Sleeping FAQ: 3-4 Months – Daytime Sleep

My son of 3 months will only nap in his bouncy chair during the day. If left to settle in his cot he becomes hysterical. His naps last no longer than 30 minutes. He settles easily in his cot at 7pm and sleeps through the night from his late feed to 6.30am.

My son of 3 months will only nap in his bouncy chair during the day. If left to settle in his cot he becomes hysterical. His naps last no longer than 30 minutes. He settles easily in his cot at 7pm and sleeps through the night from his late feed to 6.30am.

His room has blackout blinds so is totally dark. He is not getting anywhere near the three hours daytime sleep he needs. I cannot understand why he sleeps so well at night but seems unable to do so in the day.

Feeding details

7.00am: 6ozs formula
10.00am: 6ozs formula
1.00pm: 6ozs formula
2.00pm: 1oz juice
4.00pm: 5-6ozs formula
7.00pm: 7ozs formula

Daily milk intake 36 ozs

My son naps at 8.30-9.00am, 12.00-12.20pm, 3.00-3.10pm and 4.30-5pm. He settles at 7.30pm

Up to the age of four months a baby can stay awake for up to two hours, but some babies may be ready to settle to sleep before this. To help a baby settle for his daytime naps you need to have a period of winding down to prepare him for sleep. He needs to learn how to relax and fall asleep in his cot by himself.

It can take at least twenty minutes for a baby to wind down and be ready to sleep. If he does not have this time of winding down he will become over tired and fight sleep when put down in his cot. You need to watch him carefully so you spot the first signs that he is getting tired.

To help your son get used to settling to sleep in a dark room continue to let him sleep in his bouncy chair, but place this in his room. Begin to do this at his morning nap only. Settle him into his chair and check he is securely fastened in. Continue to let him take his other naps downstairs in the light. After two or three days of this put your son, in his bouncy chair, in his darkened room for the lunchtime nap as well as the morning nap.

After another few days you can begin to work on getting your son to settle in his cot for naps. Take your son to his room and start to have a winding down routine so he learns to make associations between the routine and settling in his cot. You may like to look at one or two books together before you change his nappy and close the blinds. If he uses a sleeping bag put him into it now. Sit with him in the dark room, holding him closely so he has no eye contact with you. He may be wriggly and squirm but if you remain quiet and calm he will gradually begin to settle down and become relaxed.

When you feel your son’s body becoming heavy and relaxed in your arms put him into his cot. As he is unused to settling himself in the daytime it will take a while for him to get used to being put down into his cot and left to settle alone. Tuck him in firmly, placing a sheet lengthways across him and tucking it in well under the mattress. Secure the sheet down the cot sides using two rolled towels to keep it in place.  Leave him for ten minutes to see if he will settle himself down. He may cry at first but this crying should become less persistent and more intermittent. This is known as “crying down” and it is how a baby settles himself to sleep. Providing your son is well fed, winded and not overtired through being up too long he should be able to settle himself to sleep.

In the first few days of trying this method you may need to wait until his eyes are very heavy and sleepy before putting him down, and he still may fuss a bit before settling himself. As he gets better at settling himself to sleep gradually work towards putting him down in his cot whilst he is more awake.  Once your son is better at settling in his cot he may not need quite such a long time to wind down. But still take him to his room 10-15 minutes before he is due to have a nap as this will make it more likely he will settle well.

If your son is waking at 6.30am he may be unable to get to 9am before going down for his morning nap. The knock on effect of this early nap may mean he is ready to go down for his lunchtime nap too soon. To help prevent this let him have a cat nap around 10.45/11am.This should him get to 12.15/12.30pm when he will be ready to settle for his longer lunchtime nap.

To rule out the possibility of hunger keeping your son awake when he goes down at lunchtime offer your son a small top up feed prior to putting him down.