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Let’s run through a day in the life for a real 3-month-old.
We are going to start with an evening, go through the night, and then talk about the next full day.
Evening
I am going to be completely honest; my baby was having a rough evening. Her schedule was slightly off and she was behind on sleep.
She ended up going to bed a bit later than normal. We would like to get to a consistent bedtime right around 8 PM.
8:10 PM Feeding
We are currently doing the last feeding out on the couch in the living room. My current goal is to avoid nursing my baby to sleep. I want to nurse close to bedtime and then put to sleep.
I want my husband or any other caregivers to be able to put her to bed.
8:30 PM Bedtime Swaddled and Put to Bed
Night Time
This was a crazy long stretch for her to sleep. I think she truly was exhausted.
5:00 AM Feeding, Burp, Back to Sleep
Morning
7:35 AM Wake up for the Day
I am trying to avoid feeding her immediately when she wakes up. If I can even wait 30 minutes it helps us get through the first nap. We did a little time in the bouncer seat.
8:05 AM Feeding
More time spent awake. Bouncer seat and floor mat time.
9:30 AM Nap #1
Right now we are shooting for anywhere from 1.5 to 2 hours from the morning wake-up to the first nap. Again this is why we are trying to postpone that first feeding when possible. Otherwise, she will wake up hungry during the nap.
At 10:15 AM she fussed a bit and I quickly went in and popped the pacifier back in her mouth. Babies often sleep in 45-minute sleep cycles.
11:00 AM Wake Up
11:05 AM Feeding
After the first nap, she needs to be fed. She went from about 8:00 AM to 11 AM.
Again I tried to push her to wait and not eat at 7:35 AM that way so wouldn’t possibly wake up from her nap because she was hungry. I also would have been more likely to let her wake up at 10:15 AM because I would have been concerned about her being hungry.
11:45 AM Car Ride to Work
This is unique to me in that I get to bring my baby to work. We have a 35-45 minute drive though so often she falls asleep. My ride was longer than usual because I had a stop or two that day.
You may relate to this when you need to go to an appointment or run errands.
I find car naps to be extremely frustrating. They completely throw off the schedule and are not quality rest. My baby fell asleep for a small amount of time.
Afternoon
1:00 PM Arrive at Work
Once we arrived at work I tried to give her some wake time. We have to do a school pickup and my goal was to squeeze in a quick nap.
1:30 PM Feeding
The idea was that a feeding would hopefully get her sleepy so get that little nap in.
1:50 PM Nap—Failed
I gave it a go, but she just wasn’t having it. At this point, we head out for pickup and she ends up taking another car nap. This is a real 3-month-old who doesn’t always follow my ideal schedule.
2:20 PM Head to Pick Up
For pickup, we are able to stay in the car the entire time which helps get her a longer car nap. If she doesn’t notice the child getting into the car she can get about a 45minute nap here.
3:15 PM Back to Work
Then we get back to work from the school pickup. Sometimes I do leave her in the car seat if she is sleeping while I get a little bit of work done like dishes or dinner prep. I know car seats are not designed to be a sleeping place. This only lasts 5-10 minutes and I am right there nearby.
3:40 PM Feeding
After this feeding, I will typically do a nap. However, since she took a car nap during pickup I didn’t try today. This also depends on when I get off work. My end time varies based on the family.
Unfortunately, if she takes a car nap for school pickup she is usually on track for another car nap on the drive home. I hate how often car naps are getting her through.
I like a proper nap in a crib.
Evening
5:15 PM Head Home
Like I said she took a decent car nap. She has learned to fall asleep pretty quickly once we get in the car and hit the highway.
6:15 PM Arrive at Home
6:25 PM Feeding
6:45 PM Nap—Failed
I did go ahead and try one more nap. Her schedule is a complete mess and I felt like she could use it. We aren’t set on a bedtime yet. For now, we are trying to watch her to see when she is ready. The goal is to start working towards an 8 PM bedtime.
Night
8:45 PM Feeding
9:00 PM Bedtime
Our bedtime routine is pretty simple. We do a diaper change, lotion, fresh jammies, swaddle, and pacifier. We rock for about 5 five minutes and put her down on her back. Aside from nursing before, the bedtime routine itself takes about 10 minutes.
One major goal we have is to avoid nursing to sleep. We keep nursing separate from the nighttime routine but make it close to the routine. Usually, I’ll nurse her anywhere from 5 to 25 minutes before bedtime.
3 AM Feeding
Morning
8:10 AM Wake Up
8:35 AM Feeding
And that’s a wrap folks!
Do we have a perfect schedule? Absolutely not!
If you want to see the ideal schedule you can easily google Baby Wise 3 Months and you will get a pretty little image.
This is a real schedule…or lack thereof….with a real baby during a real day. This is for the mommas that are trying so hard to get their baby’s on a schedule. I do this to remind you that you do not have to be perfect. No day is perfect and it never will be.
Upcoming Sleep Regression
Update: We are now in the 4-month sleep regression! If you notice at 3 months we were doing great! Only waking up one time at night is very manageable. It means both mom and baby are getting really good sleep.
However, at now 4/5 five months old we are struggling! We are waking up 3 and 4 times a night. I am not saying this to scare you, but rather to prepare you.
At the 4-month sleep regression, your baby goes through a change to their sleep cycle. They are also learning to roll and needing to drop the swaddle if you use one.
My strong recommendation is to drop the swaddle at 3 months.
This way you are dealing with one less struggle during the sleep regression.
Also, try to work on putting your baby down tired but awake. This will help them learn to put themselves to sleep. The middle of the night wake-ups are happening because they are entering a light sleep or even waking up and do not know how to independently put themselves back to sleep.
Conclusion
I hope you found this 3-month sleep schedule helpful and encouraging. The day doesn’t have to go perfectly and that’s ok. Just do your best and prioritize what your baby needs. Often I find this to be sleep.
Get ready for the 4-month sleep regression. It hits some babies harder than others. Like I said start taking steps to try to make it as easy as possible. Start doing your research and just do your best to make it through.
Check Out My Articles
5 Helpful Tips for Getting Through Shots with Your Baby
5 Reasons Why It Is Important to Include Your Partner at Bedtime
4 Benefits of Introducing the Hatch Night Light While Still in the Baby Crib
The Solution for Getting Your Newborn to Sleep Without Being Held