45 Comments
Rachel Turner on January 24, 2024 at 5:33 pm
Hi team! I have an 11 week old who was sleeping 3 hours between feeds when she was a newborn but now has decided to wake every hour!! She doesn’t always want to feed she’s happy to wait 2-3 hours between feeds but is still waking on the hour. She recently went from co sleeping into a next to me crib but hates it and keeps getting stuck when she’s in active sleep. How can I get her to sleep longer than an hour at a time and back in the crib? I’m exhausted! She contact naps too which we have been trying to transition out of slowly but I fear that’s making the nights harder as she’s getting overtired. My husband looks after her 8pm-11pm while i get some sleep and she will happily sleep the whole time with him but only if it’s in the sling or on his chest. Is this impacting her night sleep?
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Alyssa Taft on January 26, 2024 at 3:58 am
Hi Rachel,
Thank you so much for reaching out. I am sorry to hear how exhausting it has been! The first few months can be so challenging and exhausting with sleep all over the place. It does get better; I promise!
Babies aren’t developmentally ready to learn how to fall asleep independently until they turn 5 months old. However, there are plenty of tips and tricks that can be implemented during the “fourth trimester” to help improve sleep! I would highly recommend reading about these strategies in our 3 month old sleep guide attached here. https://www.babysleepmadesimple.com/3-month-old-sleep-schedule
It can also be really helpful to chat with a sleep consultant! I offer 45-minute consultations on Zoom. My consults include a personalized sleep plan for your little one and a follow-up email to answer any future questions. You can sign up using the link below!
https://programs.babysleepmadesimple.com/30-minutes-private-consultation-checkout/Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions about our resources. We are here to support your family!
Sincerely,
Alyssa, BSMS Client Support ManagerReply
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Lisa chan on November 17, 2022 at 11:38 pm
Hi, I have a 15 week old he has his last bottle around 10pm-10.30pm, doesn’t go in his crib til 11pm (reflux issues) he sleeps through until 7am-8am but I want to bring his feeds forward so I’m aiming to put him in his crib for 10pm so hoping to give him his last feed around 9pm, any advice or suggestions on how to do this? I’m scared to transition in case he then starts waking through the night for a feed?
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Artemis on November 22, 2022 at 9:52 am
Hi Lisa,
Congratulations on your baby. Yes, you can move the feed earlier if you want. When we move the feed earlier, we put it right before reading time to separate the association of feeding and falling asleep.
However, this won’t guarantee he’ll sleep better – at least not permanently! We would love to give you more holistic guidance and help on how to get your baby sleeping incredibly, in a gentle way that suits his personality. This is possible in our incredible sleep program here:
https://www.babysleepmadesimple.com/baby-sleep-consultant/It usually starts at 5 months old, but we can make an exception for you. Just stick to Lessons 1-6 until your baby is 5 months, then move to Lesson 7.
The program is 20% off for a limited time, so now is the best time to sign up! I hope we’ll be working with you soon!
Artemis, BSMS Support TeamReply
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Jason on September 19, 2022 at 8:35 am
Hi, my 3 month daughter doesn’t nap during the day unless we go out in the car or pram. She used to sleep 11pm til 6am but in the last few days has been waking around 3am and going back to sleep again even after a feed. She can be sound asleep when breastfeeding but then wakes as soon as she goes down in crib, or 10/15 mins later… help needed 😴
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Ingrid on September 20, 2022 at 8:48 am
Hi Jason,
It’s very normal for babies at this age to need motion to sleep; it can even provide restorative sleep (this changes as babies get older). I wouldn’t worry too much at this point; you can try to put her into the crib drowsy but awake one or two times a day to have her get used to falling asleep in the crib by herself, and then when she’s older and ready for sleep coaching, I would check out our 21-Days program. This is for babies 5 months of age and older, and it’s perfect for teaching independent sleep skills. Here is the link: https://www.babysleepmadesimple.com/baby-sleep-consultant. Hang in there, in a couple of months she’ll be ready for sleep coaching and you can address the motion sleep and nursing to sleep 🙂
Please let us know if you have any additional questions; you can email us at Support@babysleepmadesimple.com
Best,
Ingrid, BSMS Support TeamReply
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Emily on July 12, 2022 at 6:46 am
Hi! My LO has decided that her ideal bedtime is 11pm, she is almost 4 months old (on 7/23/22) she sleeps great at night, she’ll usually wake up around 4-5am to eat, then sleep again until 10 am. She naps very well too with little to no issues. All is great but how can I move her bed time earlier? We start her bedtime routine around 8pm but for some reason she has a very long evening wake window for up to 4 hours.
