Help: 3 month old and awake time?

[KatO79]

So I have a 3 month old son and have trouble finding out how long he should be awake at a time to avoid him getting overtired (which happens too ofetn). What is everyone else's "schedule" like from your LO wakes up until you put them down for a nap and how long do the naps last?

Oh and he's a nightmare to get to sleep, don't think it's ever taken under 20 minutes because he fights it Also been having issues getting him to sleep in his carrycot as he'll wake himself up often e.g. suddenly his arms going up and hitting the sides Any suggestions? I've been thinking of having him sleep in his travelling crib during the day as I spend most of my day upstairs while his cradle is downstairs in our bedroom. Don't know if that would be a good idea though?

 

[LoraLoo]

I feel like mine doesn't sleep at all! When she does nap it's littl cat naps, 10 mins here or there, never in a deep sleep. She's not in any sirt of routine for naps at all.

At night she goes to sleep at around 7pm, sleeps for about 3 hours (in my arms) then when I put her in her Moses basket she's wide awake and seems to wake up at least once an hour.

I too thought she might be waking herself by bashing her arms off the side. I tried swaddling- didn't make a difference, just made her angry! And tried her in her cot one night, didn't make a difference either.

Sorry, not a very helpful reply I know!

 

[KatO79]

I feel like mine doesn't sleep at all! When she does nap it's littl cat naps, 10 mins here or there, never in a deep sleep. She's not in any sirt of routine for naps at all.

At night she goes to sleep at around 7pm, sleeps for about 3 hours (in my arms) then when I put her in her Moses basket she's wide awake and seems to wake up at least once an hour.

I too thought she might be waking herself by bashing her arms off the side. I tried swaddling- didn't make a difference, just made her angry! And tried her in her cot one night, didn't make a difference either.

Sorry, not a very helpful reply I know!

Ugh so sorry, she sounds a bit worse than my son as once he does sleep and isn't waking himself up, I can usually get at least 1 hour, a bit more if I put him in his baby carriage outside (very normal in Denmark). At night mine will want a feed 3-4 hours after the one I gave him just before going to bed and then he'll want a feed anywhere from 2-3 hours after that. Don't have a schedule either as I feel it's hard to have one when it can take between 20-40 minutes to get him to sleep, never mind if he wakes himself up and have to get him to sleep again

I feel you on the swaddling. We didn't try using a real swaddling blanket but tried wrapping his baby duvet around him so his arms couldn't fly up but that just annoyed him and he would just wake himself up by shaking his head around and making noise

So sorry your LO is also trying LoraLoo

 

[caz_hills]

My little girl is nearly four months. I can't seem to recognise her tired signs as getting her to nap isn't tough. She tends to be awake for two hours roughly before needing to nap. Naps are usually 49 minutes (to the minute!) and she has three naps a day. Very occasionally they last longer but rarely. After he last nap she is up for maybe three hours before bed.

She needs to nap for longer as She gets so tired. But She just never manages to. Two naps are in the car seat as we are on the school run so I don't think T a year helps but with a five year old to take to school there isn't another option!

 

[Pippylu]

Honestly, the info out there about how much sleep babies should get is pretty conflicting. I find it causes more stress than it's worth. My girls are 4 months this Sunday (10 weeks corrected) and sleeping 12-13 hours at night (waking 1-2 times). They are currently going to bed at 530/6pm and waking for the day at 6/630am. One day after their 530pm feed, they napped through their 830pm feed, waking for the 1130pm feed. When they did this 3 days in a row I started putting them to bed after the 530pm feed and making it a bedtime routine and it's stuck (going on 10 weeks now). I know that's a super early bedtime, but they've set it themselves, and it's become a routine they've settled into nicely so I'm not going to mess with it. I plan on shifting it back to 630pm gradually in the next couple of months. Daytime naps are pot luck, no consistency at all. Some days they nap brilliantly and will do 2 x 2 hours and then a 1 hour nap. Other days (like the last 3 days), they cat nap all day and not at the same time as each other. They nap in their swings. I cannot for the life of me get them to nap properly in their bassinets or the cot.

Most of the info I found about how much sleep and the ratio of night/day sleep didn't match our girls at all. They sleep too long at night and most of the time (except for the last 3 days) nap too much during the day.

Swaddling. They HATE it. We had to give it up when they were 3 weeks old. We found dressing them in them in the body suits with the flaps that fold over their hands and feet and then tucking their lower half into a blanket helped us with the jerky arms. I think they want to feel snug without being too restricted.

 

[KatO79]

Thanks everyone, good to know! And glad I'm not the only one that doesn't have a schedule per say as my son's naps can shift a good deal normally and even more if he's been overtired. Also glad I'm not the only one having issues getting him to sleep where he's "supposed to" as I can during the day only get him to sleep good in his baby carriage outside (traditional in Denmark for babies to have naps outside and he's warm in his Voksi sleeping bag with woolen mittens and cap). I don't feel like trying to frustrate myself further forcing him to and in the process mess up his sleep and risk him getting overtired as well.

