Nighttime sleep tips for 3-month-olds

After weeks of sleep deprivation, month 3 often brings parents a welcome change: your baby’s first long stretch of nighttime sleep. Most 3-month-olds aren’t yet able to sleep an entire night without feeding, but many may sleep for 6 hours at a time or even longer.

To help you extend that overnight sleep window, try these tips.

Reinforce nighttime is for sleeping

Babies typically begin their long block of sleep between 7 and 8 p.m. If they wake up during the course of the night, here’s how to help them get back to sleep:

1. Keep the lights off or as dim as possible. 
2. Feed your baby, if necessary, then put them right back to sleep. 
3. Keep talking to a minimum and avoid arousing them. 

Don’t wake a sleeping baby

As long as your child’s pediatrician gives the green light, don’t wake your baby to feed at night. Some people try a “dream feed” at 10 or 11 p.m., but that rarely prevents a baby from waking later in the night. The first half of your baby’s night is especially restorative sleep, so try not to interrupt it.

Stop swaddling once your baby rolls

To lower the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), stop swaddling your baby once they start trying to roll, as early as 2 to 3 months of age. 

Gently help your baby if they roll onto their stomach and cry because they can’t roll back over. Give them lots of floor time during the day to practice rolling. The sooner they master this skill, the sooner it will stop disrupting their sleep.