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Artemis on July 18, 2022 at 11:43 am
Hi Emily,
I would move bedtime earlier by 15 minutes every 2 days.
Alternatively, you can join our sleep program early (it usually starts at 5 months) and start getting on a great routine that will set your baby up for success. When she’s 5 months old, we can sleep train her to sleep through the night (via the same program).
Here is the link:
https://www.babysleepmadesimple.com/baby-sleep-consultant/Hoping to work with you soon!
Artemis, BSMS Support TeamReply
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Bri cha on May 26, 2022 at 1:22 am
Hi. My 3.5 month old baby has a very early bedtime ( 530 to 6pm) bjt she wakes very early in the morning)I am trying to push her bedtime to be closer to 7 pm but having no luck as she can barely stayd up longer than 1.5 hours between her last nap (which usually occurs ends before 4) and bedtime. Any suggestions?
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Artemis on May 31, 2022 at 11:07 am
Try to push bedtime later by only 15 minutes every 2 days. This will help you reach your goal without her getting overtired and throwing her schedule off balance.
Let me know if you need any other help!
Artemis, BSMS Support TeamReply
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Julia on March 30, 2022 at 5:46 am
Hi there,
My daughter is 14 weeks old and tends to have a later bedtime (between 10-10:45PM) but will sleep 9 hours straight. If we let her, she’ll wake to feed and then can sleep another 2-3 hours. Throughout the day she follows a 75-90 minute wake window and takes ~40 min naps. We go outside once a day and she has a consistent bedtime routine that starts by 7:30/8PM, depending on the timing of her last nap. Is there any way we can move her bedtime earlier and begin to stretch her night sleep a bit longer (so she’s not waking us up at 5AM)?
Thanks so much!
JuliaReply
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Artemis on March 30, 2022 at 3:20 pm
Hi Julia,
sounds like you’ve got a great routine going – good work!
Yes, I would recommend moving bedtime earlier by 15 minutes every 3 days. Slow and steady wins the race!
Good luck.
ArtemisReply
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Giannah on February 17, 2022 at 10:48 pm
Hello! My baby will be 3m on the 22nd. She currently has a very predictable sleep pattern. Wakes up around 6am, naps around 8am (continues this way all day every 2 hours) then she will have a nap at 8pm and most of the time go to sleep and stay asleep around 11pm. Is that bad? I don’t know if I should change her bed time hours or not….currently is a struggle to get her to bed initially anyways.
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Artemis on February 18, 2022 at 12:09 pm
Hi!
We want to aim for 9-11 hrs total night sleep, and 3-5 hrs total daytime sleep. You can learn more about how to get your little one on a schedule here:
https://www.babysleepmadesimple.com/3-month-old-sleep-schedule/You can also book a private consultation with us here in case you want to talk to someone live:
https://programs.babysleepmadesimple.com/30-minutes-private-consultation-checkout/Stay in touch!
Artemis, BSMS Support TeamReply
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Chelsea on February 17, 2022 at 2:50 am
Hi! My three month old definitely sleeps better with a 10pm bedtime, I’ve been trying to make it earlier but just embracing it. Should i be waking her at a by certain time in the morning? She was naturally waking at 8, but should she sleep later if she wants? Don’t want to throw off the day or encourage an even later bedtime, but she seems like sometimes she would sleep 10-10…
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Artemis on February 17, 2022 at 4:24 pm
Hi Chelsea!
You have an amazing little sleeper, congratulations! I would say you should wake your baby at 8 am if you want to get on a gentle yet consistent schedule.
You can learn more about this here:
https://www.babysleepmadesimple.com/3-month-old-sleep-schedule/Good luck!
Artemis, BSMS Support TeamReply
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Rachel on January 10, 2022 at 3:02 am
Hi Jilly!
My son is 12 weeks old. His bedtime is around 10pm and sleeps until 5:00am which is great! We are looking to get him to an earlier bedtime but am nervous to as it would then compromise a feeding and offset his calorie intake. How do you suggest we move his bedtime back without impacting his feeding or support the need for that extra feeding?