I don't think my son would take to swaddling either as we've tried wrapping his baby duvet so he can't move his arms much but he just wakes himself up by making angry grunting/growling noises and shaking his head around

We're going to try and get him to sleep in his cradle tonight as he needs to get used to that for a while before we can move him to his own room and start using his crib when he's about 5 months (depends on when he can't use the cradle anymore).

 

[Boozlebub]

If he sleeps best in his pram outside then I would put him out there for all his naps if possible. Here in Finland it's very normal to do that too and my DD sleeps outside in all weathers unless it's -20 Celsius or colder or really windy. When DD was 3 months she would often go 1.5-2 hours between naps and have 3 a day. She wasn't able to wake herself up through startling as she was in a sort of sleeping bag outside. She was sleeping through the night then (not anymore!! )

However my DS was a totally different kettle of fish and would only sleep on me for naps so I just went with it!

Good luck!

 

[KatO79]

If he sleeps best in his pram outside then I would put him out there for all his naps if possible. Here in Finland it's very normal to do that too and my DD sleeps outside in all weathers unless it's -20 Celsius or colder or really windy. When DD was 3 months she would often go 1.5-2 hours between naps and have 3 a day. She wasn't able to wake herself up through startling as she was in a sort of sleeping bag outside. She was sleeping through the night then (not anymore!! )

However my DS was a totally different kettle of fish and would only sleep on me for naps so I just went with it!

Good luck!

That's what I'm trying to do although I do have a problem if it rains or snows as the bit of roof that I put him under isn't enough I do have an outhouse thing but it's a challenge to leave him in there because I have to close the door which can sometimes wake him a bit Ah I thought the limit was -10 degrees Celsius? That's what I've been reading anyway, don't know if the Voksi would keep him warm enough if it's below that? Maybe if I gave him a light jacket? I think that sleeping in the Voksi is also what's helping as he can't lift his arms much in it

What did you do at night? I would think letting my son sleep outside would be a hassle as it'd mean I'd have to either sleep in clothes or get dressed when he needs to be fed and get a diaper change which would lead to less sleep

So cute about your DS, mine is a bit like that too and I occasionally do that as well but can't do it every time since I also need time to myself once in a while, as much as I love my son

 

[Boozlebub]

At night she sleeps inside in her cot in our room. Before six months she slept in a chicco next to me side car crib so we were co-sleeping but she had her own space.

Outside I dress her the following: 0 to -5: vest, long sleeved top and trousers, snowsuit, sleeping bag and then the pram cover with a blanket over the open bit.
-5 to -10 as above but with a fleece all in one 'middle layer' under the snowsuit on top of her normal clothes
-10 to -15 as above but with tights under her trousers
-15 to -20 she wears the same as above but a different hat.
She always wears a balaclava, hat, mittens and woolly socks under her snowsuit. When it's colder than -15 she wears this Lappish furry hat which really protects her face and keeps the warmth close. The sleeping bag we use is a nordlys non down one.

With my son he rarely slept outside as being from the uk I thought it odd. But I've really embraced it this time and she struggles to nap inside!

But do as you feel confident. I had said that colder than -15 she wouldn't be outside but then my MIL got me this furry hat and it's fab. The trick is to keep the pram warm inside. If you keep it inside and put him in it inside and then pop the blanket over the front before pushing him outside it keeps the warmth a long time so his face doesn't get cold too quick. Also base your decision on how windy it is etc.

Here in finland I think they say the limit is around -20 depending on the other weather conditions! As for the snow/rain situation does your pram have a rain cover? If it's not raining or snowing too heavy I would just pop the rain cover on and put him outside.

You're doing a great job and it will all get easier!

 

[Boozlebub]

Just googled the Voksi and it looks a lot like our nordlys!

 

[KatO79]

At night she sleeps inside in her cot in our room. Before six months she slept in a chicco next to me side car crib so we were co-sleeping but she had her own space.

Outside I dress her the following: 0 to -5: vest, long sleeved top and trousers, snowsuit, sleeping bag and then the pram cover with a blanket over the open bit.
-5 to -10 as above but with a fleece all in one 'middle layer' under the snowsuit on top of her normal clothes
-10 to -15 as above but with tights under her trousers
-15 to -20 she wears the same as above but a different hat.
She always wears a balaclava, hat, mittens and woolly socks under her snowsuit. When it's colder than -15 she wears this Lappish furry hat which really protects her face and keeps the warmth close. The sleeping bag we use is a nordlys non down one.

With my son he rarely slept outside as being from the uk I thought it odd. But I've really embraced it this time and she struggles to nap inside!

