3 Month Old Having Trouble Sleeping

My daughter didn't sleep through the night until she was 3 1/2 years old and she woke up at least 3 times a night every night! I don't know of much you can do except try to get as much rest as you can. She is now 31 and still a night owl. Unfortunately, you may just have a night owl baby.

get the sleep book by dr sears or visit his website for tips on sleep. babies do need to sleep about 18 hours a day at that age or more. if you can get the sitter to babywear her in a sling during the day, it may help her sleep during the day. And when they have had a good days rest, they will have a good nights rest too. And, she may not sleep during the night for possibly another year but it will happen, eventually, I promise!

Babies are all so different when it comes to sleeping patterns. I would suggest what has worked for me. Keep in mind that an overtired baby doesn't sleep well either. Try to have a routine at bed time. Do all of your snuggling the first time you put her down. Lay her down when she is awake, but sleepy. You should only have a small light on, if any. Tell her you love her and then leave the room. It's okay if she starts to cry. Ignore her as best you can. After 5 minutes of crying, go in but don't touch her. You are only there to reassure her with your voice and presence, not your touch!! Repeat this for a period of 15 minutes. If she is still upset, you need to stretch it into 10 minutes between visits, then 15, and she really shouldn't need more than that. This worked on all 3 of my children, and the hardest one only took 3 nights. The biggest thing is to not go in the room and pick them up. They are learning to comfort themselves to sleep, and you only hinder that by giving in to the crying. If it's too hard for you, you can ask a friend or grandparent help you out. It's hard to not be upset by their cry, but it helped me to know it was for their benefit in the end. Good luck!!

Hi,
My name is M. D. I am a mother of two boys ages 24 and 21 yrs old. I also am a nanny to a set of triplets. Your baby girl probably has her days and nights mixed up. If that is the case then try giving her a bath in the morning and at night and see if that works.

Hi,
My son is 5 months old, and he has been sleeping through the night since 8 weeks old. Here is our routine:
Around 7:30-8:30 I give him 6 oz of formula and some rice cereal. (adjust foods accordingly to your daughter's ). This leads to a giant mess, so that is when he gets a bath. I know what "they" say, but I use warm water. They make lavendar scented bath stuff that is supposed to help, ( I haven't used them ) Then I put him down and turn on his mobile, and out he goes!!! Good Luck!!

When Lillie wakes up is she taking a bottle? If so, make sure that you do NOT turn on a tv or light. Keep a night light so that you can see, but nothing brighter. check the diaper, if it needs changing do it fast so as not to wake her fully, Huggies supreme are great for all night diapers. Put the water in the bottle and have it sitting close by, before going to bed. They have a bowl at wal-mart that is divided into 3 sections put the pre-measured amount of formula in those sections. When you hear her stirring before she is crying and awake get up and pour the formula in the water, feed her, burp her and put her back down all before she is even got her eyes fully awake. I know it is hard, but you will get back to sleep alot faster if you get up before she cries. It seems like forever, but she will sleep all night real soon and then you'll be scared to death. My son slept all night long before i did i kept making sure he was breathing...

My grandmother always said the more a baby slept during the day, the more they would sleep at night. I agree with the others who said she may be overly tired and can't fall asleep.

A.

Sounds like a simple growth spurt to me. My boys would have rough times about every 3 months. They needed an extra feedings and woke more at night-I thought maybe they had growing pains. My 3 year old did this more so than his brother. A little Tylenol and making sure they get the sleep they need during the day along with a few extra feedings. Also, maybe almost time to start cereal. I know many people have opinions on that, but my boys always had a rougher time at about 3 months because they were HUNGRY...adding a little to the bottle at night helped them sleep better because they didn't wake up due to hunger...just my opinion, and other mom's do it differently and that's okay too. Just follow your personal mothering instinct...

Hi T.,

Have you tried bathing little Lillie in a warm Lavender bath after you've gotten her really tired with a few "Baby" exercizes? Gently roll her back and forward, exercize her legs and arms, and tickle her a little to make her laugh, or any other little exercizes you normally do with her when you,re having playtime. If this does not work,then continue to be prayerful,it will be alright. She'll find her way.

She could be over-tired. Sometimes, if the baby isn't getting enough sleep during the day, it can make it harder for them to get to sleep at night.