Thanks!
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Artemis on January 11, 2022 at 1:36 pm
Hi Rachel,
For anything related to nutrition it’s best to talk to your baby’s doctor. We generally recommend offering a feed often throughout the day, as often as every 2 hrs, but again – this is something your baby’s doctor knows best as they know your baby.
Kind regards,
Artemis, BSMS Support TeamReply
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Danielle on July 24, 2021 at 12:42 am
Hi I am desperate for help with my 3 month old daughters sleep schedule. She sleeps from 3am to 11am wakes up to feed then back to sleep in an hour for another 3 hours. While I’m thankful to be getting this much sleep after waking every 3 hours with her as a newborn, it is hard to book any appointments or socialize with this schedule. She still naps throughout the day/night for an hour or so after feeding. I’d love to get her big sleep at and earlier time even 11pm.
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Alyssa Taft on July 24, 2021 at 3:10 am
Hello Danielle,
Those first few months can be SO challenging! I would definitely follow the advice in the guide and start to shift her bedtime closer to 8-9pm! You can do this gradually. Move the bedtime 30 minutes earlier every 2 days until you get to the desired time. This can really help!
Best, Alyssa, BSMS Support Team
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Jay on June 25, 2021 at 10:56 am
My little one just turned 3 months old. At the moment has is waking anywhere from 6:30-7:15 and his naps are every 1-1.5 hours. The first nap of the day is normally 1 hour 30 to 1 hour 45. The next is normally around 40 minutes and then the two more that are around 30-40 minutes each. His last nap of the day up until four days ago was normally 1.5 hours from his previous one; usually starting 5:45pm and ending at 6:15pm meaning his bed time was about 7:45-8pm however the past 4 days he has refused that nap altogether and has started cluster feeding instead and being sound asleep just before 7. Not really sure why this is happening?
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Alyssa Taft on June 25, 2021 at 3:14 pm
Hello Jay,
Thank you so much for your message. That “fourth trimester” can be SO exhausting–I can completely relate having gone through it with both of my daughters. Your LO’s brain is just going through rapid growth around the 3/4 month age and regressions/schedule changes are very normal.
Definitely check out this resources below for helpful tips and let us know if you have ANY questions!
https://www.babysleepmadesimple.com/exhausted-moms-survival-kit
https://www.babysleepmadesimple.com/3-month-old-sleep-scheduleBest,
Alyssa, BSMS Support TeamReply
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Ruby on February 14, 2021 at 7:48 pm
Hi. My LO sleep between 7-8pm and sleeps until 12-2am,was that okay? For a 3mos old baby.
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Alyssa Taft on February 15, 2021 at 4:40 am
Hello Ruby!
Check out our 3 month old sleep guide! It outlines ideal night time and daytime sleep for a 3 month old 🙂
https://www.babysleepmadesimple.com/3-month-old-sleep-schedule
Alyssa, BSMS Support Team
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Joelle on January 27, 2021 at 6:08 pm
Hello!
My LO is almost 3 months old. We have been on a pretty good bedtime routine starting at 9pm . She usually is asleep around 930. I’ll place her in her crib and about an hour later she is up again. She is very difficult to get back to sleep. Any time or tricks on how to keep her sleep once put down. Is bed time too early ?
Thank you
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Alyssa Taft on January 29, 2021 at 9:55 pm
Hello Joelle!
I would check out this resource for helpful tips and with awake times. Make sure to follow those awake times before bed–it can really help!
https://www.babysleepmadesimple.com/3-month-old-sleep-schedule
Best,
Alyssa, BSMS Support TeamReply
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Aleksandra on October 26, 2019 at 11:20 am
Hey Jilly, thank you for your great and helpful blogs! I am trying to move a bedtime of my 3-months old boy from 12 a.m. to 9 p.m. Do I have to move the whole daily routine for 15-20 min or just a bedtime?
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Leena on October 29, 2019 at 7:26 pm
Hi Aleksandra! We recommend moving the entire schedule with 15 mins 🙂 You could also schedule the last awake time to be the longest, following the proper awake times (1-2h) for your LO will help you the most 🙂 / Leena, BSMS Support Team
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Kierstin on June 7, 2019 at 1:16 pm
Hi my baby is 3 months old and she was sleeping through the night.. now she hasn’t been. She wakes up random times 2, 3,4 am sometimes 5 am.
