I have a three month daughter and she hardly takes long naps during the daytime; can anyone suggest some tips to help her sleep longer.

Rebecca - posted on 04/13/2010

Ask your health nurse about "sleep school" we had one in our area, it was good for us. you take your baby in for the whole day and theres a nurse who teaches you different sleeping tricks, only thing with mine though, we went and he fell asleep easy as pie which made me look silly! BUT at home he wouldn't sleep, he would be awake for up to 7 hours and then sleep for 30mins-1hour it drove me crazy! I was breastfeeding at the time and started giving him formula as well and that seemed to help. Also make sure the room is dark and quiet with some "white noise" or sleep cd playing, make sure its not too hot or cold and wrap her up tight in a swaddle or muslin wrap, rub down her forehead and off her nose (like in a line straight down from her forehead, and also across her eyebrows) until she is asleep or nearly asleep, this worked wonders for our son. Make sure she is not hungry before putting her to sleep and if its taking more than 30mins to get her to sleep make sure she is not wet/dirty which can be uncomfortable. We made it a rule that he was not allowed out of bed unless he had slept for at least 1.5hours and just kept him in bed and rubbing his nose. Make a regular sleep routine and stick to it, you have to enforce the routine and sleep times otherwise she will probably just stay up. Eventually she will get it.

My son still goes to bed at the same times he did when he was 3mnths but he's also still a crap sleeper his longest day sleep is 2hrs and at night he sleeps 10hrs. Some babies need less sleep than others so just make a routine and stick to it and good luck!!

Rachel - posted on 04/11/2010

Babies tend to have have sleeping cycles....45 minutes is one sleep cycle. She may be having difficulty moving from active sleep to deep sleep. You need to just encourage her to go back to sleep if she wakes up before she has done a full 1.5 hour sleep. My son used to sleep in three 45 minute blocks throughout the day at this age. He slept great at night time though because of it, but he was a little cranky. I read a book about sleep cycles and they suggested that you keep the room dark and relaxed, and if baby stirs then go in and gently pat them or rub their backs until they go back to sleep. It used to take me a while, but soon my son was sleeping two 1.5 hour blocks of sleep. I tried not to interact or talk to him at this time, otherwise it would become attention seeking waking. I Hope this gives you some ideas.

Roxanne - posted on 04/11/2010

I had this problem too,its very tyresome as mums need rest too.are u feeding her to sleep? that could be the problem if you are.Or a dummy also, as kylie said.

Katherine - posted on 04/11/2010

Try giving her some rice cereal. I started my son on it when he was 2 months old. You don't give them a lot, just a little here and there, it helps them sleep, because it makes their little tummys fuller.

Kylie - posted on 04/11/2010

Does she sleep with a dummy coz that can cause them to wake if the dummy falls out of their mouth... Or maybe try playing soft music that make help her sleep... Also if she is being moved into different surroundings that could cause her to be a little unsettled