How many naps should my 3 month old daughter be taking during the day?

Question

I'm a new mom!! YEAH!! My 3 month old daughter is currently taking 4 naps during the day. My personal parenting choice is to have her on a schedule. I find she is much happier with consistency in her eating and sleeping patterns.

8:30 - 10:00 Sleep

11:30 - 1:00 Sleep

2:ish - 4:00 Sleep

5:30 - 6:30 Sleep

7:30 - 8:30 Bed Time

Is she sleeping too much? I've been reading that she should only be taking 3 naps by this age. If this is true, how do I eliminate the 4th nap. She does not like to stay awake more than an 1 to 1 1/2 hours after a feeding.

Also, I have been able to eliminate her late night (11pm) feeding. She is sleeping pretty much through the night, waking anywhere between 3:30 - 5am for a feeding. How do I make it to only waking at 5am to feed?

Any input would be great! Thank-you.

Answer 1

Personally, I see no problem with schedules however you really should be flexible unless you don't mind your daughter crying a lot.

She is going to go through growth spurts and growth slowdowns which are going to affect how much or little she wants to be sleeping each day.

It can change a lot over the first year so while there is nothing wrong with schedules, if they are very rigid then neither of you is probably going to be very happy.

I would ignore any book that tells you that all 3 month olds only need to nap 3 times a day.

When my twins were that age they were taking several naps a day for varying lengths in between.

It's easier to schedule a smaller baby but I believe that you'll find that as her needs change her schedule will change and if you're not willing to change with her needs then you're going to be posting questions on here at 6 months old pulling your hair out from stress.

Take it from me, a mom of twins!  If anyone had a reason to schedule their babies it was me and they were having none of it- ever.  I do wish you the best of luck, though!

Answer 2

she isn't sleeping longer than 3 hours each time, that is not a bad thing to have her sleeping like this! has she always done this or is it just lately? because i noticed my son slept more often and longer when he was going through a growth spurt! they sleep a lot when they are this young!! my son took 3 naps a day on average from about 4 months - 6 months, before that he slept ALL time! like two naps in the morning, 2 in the afternoon and one in the evening, when he was sleeping a LOT :) they say not to let them sleep longer than 3 hours, and if they are asleep for 3 hours to wake them up, i would always go in there and rub his back or pick him up and hold him, I wouldn't worry unless she is really hard to wake up! OH and to answer your last question, I would suggest trying to keep her up later other than that there isn't much you can do to have her wake up later, I think that's pretty good for her to be waking up once a once a night! some ways to keep her awake at the times you want her to stay up longer, I would say give her tummy time, or just interact with her, also bath time is a good time user and it gets them nice and sleepy right before bed,  I'm sorry i'm not more help!! Congratulations on being a new mommy!! Good luck!

Answer 3

She should sleep as much as she needs to. It sounds like you're doing great. I don't know why someone would think she should be down to 3 naps by that age. Every baby is different. My 11 month old daughter still takes 3 naps a day, while most of my friend's babies her age are down to 1 nap a day. So just follow her cues. If she's tired, let her sleep.  

Answer 4

All babies are individual.  Sounds like she needs her sleep or she would not be sleeping. I had 4 kids who 2 of them needed a lot of sleep and 2 of them didn't. To make sure all is all right ask your pediatrician