FTM/Please Help with 3MO

[OwensMama17]

Hello everyone!

This is my first time posting here so my apologies if I missed something previously mentioned.  My baby Owen is 12 weeks old.  He is generally a happy baby but lately naps have been the bane of my existence.  His naps have constantly changed, but as a newborn he napped for long stretches of time. 

We have a pretty solid bedtime routine (book, white noise, swaddle, bottle)...& ive tries to establish a nap routine as well but it hasn't been as successful.

As of lately, he's up for roughly 1.5 hour- 1 hr 45 minutes.  I can nurse him to sleep, but I need to swaddle him because he still has Moro reflex.  This week, I can't put him down for more than 30 minutes!  He'll nap longest if I wear him (while walking) or take him for a drive/cruise in the stroller.  However, I know we are entering bad habit territory so I am trying not to carry him for every nap (I crack sometimes I'll admit).

Is this normal?  Please send encouragement.  I know sleep is constantly changing, and I try to be as consistent as I can while still maintaining a PT job.  My husband is a pilot & is often away so sometimes it's just me.  Also-I know we are going through a wonder week which may be contributing to his lack of nap cooperation 😂

Thank you in advance for any advice...I'm desperate!!

[Katet]

Will it help if I say that's all pretty normal at 3mo. Their sleep does keep changing as there is a constant change in their ability to stay awake & the smallest things can impact their level of stimulation, so it will never be an exact science. Temperament also is a factor. Like you my DS1 did great long stretches as a newborn & then it all went out the window, we had great days & we had horrid days from 3-6mo

The one thing I do notice there is that you "can nurse him to sleep". At around 3mo that's where they are more alert in their transitions to the next cycle & they want things to be exactly the same as they started the cycle, so that's why nursing to sleep can be an issue & why putting a baby down awake & helping them (with a shush/pat routine) settle to sleep has more long term benefits.

It would probably help you if you can get him to sleep without feeding, but it may not mean you get all (or even some) naps that are longer than 30mins for a while yet. The age between 3mo & 6mo does tend to be a time when naps aren't always easy with some temperaments of babies.  So while it is always good to have a good routine, there is no guarantee that it will mean you baby will do what you'd ideally like.

[OwensMama17]

Thanks so much for your reply!  For whatever reason I have been STRESSING about naps like crazy.  Some say my baby is going through a leap, others say growth spurt, others say he's doomed for naps forever (which I'd like to not believe).  He sleeps wonderfully at night, but the catnaps have been getting the best of both of us. 

I tried the shh/pat a few times.  I'm not sure if I'm not doing it right, but it's not working.  I'll keep trying-however or gets discouraging after 30+ minutes.