Sleeping habits of a 3 month old

[mats01_99]

Hi all. I was just interested in the comparitive sleeping habits of other 3 month olds out there, just to get an idea if our little 'un is on the right track.
We feed her an 8oz bottle at 7.30pm, we will then have a bath and a bit of a play until about 9ish when she usually drops off in the carry cot. I will then wake her at midnight and feed her again another 8oz bottle (usually very sleepy and takes about 6 - 7 oz). I will then put her straight down in the cot. She stirs during the night maybe 2 or 3 times at about 4 and 5 just really for us to replace the dummy and swaddle her up again. She will then drop back off until about 7 and we feed her at 7.30am. How does this sound to others? / how do others compare? I would appreciate your views. many thanks!

[redcrx]

sounds like she doing very well. Sleeping through is anything more than 6 hours in one go.

Have you tried dropping the midnight feed at all? or dream feeding her at 11pm instead?

[OBonio]

Sounds good to me. We were being woken every 2 hours still at 3 months! Our little one started sleeping through at about 5 months (our own fault, there was no routine until then!). Our routine started a bit earlier though. 6pm din dins. Then bath, then bottle. She normally went off on the bottle, then we'd dream feed her at 11pm and she'd then go through until 7am. We dropped the 11pm dream feed at about 10 months and she sleeps from 7.30pm to 7am. I count ourselves very luck. Heard some very scary stories about sleep deprivation for the entire first year!

[mats01_99]

Thanks both!, how much should I give her for a dream feed (am I right in thinking that with a dream feed you don't even need to try and get the wind up?, Is it straight back to bed?)

[redcrx]

dearm feed the same as you would when you wake her.

If i was you i would dearm feed 8ozs or as much as she will take of that at 11pm. Dont wake her, she will drink alseep and they dont usually need winding as they drink without the gulping of air as they are slower.

You will find that if she takes this at 11pm and sleeps through to 7am that you can gradually lower the amount and then stop the feed alltogether. When you drop this feed you may want to change her bedtime routine to bath, bottle then bed. A bath settles them but playing afterwards can wake them again so they dont want to sleep.

You may also find (as i did) that babies do wake up as the sun rises (currently 4 or 5am). A blackout blind can help. My 12 month old son usually sleeps from 8pm-8.30am but about once a week will be awake up to 6 times a night. Luckily its just a case of popping his dummy in.

[OBonio]

I still winded her gently with the dream feed, just in case the trapped wind woke her up. We just gave a her a full 220 mils. She let us know when she'd had enough (ie, not suckling or playing with the teet). Oh, and 220 ml is about the same as 8 fluid ounces.

[redcrx]

was your daughter an April or May baby.
You could try joining ivillage. there are mums clubs on there which are often very helpfull. Ive been with my club since i found out i was pregnant. Almost 2 years on and we help and advise each other as well as have a good old chat.

april http://messageboards.ivillage.co.uk/iv-ukpbapr il06
May http://messageboards.ivillage.co.uk/iv-ukpbmay 06/start

They may be able to help as well.

[flowdoris]

well love she sounds as if she is doin extremely well i have 4 children and all mine were different my eldest never slept and my youngest couldn't get enough sleep. every child is different and they get easier as they get older.sleep is sometimes not too important to children if they are occupied alot of the day so try and keep her to a simple routine during the day so that she gets most of her sleep at night. babys can be very nocturnal if u let them. hope this helps xx

[senzafine]

hI there. My third child is now 12 weeks and his last feed is at about 8:30ish, he takes about 6oz and will sleep in his cot until around 6:30 or 7am. I have to say though, he will take a 6oz feed at 5pm, another at around 7pm but this one will only be for about 2oz and then still take a feed at 8:30. I sort of think he is filling up for his night sleep. On the other side of the scale my middle child who is now 6 still wakes through the night.! Good luck.