During the first year, the infant's pace of life changes rapidly. The sleep pattern of a three-month-old baby depends on numerous factors, including the individual characteristics of the body, the time and nature of wakefulness, the order and frequency of feeding. Despite the different nuances and characteristics in each individual case, medicine has identified average sleep times. How much should a baby sleep at 3 months, how to set up a baby to sleep? This article will answer these and other questions.
High-quality rest of the baby is the key to its normal development and well-being
How much should a three month old baby sleep
Since at this age the baby's psyche has not yet strengthened, the abundance of information entering his brain from the outside world quickly tires the baby. To recuperate, the child must get enough sleep.
On a note. The specific time during which the sleep rate is reached depends on the mental state of the child.
As statistics show, babies spend most of their time in a dream. Of course, unlike newborns, it is much less: on average, it takes about 16 hours a day, most of which falls at night.
Indicative sleep routine
A three month old baby may not sleep for 2 hours in a row, but no more. During this period, lactation occurs, hygiene procedures, games, and laying are carried out. You should not allow severe overwork, otherwise going to bed can be difficult. As soon as the child begins to yawn and rub his eyes, he needs to be given the opportunity to sleep. The ideal time to lay down is 1 hour 20 minutes - 1 hour 35 minutes after waking up, since during this time the baby will not have time to start crying and being capricious.
The daytime rest of the baby should be at least 6 hours in total. This period of time must be divided into several stages, for example:
- 2 long naps for 2 hours each;
- 4 short naps, 40-90 minutes each.
In the first case, the mother can rest with the baby after breastfeeding, allowing him to fall asleep with the breast in his mouth.
The baby's sleep pattern depends on the individual characteristics of his body. If the baby wakes up in a good mood, then the rest was enough for him. Otherwise, the child should be laid down again.
Important! Daytime rest should not replace or be detrimental to the latter.
Basic sleep norms for a three month old baby
By the third month, the child already has time to form a certain daily routine, including sleep and wakefulness. Night rest lasts an average of 10-11 hours, with this process regularly interrupted for feeding. Daytime rest should last at least 5-6 hours.
In order to instill healthy sleep skills in your baby, you will need to establish a clear schedule of night and day rest and adhere to it constantly:
- The ideal evening sleep time is between 7:00 pm and 8:30 pm. The child does not have to look tired. Even if he seems very energetic, he still needs to be put to bed.
- In the same way, the time for daytime sleep is set - you can plan it in advance or focus on the child's condition, laying him down at the moment when signs of fatigue are observed. Both methods are acceptable, provided the infant is getting enough rest.
- It is necessary to establish a ritual of going to bed, which includes hygiene procedures, quiet games, and the performance of lullabies. The selected actions should be performed every evening at the same time in the same order. As a result, a clear sequence will be formed that will help the child fall asleep quickly.
- In the morning, you should wake up the child if he sleeps for more than 10 hours at night. This technique will help the baby restore the regimen.
When setting the mode, certain difficulties may arise, namely:
- Night awakenings.
- The appearance of negative associations associated with the process of falling asleep. These include dependence on motion sickness and feeding, which are carried out as conditions for falling asleep. It is important that the child can fall asleep on his own, and not due to motion sickness, pacifiers and guards.
Baby Night Rest
How to set your baby up to sleep
To simplify the preparation of the baby for sleep and the process of laying him down, you must adhere to the following rules and recommendations:
- In the evening, exclude active games with the child, since such activities lead to overexcitation of the baby's nervous system, as a result of which he cannot fall asleep.
- Turn off the TV and eliminate other sources of light and noise. Dim or completely turn off the lighting in the room.
- Place the baby only in its clearly defined place.
- It is desirable that the feeding process does not turn into sleep. To do this, feed the baby in a well-lit place. After feeding, you do not need to rock the baby; it is better to replace this action with games or conversations. At the same time, if the baby is showing clear signs of fatigue, it should not be deprived of sleep.
