Babies
3-6 Months

Start trying to maintain a rhythm to your days by starting each day at about the same time (within half an hour, e.g. between 7-7:30am), & trying to establish your baby’s naps at a predictable time.

At around 3 months babies have developed a circadian rhythm (body clock), so hopefully this means you notice your baby having longer stretches of more consolidated sleep overnight. Continue to support the body clock by being in natural sunlight in the morning & again in the afternoon.

Babies don’t have sophisticated memory at this age, so learning occurs when the same things happen repeatedly. So, be consistent in the types of activities you do in the lead up to bedtime, & as your baby is going off to sleep. These will become your baby’s sleep associations. [For more details about a positive sleep routine see the downloadable e-book]

Establish a bedtime routine with 2-3 calm activities that you & your baby enjoy to help prepare your baby for sleep. E.g. bath, feed, cuddle & sing a song, into sleep-suit/sleeping bag.

There is often a dysregulation of sleep around the time babies learn new skills. If this happens, try as much as possible to maintain your rhythm & routine.

To ease the transition from wrapping your baby to using a sleeping bag or being unswaddled try wrapping only one arm at bedtime, leaving the other out until the baby is used to it. Then try with both arms out. It can be useful to try this for day sleeps when you are not expecting/hoping your baby to sleep as long.

Is your baby still sleeping in a bassinette? Sometimes babies start to wake themselves up when they are bigger & moving around more, possibly bumping in to the sides of the bassinette. It might be time for them to move into a cot. This is definitely the case if your baby is trying to sit up. There are risks of your baby falling out of the bassinette with increased movement.

If your baby is unwrapped & starting to roll over in their bed, help them to practice their rolling skills in the day time. This way, if they roll over in their sleep they will know how to roll back into their preferred sleeping position.