Your 3-month-old baby needs about 15 hours of sleep each day, spread across several daytime naps and roughly 10 hours of nighttime sleep. Your baby likely isn't sleeping through the night yet, and it's still too early for sleep training, but it's not too early to introduce some healthy sleep habits. Start by using your 3-month-old's sleep and wake windows to create a flexible sleep schedule.
As your baby leaves their newborn days behind, you'll start to notice some clear changes in their sleep routine.
If you haven't gotten into a schedule with your baby yet, now is a great time to observe their natural patterns of sleeping and waking. If you've already taken note and started working on a routine, you're off to a great start.
Around 3 months old, babies begin consolidating their sporadic, dozing-on-your-shoulder sleep habits into actual naps. You may even be able to initiate a loose bedtime (and maybe, once in a while, snag some time for yourself!).
Here's what you need to know about how sleep changes at 3 months, and what you can do to help your baby get as much of it as possible.
In general, a 3-month-old needs about 15 hours of sleep per day, which includes three or four daily naps and nine to 10 hours of nighttime sleep.
This means that your baby will start having longer "wake windows," periods of time in between naps. They'll be eating during this time, but at 3 months old they'll also have some time to simply be alert, interact with the people around them, and observe their environment.
Most babies this age can't stay awake long without needing to sleep, so these wake windows will still be fairly short. At 3 months, you can expect your baby's wake windows to be anywhere from an hour to two hours long. Since most babies at 3 months old sleep about 10 hours at night, that leaves you with four or five daytime hours to split up into at least three naps.
Your 3-month-old may have up to four or five naps, depending on how long those naps are. A catnapping baby who only nods off for 30 to 45 minutes at a time will need more frequent naps to get through the day, while a baby with naps between one and two hours may be able to get away with fewer naps.
Remember that all of this is approximate. Sleep at 3 months is still very variable, with some babies maintaining many of their newborn sleep habits and others falling into more structured routines.
Should I put my 3-month-old baby on a sleep schedule?
You can start moving toward creating a sleep schedule at this point, but your baby likely isn't ready to stick to a rigid schedule just yet.
Your 3-month-old is also too young for sleep training. But sleep doesn't have to continue feeling like the Wild West of the newborn days. You can introduce some healthy sleep habits outside of typical sleep training, and it's a good idea to start paying close attention to when your baby seems naturally more alert or tired during the day.
For example, does your baby seem happy being awake for about 90 minutes before getting cranky and rubbing their eyes? Do they fight naps at 10 a.m. and only sleep for 30 minutes, but fall fast asleep for two hours at 11 a.m.? If you put your baby to bed at 7 p.m., do they sleep for a nice stretch of time, not waking until after midnight to eat?
These are all clues about your baby's natural wake and sleep windows. Understanding these windows can help you work out a loose schedule to begin implementing as your baby grows.
What a 3-month-old sleep schedule might look like
If you're wondering how all these sleep and wake times come together into a workable schedule for your 3-month-old, here's an example of when your baby might be sleeping in a 24-hour period:
- 6:30 a.m.: Wake for the day, diaper change, and eat.
- 8 a.m.: First morning nap.
- 9:30 a.m.: Wake, diaper change, eat, and play.
- 11 a.m.: Second morning nap.
- 12 p.m.: Wake, diaper change, eat, and play.
- 1:30 p.m.: First afternoon nap.
- 2:30 p.m.: Wake, diaper change, eat, and play.
- 4 p.m.: Second afternoon nap.
- 5 p.m.: Wake, diaper change, eat, and play.
- 7 p.m.: Goes to bed for the night.
- 10 p.m.: Dream feed, then back to sleep.
- 2 a.m.: Wake up to eat, then back to sleep.
Again, this is just an example; your baby may need shorter, more frequent naps (as many as five) or may consolidate their sleep into three longer naps. It also depends on how long they can happily stay awake before needing a snooze.
Also, feel free to adjust your baby's schedule around your family's daily routines – if you eat dinner later and need a later bedtime, this schedule could be shifted back several hours to accommodate the school and work hours of other family members.
Healthy sleep habits for a 3-month-old baby
Even though your baby is still very young, you can establish some healthy sleep habits that will make transitioning to a schedule in the next month or so easier.
At 3 months old, you can:
- Start a basic bedtime routine, including giving a warm bath, reading a short board book, or singing a lullaby.
- Ensure your baby's room is a good environment for sleep (use room-darkening curtains and a white noise machine).
- Prevent overtiredness by encouraging your baby to nap at regular times during the day.
- Reinforce the difference between daytime and nighttime by keeping your house bright and active during the day, then dimmer and quieter at night.
- Practice putting your baby to bed when they're sleepy but not asleep. This takes time, and often sleep training, but eventually your baby will learn to soothe themself to sleep rather than relying on you to get them to sleep.
Learn more:
- Your 3-month-old's growth and development
- Feeding schedules for 3-month-olds
- Expert sleep tips
- Sleep safety