"When will my baby finally sleep through the night?" is a common question asked by new moms with young babies. Young babies sleep most of the day and night, yet wake up often because they have different sleep cycles compared to adults. While there are some things you can do to encourage your baby to sleep restfully, it is normal for a 3-month-old baby to wake up several times during the night.
REM Sleep
The infant health and parenting website BabyCenter.com states that babies spend more time in rapid eye movement sleep than adults do, which is why their brains develop so much during the first year of life. REM sleep is very healthy for a baby's brain, yet it is a light sleep and babies wake easily from it. BabyCenter.com states that babies go back and forth between REM sleep and non-REM sleep, though at 3 months of age, their REM sleep periods start to shorten.
Normal Sleep Time
Though young babies can sleep up to 16 or even 18 hours a day, babies who are 1 to 3 months old can only sleep about five hours at a time, according to the Nemours Foundation. Babies at 3 months old need to wake often because their stomachs are so small that they need to be fed every few hours. The Nemours Foundation states that the average 3-month-old baby sleeps for 15 hours out of 24 hours, and two-thirds of that is during the nighttime. Babies do not fall asleep and wake up at the same times every day; their sleeping patterns vary.
How Babies Should Sleep
According to the Nemours Foundation, it is never advised to put a baby to sleep on his stomach, because that increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome. Always put your baby to sleep on his back. The Nemours Foundation recommends that you check to make sure that the baby's crib is put together properly and that it meets current safety standards. They also state that you should never put anything in the baby's crib with the baby, such as stuffed animals, because the baby could roll over toward the item and suffocate when he cannot push himself away.
Encouraging Naps
Though you can never force a baby to go to sleep if he isn't tired, BabyCenter.com states that you can encourage a baby to nap or fall asleep by demonstrating the difference between day and night. To do this, keep lights on during the daytime when your baby is awake, but when your baby falls asleep, take the baby to his crib and turn the lights off. It's not a good idea to play with a baby actively if he wakes during the nighttime, or just before a nap time, as this could make him more hyper and less likely to fall asleep. Instead, encourage him to go back to sleep by singing a lullaby or gently rocking him.
Nighttime Routine
Since 3-month-old babies are still waking often and changing sleep patterns, establishing a nighttime routine is a good way to help a baby learn to sleep at nighttime. The Nemours Foundation recommends giving the baby a bath before bed, reading to your baby or singing each night. Whatever you want your routine to be, just make sure that you do it every night so that your baby gets used to it. Routines are calming for babies, so they will sleep more easily if they've gone though a routine before bedtime. Your nighttime routine can last for a long time, well into your baby's toddler years.