But do as you feel confident. I had said that colder than -15 she wouldn't be outside but then my MIL got me this furry hat and it's fab. The trick is to keep the pram warm inside. If you keep it inside and put him in it inside and then pop the blanket over the front before pushing him outside it keeps the warmth a long time so his face doesn't get cold too quick. Also base your decision on how windy it is etc.

Here in finland I think they say the limit is around -20 depending on the other weather conditions! As for the snow/rain situation does your pram have a rain cover? If it's not raining or snowing too heavy I would just pop the rain cover on and put him outside.

You're doing a great job and it will all get easier!

Thanks Boozlebub, I'll be saving your clothing guidlines in case I loose track of this thread at one point Although we've been told that with the Voksi we don't need to dress him up in much but here it rarely gets below -5/-6, at least where I live now but it's also my first winter in this town as we moved here in April. At the moment he seems to be warm enough in either a long armed body with pants or an infant bodysuit and just his mittens and cap. But good to know how you layer as I can use it to layer my son accordingly if he feels cold at one point

Sounds like we have a similiar thing going on as I'm originally from the US, was born there and lived there for 16 years until we moved here to Denmark (although I'm ½ Danish as my mother is Danish and as to why we moved, super long story!). I was also a bit iffy with it but it seems to be working out great and my health care provider actually recommended me to let my son nap at least 2 times a day outside.

We keep our baby carriage outside in an outhouse type of thing as we have almost no space for it inside I do keep the Voksi bag inside though so it's warm when I put him in it as it otherwise would take even longer to get him to sleep and irritate him more as he normally gets upset when I put him in it as it is

We do have a rain cover (was part of a package deal) but I thought that it was mostly only to be used if e.g. the baby carriage is kept outside and it's raining to protect it. Can baby breathe with it on?

Thanks and I hope so!

Oh and yes the sleeping bags seem similiar!

 

[Boozlebub]

Are you using the baby 'bassinet' part of the pram still or the seat unit?

When my DD was still in the bassinet part I would dress her in -5 in her vest and trousers, fleece suit and then in the sleeping bag as the bassinets are so enclosed and snuggly! We have an Emmaljunga duo pram and the seat unit is quite open so I always have an extra layer!

Hopefully how I dress DD will help a bit, I've sort of just seen how other mums dress their babies and followed it and adjusted accordingly based on if she has seemed hot or cold.

If it does get colder for you and you want another layer a Polarn o pyret wind fleece suit might be a good suit for you. Not as thick or warm as a snowsuit but warm and snuggly to sleep in inside the voksi.

I've never actually used the rain cover when it snows although emmaljunga have recommended it but for rain I put it on if she is sleeping outside and just make sure that there are some air gaps where I normally put the blanket.

Keeping the Voksi inside is great as it's warm for him when he gets in. We don't actually have space inside for the pram. It gets kept in the walk in shower when the showers off!

 

[KatO79]

Not sure, I have the Emmaljunga Big Star Limited Edition:





As far as I can tell there's no seat unit, it's just a regular baby carriage

Ok I'll have to look into that fleece! I do have a fleece cardigan but don't know how warm it is and it might be best with a suit

I'll have to check the rain cover I have and see how I can create air gaps, might have to do that before trying it with him in it so I'm not wrestling with both the cover and an annoyed baby

That's the idea although he for the most part seems to hate getting put in the Voksi anyway I figure if it's warm then maybe it doesn't matter so much that the carriage is cold because he probably doesn't reach to feel the cold.

 

[Boozlebub]

Our emmaljunga was like that too but also came with a second adaptor with the seat unit on which she moved to around 6 months when she no longer fit in the bassinet bit. The seat reclines fully flat so she can still sleep in it but also sits upright and semi flat for her to sit and see the world!

Yeah he shouldn't feel the cold of the pram if he's already in the warm sleeping bag!

Hope he napped well for you today! My DD had both her naps out in -15 today. 1.5 hours each!

 

[KatO79]

Our emmaljunga was like that too but also came with a second adaptor with the seat unit on which she moved to around 6 months when she no longer fit in the bassinet bit. The seat reclines fully flat so she can still sleep in it but also sits upright and semi flat for her to sit and see the world!

Yeah he shouldn't feel the cold of the pram if he's already in the warm sleeping bag!

Hope he napped well for you today! My DD had both her naps out in -15 today. 1.5 hours each!

Mine doesn't have a seat unit as far as I can tell but it's not a duo, we'll be buying a stroller at one point.

Ah it went bad today. He got overtired and we were hoping for 2-3 hours but he only got maybe 1 hour, tops. Tried again after letting him be up for 1 hour and he's waking up every 5-10 minutes Ugh I can imagine tomorrow is going to be hell if he doesn't get more sleep tonight