3mth old not sleeping during the day!

Hi everyone!

I'm a bit concerned about my 3mth old ds. he has stopped sleeping during the day for the past 4-5days. He will sometimes fall asleep in my arms while bf but as soon as i move he screws up his face and starts to cry. on some of these days he has been awake for more than 12hrs!! and gets quite grumpy by the time evening comes around. he is sleeping well at night (except when his nappy leaks!). he wasn't even sleeping in his swing which used to work a charm.

i'm worried because i wanted to get him used to sleeping in his portacot as we are going away for a week next friday.

i must admit i think i got into the bad habit of feeding him to sleep (both bottle or bf) when he was having a hard time with colic over the last few weeks but he's been really good with it since i've gone off dairy foods.

any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Hi Puppymum,

I'm sorry I can't help, just wanted to share that my 8 week old boy is doing the same thing. He's crying right now and has been up for 6 hours so far!! I'm hoping someone with more experience than than the two of us will write in with a cracker of an idea to help us both!

Firstly :hug: Puppymum. It can be such a difficult time, and so hard on you, when there not sleeping.
At 3 months of age he should only really be awake for an hour - hour and a half at a time, including the feed. It sounds like he is very over tired. It can be very hard to break the no sleeping cycle, but its prob best if you get him to sleep by any means at this stage eg. a sling or baby carrier, the pram, car, with you etc. Sleep often promotes sleep iykwim? Then you can focus more on other settling techniques.
I hope things get better for you.

Maybe try putting him down to sleep straight after a feed, perhaps even in the porta cot if you would like him to get used to it for a trip. If he stirs, stay with him and rub or pat his back for a bit and sing or talk gently to him until he drifts off. If he starts crying do it again he is settled etc. xx

you poor thing! so know where you are coming from! My 4 month old has had her days of not sleeping too!

I have got into the habit of getting her ready for sleep as soon as I see the very first tired sign like a yawn or an eye rub and I keep an eye on the clock - just as a guide -not as a routine - to see how long she has been awake for. If it is approaching 1.5 hours then I know that any whinging is prolly tiredness rather than the rest of the checklist!

Good luck, remember WHATEVER WORKS FOR YOU, is the right thing! You can't spoil a baby! If you need to feed, rock, let him sleep in your arms while you watch Oprah - then do it!

PuppyMum - it may be a wonder week for your little man, they tend to be unsettled at this time. My little one had an unsettled week in week 12-13 and his routine went haywire for about a week, then settled down again this week. Google Wonder Weeks for more info if you haven't heard of wonder weeks (basically its a developmental/milestone week where bubs can be a bit out of sorts)

HTH - hang in there
Naomi