeping habits and heed any suggestions they may have.

K. he seems to be sleeping plenty at night. here's a suggestion rather than three naps make it to two, 11:30 am and then around 3 pm, see how that works
vlora

He may very well be getting all the sleep he needs, especially because he's sleeping through the night well. If you think he needs more sleep, I'd try to see if he'll adapt to just two naps, by keeping him up through one of the times that he's napping in the middle of the day -- as long as he doesn't get really irritable. Perhaps at the next naptime, he'll be more tired and stay asleep a little longer. Do you go to him as soon as he wakes up from a nap. Maybe, if he's not too fussy, just let him be alone for a bit, to see if he'll get himself back to sleep.
Since you are soon going back to work, be prepared for changes! His life and yours are going to be different, and his sleeping patterns (and yours!) may be a little mixed up again.

Hi K.! I just want you to know that you are NOT alone! I have 3 kids (10, 7 & 2). My oldest 2 took textbook naps....2 hours at a time. When the baby came along....well, let's just say that he has tested everything I thought I knew about being a mommy! He slept through the night at about 3 weeks old....just like his sisters. But during the day....he would take four 15 - 30 minute naps a day! He drove me nuts! You can't get anything taken care of in that short amount of time. I tried sitting him in the sunlight so the sun would help keep his eyes closed. I tried leaving his songs running, the TV running, no sound at all. Nothing worked. When he went to 2 naps a day...at least then I got two 30 - 60 minute naps a day. Now that he takes one nap a day he will nap for anywhere between 1 and 2 hours.

When I looked into it, I found that babies need between 10 and 15 hours of sleep a day. If your child is sleeping well at night (at least 10 hours) then his catnaps are normal. From what you said, he is sleeping well at night so this is probably going to be normal for him and unless you make him sleep less at night, he won't sleep more during the day. I personally preferred that he slept well at night so that I could sleep too!

I hope that I at least helped you feel a little better about your situation. I know I didn't give you any ideas on making him sleep longer (that's because I couldn't find any that worked!LOL!!). But I know that sometimes just knowing someone else has been through it helps too.

Best of luck! Happy New Year!
T.

Hi K.(I like that name)....anyways to respond to your request, I think he is not getting enough sleep, but maybe in reality he is.He sleeps through the night, and that is great!Does he nap in his crib?Have you talk with his ped about your concerns with his napping?My daughter would nap twice a day at 3months for about an hour .Now she naps once a day for 3hrs.

My youngest is 6 months old I just recently started having the same problem w/ my son. I even brought it up to the pediatrician for his checkup. My son is very healthy despite his lack of sleep and the doctor believes it's a phase he's going through, especially since mine is teething. As long as he's getting a good night's rest, you shouldn't be concerned. On the other hand, I know it's frustrating because at least if they're napping you get a bit of a break and no nap means no break as well as them being more cranky and fussy because of the lack of sleep. All i can suggest is hang in there, most phases don't last long. Good luck!

My suggestion may seem odd but your son may need more sleep and you may be waiting too long to put him down for bedtime/naptime. I am sure all babies are different but I found that if I put my son down before he got cranky he slept much better. If I waited he would become overtired and not sleep as well. Same thing with bedtime. Although I would be careful not to mess with that too much if he is sleeping through the night. Try moving his bedtime/naptimes back only a few minutes at a time until you find a reasonable time that works for you. You may find that he sleeps even longer at night and for naps. I used to move bedtime back about 10 minutes at time and that always worked with my son. And I usually had to switch it every couple months. Usually it was only by a half hour or so. Be patient and make small changes and hopefully it will work out for you. Good luck.

K.,

My 4 month old daughter is the same way! Ever since she started sleeping through the night, she doesn't nap for very long during the day...at most for about 30 minutes every 3 or 4 hours. My pediatrician said this is normal, that her sleep patterns change when she starts sleeping through the night. Also, he suggested I put a mobile or somthing in her crib that responds to sound and see if that doesn't soothe her back to sleep if she wakes up from one of her brief naps. I found a musical nightlight (I think it is from Fisher-Price) that will play music and light up if she makes a loud noise, and sometimes that entertains her when she first wakes up. It rarely puts her back to sleep, but sometimes it gives me an extra 15 minutes. Good luck with you son!

I want to tell you my little girl was very much the same way when she was that age. She didn't sleep in the daytime but slept though the night. Her doctor said that her body would know when she needed to sleep and that if she is sleeping thought the night then don't be concerned. He is getting the sleep he needs at night so that he can become more active during the day like the rest of the family. So don't worry yourself and be glad you can get a full nights rest.

My son did the same thing for months, but as he started being more active the longer the nap then it went to just one long nap of 2 hours.

Hi K.. This may seem strange, but when I wanted my son to take longer naps during the day, not only did I decrease the number of naps, but I also made his bedtime earlier. Once his body realized he needed more sleep, he started taking better naps. Hope this helps.

try putting him down for a nap later(at noonish) than usual he will be so tired he will sleep longer til one or 2 then at 4 put him down again this will only be about an hour i think that what i did with my son it might be because he is cutting teeth or may have just finished a growth sourt they sleep more when they are growing

You may just need to wait a few more weeks for him to nap more. At three months I was going crazy because my son had no nap schedule and maybe slept 20 min. at a time. Now he is almost 4 months old and created his own napping schedule about a week ago. Now he takes a shorter morning and evening nap (about 30 min) and a long afternoon nap (1-2 hrs. depending on where he sleeps). Hopefully your son will do the same!