Sleep During the Day!

Not sure if you swaddle, but my son (also 3 mo.) was waking frequently and startling himself awake, so I tried swaddling him and it has made a HUGE difference. He now calms as soon as I start swaddling him. He knows it's time for sleep and will actually even put himself to sleep in it. Wrap him nice and tight, maybe some white noise and then stay and comfort him until he gets used to it. I use the Miracle Blanket, which he can't get out of, but a nice stretchy flannel pulled really tightly can work too. Also - even if your son seems like he doesn't like the swaddle at first, commit to trying it for at least a week. A lot of people think that because their baby is flailing around when you try to wrap them that they don't like it, but not being able to wave their arms around actually calms them.

How often are you trying to get him to nap? At three months, he shouldn't be awake for more than about 2 hours, no matter the length of nap before that. If he's overtired its even harder to get him to sleep. Assuming he's sleeping often enough, what are you doing to get him to nap? I recommend letting him sleep in a swing or a sling for now. Also, make sure he's well fed before you try to get him to nap so he doesn't wake up hungry too quickly. Good luck!

My only suggesting and what my dr told me is.. if he sleeping at night then he will be ok. I had this same problem till my son was 6 months old and was old enough to sleep on his tummy. once this time came he started napping 2 hours at a time. I hope this helps.

B.

Was just going to write what the first responder said. I have a 3 month old too and until just recently he was ready to nap again after being awake for an hour or a little more. Now he's starting to stretch it to an hour and a half to two hours. If we miss that window he gets overstimulated and is often hard to get to sleep. He sleep 10 -11 hours at night too.

When your son sleeps the 10 hours at night, does he sleep straight through without waking up? If so, sleeping all night is more of a gift than you may realize. My son was a light napper and totally stopped around two. It stressed me out to not get much time when he was napping (for my own nap or to get stuff done). But as your son gets older and begins to crawl and walk, he may wear himself out and need them more.

Is there anything you can do to make naptime a relaxing, cozy time? I used to nurse our son first and he'd fall asleep almost every time. Relaxing music or a snuggly stuffed animal (or 2, 3, or more) in the crib was a comfort as well. For some people, a swing helps get their child to sleep, but I could never get our son out of it without waking him again and I didn't want him to sleep in the swing.

Our son is now 12. I remember loving it when he was an itty bitty guy AND being totally stressed about it. During the stressed times, I was afraid I wasn't doing things "right". I kept wondering when that "mother's intuition" was going to kick in that everyone talked about. I felt pretty overwhelmed at times, especially when he needed a nap and wasn't falling asleep. I needed his nap as much as he needed it. The trick was to not let him get overtired which made it harder for him to fall asleep.

The biggest thing to remember is...this, too, will pass. If your son wakes in the middle of the night, do you pump milk so a spouse or partner can help do some night feedings to give you more sleep to better handle the day? My husband did one or two feedings at night. They would then stand by "Mr. Clock" (an old-fashioned wind-up clock) that would mesmerize our son into sleep if he wasn't asleep already from the milk.

Good luck!

My son will only nap in his swing. Just make sure that the swing chair is in a position where he is partially laid down and not straight upright. Our swing has several positions and he likes the laid back position best. He's almost one now and I don't know what we are going to do once he hits the 30 pound weight limit.

My son (now 15months) NEVER slept during the day. He didn't start until he was mobile, around 5 months starting w/ 2 small naps daily, then around 11months he started walking and hello nap time (2-3hr naps 2x day- Yippy). Hang in- hopefully once he's getting around he'll wipe himself out.