Do you have a "going to bed" routine? Try starting a little earlier in the evening with a bath and maybe some story time. If you are nursing, a lot of time it really helps to nurse your baby to sleep. Also, co-sleeping can really help you and your husband get more sleep because once you get your baby to sleep, you can catch her before she wakes up fully and gets upset and you can usually get them back to sleep without having to get out of bed.

Also, try starting her sleep routine before she gets fussy. Watch her and she'll give you cues that she's ready to start getting ready for bed. If you wait till she's fussy, it'll be that much harder.

P.S. I also want to encourage you to follow your instincts. A lot of "sleep training" methods will encourage you to let your baby cry it out, even if you have a really hard time letting them cry. The instinct to respond to your child when she's crying is there for a good reason. When babies who cry it out quit crying, it isn't because they've learned to self-sooth. It's because they've given up thinking that their parents will come to help them.

Hahahaha! Just realized your post said three MONTHS old...
I thought it said three YEARS old...Geesh.
Anyhoo...This may sound ...whatever...but I say if there's ANY way you can stay home with her right now, do.
This is SUCH a hard time to try and work. She needs you and you need her. I know a lot of people have them and go right back to work, but it's truly not optimal.
She isn't likely going to sleep through the night right now. Probably will have spells like this on and off for up to a year or more. They go through growth spurts and need more sleep...then they teeth, ans that wakes them up as it's uncomfortable... I would just try to be with her as much as possible....if you absolutely CANNOT stay home with her...You might look into getting some kind of help to be up with her at night. Otherwise, you guys may need to just take alternating turns getting up at night...?
Another thought--if you're workig during the day and someone else is caring for her...she may just be needing your intimacy at night. This is a real, physical need and helps with the baby's growth and development. Just something else to consider...
Blessings,
H.

Try Dr. Weissbluth's "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." He explains the physiology of infant and childhood sleep, and provides a couple methods to help your child fall asleep easier. This book was a shower gift to me, and it has been very helpful with our son, who is now 13 months.

T., My son is 13, but I remember those sleepless nights. Try to nap during the day with the baby so you aren't so tired at night. This time with Lillie will go by much too fast so enjoy the moment even if it is a 3am. K.

Hey T.!
I am a firm believer in Johnson's Bedtime Products (generic isn't the same btw). When Lilly (my Lilly=)) was that age, I would do a bath around 6 with the bedtime bath, then wash her hair with the shampoo. Then after her bath I did a sort-of baby massage with the bedtime lotion. This helped calm her down. Also, you may want to check to see if she's either hungry or has reflux. If you are nursing, you might want to mix a little formula with the breastmilk (it's a little heavier on the tummy). Hope this helps!

Even though this sounds odd, try letting her sleep when she seems tired and put her to bed earlier at night. Much of this is trial and error. I found, with my three girls, that if they were over tired and off of their schedules, the did not sleep well at all at night. The later I kept them up, the earlier the got up in the morning and often awakened several times during the night. With my oldest, I kept a log for a while of when she ate, how long she nursed and when she slept. I found that if she ate 8 times during the day, she slept all night. If she ate 7 times, she woke up for number 8. I put her on a schedule of eating every 2.5 hours during the day for four months. Though that was tiring during the day, she slept 9 hours a night by the time she was 6 weeks old. My next two were a little different. They both had ear problems that often messed with their schedules. If they have pain or even just fluid in the ear, they won't sleep through the night. In their cases, after they got tubes (both at 10 months) they slept through the night regularly within two weeks of the surgery. Try to figure out her "natural" schedule and tweek it to work for you. It was also helpful for me to put them in their own rooms. Often I would hear them and by the time I made it to their rooms (right across the hall), they would already be asleep. I also did not train them to sleep with sleep aids such as nursing, bottle or pacifyer. That way, when they awaken at night, they can put themselves back to sleep without me needing to assist. Good luck!

You definitly still need to give her naps during the day as much as possible you are pulling her off of a schedule that all newborns have, not to mention it seems to be helping the fact that she is way over tired to go to bed at night. I am no doctor but i think she could have a dose of infant tylenol by now to help calm her down atleast the first night back to you routine, and put her in a quiet room rock her or whatever you do to get her to sleep usually. I bet she will get back on some kind of sleep schedule. (The tylenol would be a doctors advice I got a while ago to calm one of my children who had trouble sleeping for a while, it did help, and infants can have tylenol after 3 mo of age OTC)