How do I get her to sleep till morning? With out middle do the night feedings ?
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Jilly Blankenship on July 26, 2019 at 11:31 am
Hi Kierstin,
It’s probably the 4 month sleep regression rearing its ugly head. 🙁
This guide explains what this regression is and how you can get through it: https://www.babysleepmadesimple.com/4-month-sleep-regression-tips-video
Good luck,
JillyReply
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Jennifer Minor on April 4, 2019 at 4:09 pm
My DS is 3 months old and I cannot get him to bed before 11pm to save my life. My older son who is 3 goes to bed around 830, so I typically start DS bedtime routine after we get older brother down. Our routine is bath or warm wash cloth bird bath, fresh diaper, pjs, swaddle (arms out), and nurse. I do this in the living room where we have typically one light on and TV going. Once asleep on breast I take him to his room where it’s dark and place him in his rock n play. I’d say 95% of the time he wakes up starts fussing. We have begun to let him cry for 10 minutes. He typically will keep crying so I go in to nurse off other breast. Bedtime routine can last until 11pm bc he uses me as a paci. Ideally I’d like him to go to bed when big brother goes to bed. But I’m stumped as to why he’s so unsettled at night.
During the week I wake him at 815 to get brother to preschool. And we come home, nurse and back to sleep he goes for 1.5-2 hours. About an hour to 1.5 hours after each nap he goes back down. Typically 3-4 naps a day equalling 4-5 hours. He does take a late nap around 430 or 5pm and will sleep until 630 or 7pm. What am I doing wrong?
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Jilly Blankenship on April 16, 2019 at 12:11 pm
Hi Jennifer,
You’re not doing anything wrong! But there are things we can do.
I wouldn’t let him nap more than 4 hours total in a day. Otherwise this will steal from his night sleep and push bedtime later.
So let him fall asleep around 430-5 pm BUT wake him after one hour. This will help bedtime move earlier.
Also, it’s time to move his bedtime routine into his bedroom. This article walks you through what to do: https://www.babysleepmadesimple.com/how-to-start-bedtime-routine-baby-toddler-2
Limiting naps and starting a consistent bedtime routine should help bedtime move earlier.
All the best,
JillyReply
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Kylie Burgess on April 16, 2019 at 12:30 pm
Well your babies nap schedule. You want baby to go to sleep after only being awake 1 hour after a long nap. Also try feeding in the room baby sleeps rather than room with tv. I have only light from white noise machine so not a lot of stimulation in room. Finally baby might not be comfortable being in room by themselves if you always put them down when they are asleep. They wake up not sure where they are and freak out.
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Judy on October 2, 2019 at 10:26 pm
Hi! My 3 month old was sleeping well and took 2 naps in the day. The morning one was maybe 45 minutes and then he’d take 3-4 hours in the afternoon. He hit a growth spurt a week ago and ever since then refuses to nap unless he happens to fall asleep nursing or on a walk and then only for 15-45 minutes. He still sleeps well at night and goes to bed around 8:30pm. How do I get him to nap again??
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Leena on October 3, 2019 at 6:54 pm
Hi Judy! Thank you for your comment! Poor thing, when there is a sudden change in sleep, it is often a sign of a sleep regression. There are big developmental changes that happen around the 4 month and show as sleep disturbance. Jilly has a great guide on this, I would suggest implementing the tips consistently for 1-2 weeks and there should be improvements.
You can access the guide here: https://www.babysleepmadesimple.com/4-month-sleep-regression-tips-video
Hope this helps! / Leena, BSMS Support Team
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Angel on April 4, 2019 at 4:09 pm
My daughter is 3 months and doesn’t fall asleep until about 2-5am. She sleeps about 12 hours once she does finally fall asleep and would sleep longer if I let her. After she wakes up she typically takes 3-4 naps about every two hours. She is exclusively breastfed and we cosleep. Someone please help me get her to sleep at a decent time.
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Jilly Blankenship on April 16, 2019 at 12:07 pm
Hi Angel,
I’ve helped many parents through this transition. What you need to do is wake your baby 30 mins earlier every day.
