3 Month Old Taking Short Naps
Starting as early as 13 weeks, your baby (especially those who aren’t able to put themselves to sleep yet), can start experiencing increasingly short naps, that only last 20-30 minutes at a time. But when a baby isn’t quite old enough to sleep train, what can you do?? When your 3 month old is taking short naps on the daily, putting in a little work can pay off HUGE in the months to come.
Here are 4 Things to Focus on when your 3 Month old is Taking Short Naps:
Shorter Wake Windows
Babies who are only 3 months old are still using pretty short wake windows—like 1.5 hours MAX. Without shorter wake windows following short naps, 3 month old babies will take short naps all day long, no matter how great of a sleeper they are. Putting a baby down after this, or even before, can lead to nap refusal and/or tears. If your baby naps less than 30 minutes, try a nap even 1-1.25 hours later again. If baby takes a nap lasting 1-2 hours, use 1.5-2 hour wake window following the nap, depending on activity levels and sleep cues.
2. Watching for Sleep Cues
Rubbing eyes, yawning, staring “off into space”— all signs that a 3 month old is taking short naps, right?? These are cues that mean you should begin your naptime routine soon. If you’re seeing agitation, extreme meltdowns, purple eyelids, or flushed eyebrows, this means baby is already overtired, which can also lead to short naps.
3. Use or Start the Eat-Play-Sleep Routine
Get into the habit of feeding baby after the nap, as opposed to before the nap. This decreases the potential of developing sleep crutches, and makes baby’s day more predictable. This also makes timing feeds much easier at this age. Here is a glimpse at a Eat-Play-Sleep Routine:
Example Eat-Play-Sleep Schedule
Wake at 7am, feed upon waking
7:30-8am: Changing clothes/diaper, light play with Mom
8:20am: Begin naptime routine
8:30am: Goal to be asleep for Nap #1
9:30am: Up from first nap, feed upon waking
10:45am: Begin naptime routine
11:00am: Goal to be asleep for Nap # 2
11:30am: Up from second nap, not quite hungry yet— wait 30 minutes to offer again
12:50pm: Begin naptime routine
1:00pm: Goal to be asleep for Nap #3
2:30pm: Up from third nap, feed upon waking
4:00pm: Begin naptime routine, goal to be asleep by 4:10pm
5:30pm: Up from fourth nap, feed upon waking
6:00pm: Tummy time, light play with parents
6:30pm: Bedtime routine begins, feed before bedtime
7:00pm: Goal to be asleep, with possible dream feed 2 hours later
4. Putting Baby Down Awake as Much as Possible
This can feel almost nearly impossible if baby isn’t used to this. With the help of the Regression Mini Class, found here, babies ages 3-4 months old will thrive and see at least one longer nap per day using the approaches found in the class. While this isn’t quite formal sleep training yet (you have to wait until baby is 5+ months old for that), this class will walk parents through how to encourage a “drowsy but awake put down”, how to make sure baby is getting full feeds during the day (to gradually begin reducing the need to feed frequently at night), and how to start the Eat-Play-Sleep routine effectively. Most families report this class is all they needed for their babes to begin sleeping through the night!