- To establish the correct regimen, it is worth observing the infant's sleep process and his awakenings. At 3 months, the baby should sleep up to 3 times a day and 1 time at night (1-2 awakenings are allowed). Based on the information received, you need to draw up a plan for the daily routine of the day and night and try to stick to it in the future.
- It is necessary to take into account this feature: babies quickly become active and slowly calm down.
- It is recommended to perform a nightly bedtime ritual.
- If the child does not want to fall asleep at the set time, it is recommended to move the schedule forward one hour.
- It will take about 2-3 weeks for the baby to get used to the regimen.
At the age of three months, the baby's body begins to produce a sleep hormone - melatonin. This substance relaxes the muscles, has a general sedative effect, resulting in drowsiness. Active production of the hormone occurs in the dark, while sunlight or artificial light leads to the destruction of melatonin and the cessation of its formation. Therefore, in order to increase the length of night sleep, it is necessary to show your baby the difference between day and night time using the light factor. To do this, when the baby wakes up in the morning, you need to immediately open the curtains, and in the afternoon arrange various activities: play, communicate, conduct developmental activities. Daytime rest should be in a slightly darkened room.
On a note. According to Dr. Komarovsky, it is very important that the baby goes to bed tired, well-fed. However, he should not experience any inconvenience (thirst, diaper rash, etc.).
Sleep schedule for babies at three months
Babies at this age sleep on average 16 hours a day. Daytime rest is about 5-6 hours, and night rest lasts about 10-11 hours. The child should be awake for just over an hour.
Important! The established routine will not last so long. The fact is that a child is growing rapidly and his needs change, including his sleep patterns. In this regard, you will have to constantly adjust to the needs of the baby and change the routine.
Features of day and night sleep
The sleep of a three-month-old baby depends on many factors, one of which may be a leap in mental development:
- At this age, a new world opens up for the baby, in the process of perception of which all the senses participate.
- The child acquires the ability to distinguish between intonations, his movements become clearer and more coordinated. Exploring the world around him, the baby actively uses his hands and mouth.
- The child becomes restless, cries often, does not sleep well, requires a lot of attention.
A feature of daytime sleep is that the process is divided into 4 stages, each lasting from 40 to 120 minutes.
Kid's daytime rest
Night rest lasts 10-11 hours. At the age of three months, the child usually develops certain leisure habits. Also, by this time in many children, the duration of continuous night sleep increases.
Sleep consists of 5 stages, which are regularly repeated. The first 4 make up the slow wave sleep phase:
- 1 - drowsiness;
- 2,3 - a gradual deepening of sleep;
- 4 - maximum deepening of sleep;
- Stage 5 is the phase of REM sleep, which is characterized by vivid dreams and high sensitivity to external stimuli.
When phase 2 ends, a transition to phase 1 occurs. This cycle in adults per night is repeated 1 time in 90-100 minutes. In three-month-old babies, this period lasts about an hour. That is why children wake up more often than adults. In addition, the duration of phase 2 is half the sleep time, so the child wakes up often and quickly.
Sleep while walking
Resting in a stroller outdoors in the spring and summer is a great alternative to home rest. To the monotonous noise of leaves, birdsong and rustle of grass, the child will fall asleep much faster. The best time for such a vacation is from 14:00 to 15:00. At the same time, the stroller should be in the shade, it is advisable to pull an anti-mosquito net over it so that insects do not disturb the baby's sleep.
Rest for a walk
Why doesn't the child want to fall asleep
Sometimes it is difficult for a baby to fall asleep. There may be several reasons for this:
- The child was nervous. The infant may be emotionally overwhelmed by any new experience that may seem insignificant to an adult.
- Not tired.
- Confused day with night.
So, having found out how much time a 3 month old baby should sleep, it is necessary to establish a sleep pattern that would meet the needs of the baby, and try to follow it clearly. Only in this case, the baby will always fall asleep easily and quickly.
