3 hour stretches at 3 months

[first-time mom]

Please tell me I am not the only one that has or had a baby that will not sleep more than 3 hours at 3 months old. My first DD slept through the night from the beginning so this is new to me. He is breastfeed and has given me maybe a few nights where he would sleep 5-6 hour stretches but those are far and few in between these 3 hour stretches.....sigh..

Anyone else if so when did it get better?

[Marisa]

Very common! Babies can be so different -- my first son was just like this for over a year, but my second son's sleep has improved in the last few weeks -- so between 8-9 months. We have our rough patches still, mostly related to teething (he's got four now).

[MrsSpencer]

My son only sleeps 4 hours stretches and he's 9 months (was never a good sleeper). Hang in there..for both our sakes I hope it gets better ;). (He still has no teeth either).

[SiValleySteph]

No, of course not!

My son is 9 months and he sleeps a maximum of 3 hours at a time ... more like 1-2 hours. I'm cutting him some slack because he has 3 teeth coming in right now. ;)

[mcgwigan]

I'm thinking that mine was sort of the same. I went back to work when he was 3 months and was still getting up multiple times a night with him.

I'm thinking that within a month of my returning to work he was only waking up once/night though & he was breastfed too!

[TracyDP]

At 0-4m I remember our nightly feedings going something like this (DD was bottle/formula fed):

9pm feed, down to bed
12am feed
3am feed
6am feed
9am up for the day

At 4m she started to drop the 3am feeding and would go midnight-6 or 7am about 4-5 nights a week. By 6m she was still waking around midnight, but would sleep until around 8am most nights.

So, it's not just you :)

[Annette]

DS was doing 3-4 hour stretches at that age. He finally started sleeping longer by 3.5 to 4 months but stopped when I went back to work. Since he's been sick the past couple of weeks, he gets up quite frequently and is more difficult to settle down. He's 5 months old now.

[first-time mom]

Thanks girls, I am glad to know I am not the only one. Everyone I talk to tell me their baby is STTN and it just makes me think I am alone ha.

[cr8zyforaf]

Everyone I talk to tell me their baby is STTN and it just makes me think I am alone

Ask more probing questions - I found that when people say this, if you ask more questions you will find that they are holding the baby, getting up to put the pacifier back in, etc. Now, there are babies out there that STTN but that definition is different for everyone.

That being said, DD#1 slept like cr*p from day 1....and didn't really STTN for almost 2 years. DD #2 sleeps MUCH better and has been sleeping 7-10 hour stretches (not consistently) since about 9 weeks.

[Marisa]

I like to say that my babies STTN with frequent breaks for snacks. ;)

[jennylou]

Thanks girls, I am glad to know I am not the only one. Everyone I talk to tell me their baby is STTN and it just makes me think I am alone ha.
Some people lie.:p

Ask more probing questions - I found that when people say this, if you ask more questions you will find that they are holding the baby, getting up to put the pacifier back in, etc. Now, there are babies out there that STTN but that definition is different for everyone.

That being said, DD#1 slept like cr*p from day 1....and didn't really STTN for almost 2 years. DD #2 sleeps MUCH better and has been sleeping 7-10 hour stretches (not consistently) since about 9 weeks.
Yep - so true! Also, I think the definition of sttn is only a 5 hour stretch (or is it 6).

DS is a pretty good sleeper, and he still gets up twice during the night at nearly 5 months. Like, marisa's son though, it's really just for snacks. ;) My DS is still in the co-sleeper and that works out perfectly for quick snacks without getting up and out of bed.

[TracyDP]

Thanks girls, I am glad to know I am not the only one. Everyone I talk to tell me their baby is STTN and it just makes me think I am alone ha.

I agree with Jennylou, everyones definition of STTN is different. I considered my DD STTN when she dropped the 3am feeding and started going midnight-7am 5-6 nights a week. Mainly because I didn't go to bed until after her midnight feeding so for me it was a full nights sleep. I figure if you are getting 6-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep it's all good. From about 6m on DD has STTN 12 hours about 80% of the time. The other nights she will wake at 11pm with gas or at 3-4am for a bottle (usually after a day of not eating very well or if she is teething and not wanting solid food). Usually she doesn't wake both times, just one or the other. This is still the case at 16m, but she is up to STTN 12 hours more like 90% of the time. I've been blessed with a girl who likes her sleep.