3 Month Old - Lodi,CA

Have you tried Dr Karp's 5 S’s to calm to sleep? http://www.happiestbaby.com/
• Swaddling - Tight swaddling provides the continuous touching and support the fetus experienced while still in Mom's womb.
• Side/stomach position - You place your baby, while holding her, either on her left side to assist in digestion, or on her stomach to provide reassuring support. Once your baby is happily asleep, you can safely put her in her crib, on her back.
• Shushing Sounds - These sounds imitate the continual whooshing sound made by the blood flowing through arteries near the womb. This white noise can be in the form of a vacuum cleaner, a hair dryer, a fan and so on. The good news is that you can easily save the motors on your household appliances and get a white noise CD which can be played over and over again with no worries.
• Swinging - Newborns are used to the swinging motions that were present when they were still in Mom's womb. Every step mom took, every movement caused a swinging motion for your baby. After your baby is born, this calming motion, which was so comforting and familiar, is abruptly taken away. Your baby misses the motion and has a difficult time getting used to it not being there. "It's disorienting and unnatural," says Karp. Rocking, car rides, and other swinging movements all can help.
• Sucking - "Sucking has its effects deep within the nervous system," notes Karp, "and triggers the calming reflex and releases natural chemicals within the brain." This "S" can be accomplished with breast, bottle, pacifier or even a finger.

GREAT video clip with Dr Karp: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6KnVPUdEgQ

good luck!

any other behavior surround the cat napping?

breast milk or formula?

daylight exposure?

with my girls- they go out first thing in the day to get the morning sun to help regulate their circadian rhythms (sleep). It tells the brain to produce melatonin and seratonin. go sit outside for 20 minutes or so first thing in the day with him. See if that helps.

M., Welcome to the world of Motherhood!
I have 5 children and since 1 was 16 whenwe got her doesn't count-- but the others ate every 2 hours day and night for the first 6 months!
This is what its all about, the needs of the child over the need of a parent for say the next --many years.
Sleep when oyu can and get plenty of liquid in you so your not deydrated. You my e right itmight be total exhustion so enjoyit when it happens.
I have 1 grandchild here daily that never has only cat napped for more than 45 minuets unless being held-- so I have learned to go withit and live withthe shortnaps. Try leaving a TV or radio on so the baby hears voices and that may help. Good Luck, NanaGlenda

Is he waking up happy or crying? And does he spit up a lot?

Let me tell you about my experience with my daughter and see if it matches with what you're seeing - hopefully it will help!

She was EBF and nursed very frequently. At that age, her schedule was as follows: wake up around 7 AM, nurse, we'd go for a walk and hope we'd make it back home before she fell asleep again around 8:30, nurse her before nap, she'd wake up screaming after 45 min, nurse, we'd play for about 1.5-2 hours during which she'd nurse once, then nurse just before nap, wake up screaming after 45 min, nurse, etc. etc. until bedtime around 6:30. I'd sometimes get a good 3-4 hour span of sleep out of her then, but after that she'd wake up at least every two hours (and as the night progressed her sleep cycles shortened so usually she'd be up every hour between 4 and 7 AM.) We got very very good at our sleep time routine, even though as a PP stated at this age their bodies aren't quite ready to officially set a schedule with a morning and afternoon nap.

She was also spitting up a LOT at this point and had a couple of episodes that suggested Sandifer's Syndrome (related to reflux.) We didn't worry too much about reflux at first, because with the frequent nursing to keep her tummy happy (every 45 min during the day and about every 2 hours or so at night) she was a chunky monkey. However, when she hit four months we had a night when I put her down and she was awake screaming 10 minutes later, nursed back to mellowness and then awake screaming 10 minutes later. Since she'd had an absolutely unprecedented FOUR (!) hour nap a day or two previously (she'd fallen asleep in her car seat on the stroller and we left her there in the inclined position) I decided to try putting her down in her car seat. It worked like a charm. This pointed to reflux as the source of her inability to stay asleep. So we put her on Zantac Efferdose Tablets (much better than the liquid!!!!!) and purchased a Tucker Sling (www.tuckersling.com) to keep her safely in an inclined position while she slept, and I changed my diet to eliminate the usual suspects for tummy upset. It was probably a little bit overkill and we may not have needed to do all three, but the combination eased her reflux and allowed her to remain asleep and not wake up screaming from the pain.

So, it could be something as simple as his body is just not physically ready to sleep any longer, or it could be a sign that he's experiencing some reflux. Talk to your pediatrician and see if he has any other symptoms. Also try reading "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weissbluth - I found it to do a good job of explaining the science behind sleep and about when your baby's sleep pattern will start to settle down.

Good luck!

My daughter's napping schedule changed so much during her first 6 months. Around 3 months, babies are usually going through a growth spurt so they tend to want to eat more often... Anyway, his sleeping schedule might start changing soon, expect the unexpected.

Discuss with your Doctor if he can try sleeping on his tummy and/or have a little rice cereal in the bottle? They normally won't recommend the tummy sleeping it but I've had friends who swear by it and they adjust the baby monitor.
I actually think the 45 min naps are pretty normal. Mine would take 30 min. naps and just wouldn't take really long naps at that age!

Are you breast feeding or feeding formula? Could it be that your baby is not getting enough to eat? Are you swaddling your baby? That helped my baby from birth to 5 months. Have you tried putting your baby in a swing to sleep? Is your baby put to sleep in a quiet, dark place? If not, these things could help. You'll receive lots of other good advice here. Try them all. Good luck.

Someone asked a similar question about their 4 mo old recently. Here is my answer to that post since my advice to you would be the same:
Babies do not produce a natural melatonin until after a few months of life. Your little one should start taking longer naps soon, but until then, know his sleep cycles are VERY normal. A cycle runs about 40-45 minutes. A little baby usually rouses enough that they wake after the first cycle instead of settling back into another. He should stretch out to 1.5 hours soon. Until then, make sure he is put down 2 hours after he wakes from night sleep, or naps. So only 2 hours wakefulness at the most. This means he will probably take 3 naps a day..(The rest prob doesn't apply to you but I'll leave it here because it is good info, I think: Right now with the fighting sleep I'm guessing she might be getting overtired and that prevents her from being rested and drifting off for a nice nap. Also, you might want to move her bedtime a little earlier. Can you do 7-7? 15-16 hours is a good average of how much sleep babies at this age need. Good luck... oh and all this info came from Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child)

As far as the eating, some babies just need to eat more than others. It might happen this way through a growth spurt also, so could be that you can stretch those feedings out soon.

Nap when your baby naps.. this too shall pass.

How often is he napping? He may not be that tired! Try your very best to keep him awake and alert for at least two to three hours, and then try and put him down for a nap. I think around this time is when I started a "schedue" for my son. It may mean that you are spending less time on the household stuff and more time trying to entertain him, but when he starts takng longer naps it will give you time to get some of it done.
L.