3 mo. old wants to sleep all the time! Help!

[erin28]

I read the Baby Whisperer when I was 7 months pregnant and thought it was a great idea.  However my pregnancy brain took over and I forgot everything and started "accidental parenting."  Well my little girl just turned 3 months and I decided it was a good time to get her on a good nap and sleep routine, plus she's been only taking 45 minute naps and I'd let her get up after that and she'd be cranky all day.  There is a question coming I promise.  She wants to sleep ALL THE TIME.  She falls asleep feeding and I can sometimes get her to wake up with a diaper change, but then she has a hard time staying awake more than 30 minutes.  Am I expecting too much out of her to be awake for more than that amount of time?

[Aarismom]

Hmm...it's probably a good idea if you start slowly extending her wake time to around an hour and 15 or so (not much more). Some lo's simply need the extra sleep though, but usually at around 3 months they're up a little more than an hour. I think at 3.5 months mine was up to 1.5 hours, and that was pushing it a little bit.

They will resist, but if you're persistant (and consistant) enough they'll be able to stay up that long. 45 min naps are usually the result of a too long awake time or too short one. In your case I think it's too short. 30 mins is great for a newborn, but not necessarily for a 3 month old.

Hope this helps!

*HUGS*
Sonya =P