So if she naturally wakes at 3 pm, for example, wake her tomorrow at 2:30 pm. The next day 2 pm. Then 1:30 pm. Do this until you get to an acceptable hour, like 8-9 am.
As you do this transition, you need to move naps and bedtime earlier by 30 mins as well.
She will probably be a bit grumpy and not want to wake earlier, but this is a very gradual shift.
Get her OUTSIDE in the sunlight and fresh air in the morning soon after you wake her. You can just step outside for 5 mins. This helps set her body clock to wake earlier.
This transition CAN be done, you just have to be dedicated and consistent.
Good luck!
JillyReply
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Cami on November 8, 2020 at 8:01 pm
Hi there, my 3 month old daughter has her long stretch of sleep from about 7pm-12am, and then she wakes up every 2 hours through the night for feedings. Is there a way i could shift her sleep to align with my sleep ideally 12am to 7pm (if she must only have 5hours) or is that really unhealthy for a child to sleep that late? Is it better to work on extending her length of sleep instead i.e. sleep from say 9pm – 7am.
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Cami on November 8, 2020 at 8:02 pm
Thank you by the way!! ?
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Alyssa Taft on November 8, 2020 at 8:23 pm
You are so welcome! 🙂 Alyssa, BSMS Support Team
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Tiffany on January 27, 2021 at 8:18 am
Hi my 3 month old goes to bed around 12 am and will sleep all night (sometimes wakes up during the night to feed) but then wakes up around 8am eats and then goes back to sleep until 9am. Then I’ll get her ready for the day, eat again, play for a little and then she’ll sleep 45 minutes- 2 hours and then same thing all over again. Then after her last nap she’ll be awake for a couple hours until it’s time to go to bed. But every night she kicks her feet and waves her arms fighting sleep and then she’ll start fussing, even with a clean diaper and full belly. How do I get her to stop fighting sleep?
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Micaela on January 27, 2021 at 11:50 am
Dear Tiffany,
an ideal bedtime for a 3 month old baby is between 7:30 – 9:30 pm. This is based both on the developing circadian rhythm (or body clock) of a 3 month old and also fits in with the 9 – 11 hours of nighttime sleep needed. During the day your baby needs 2.5 – 4 hours of napping (this is the combined total of all naps.) If you want to move her bedtime earlier (this should also improve her fighting because she is probably too tired at midnight to fall asleep peacefully) we always recommend an “Easy Does It” approach. Work on moving bedtime earlier by just 15-20 minutes every 2-3 days.
Hope this helps.
Micaela BSMS Support Team
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Alyssa Taft on November 8, 2020 at 8:22 pm
Hello Cami! Congrats on your LO 🙂 Most babies do better with earlier bedtimes. It has actually very common for LO’s at this age to have a longer stretch, followed by shorter stints during the early hours. Babies are often ready to start sleeping longer stretches around 5/6 months of age when they are developmentally ready to self-soothe. Check out our 3 month old sleep guide for more helpful tips and awake time recommendations. Following awake times for naps is really important because it can help to prevent a ton of night wakings. My second daughter is 4 months. I have found it helpful to go to bed early myself (like 8pm!) so I can get a good long stretch since she is still up during the early hours too. I sleep trained my first daughter at 6 months and she has been sleeping 11-12 hours straight ever since and she is 2.5 years old, so I promise, better sleep is around the corner!! Just try and rest now when you can! Alyssa, BSMS Support Team
https://www.babysleepmadesimple.com/3-month-old-sleep-schedule
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Isabella on July 25, 2020 at 12:45 pm
Hey Jilly,
My 3 mo only settles for the night after midnight. Her bedtime routin starts between 7h30pm and 8h30pm. So everyday I put her down asleep around 9h30pm but she only sleeps for 30min and stay awake until after midnight when she sleeps her first good stretch which is around 4 to 5 hours.
How can I make her sleep the good stretch from 9h30pm instead of midnight?
Usually she wakes up around 9am and has around 3 to 4 naps during the day being the last one around 6h30pm and most of the times for just for half an hour.
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Alyssa Taft on July 25, 2020 at 7:48 pm
Hello Isabella,
Thanks so much for your message! I would recommend signing up for our FREE Exhausted Mom’s Survival Kit and reading over our 3 month old sleep guide. Both resources will discuss several helpful sleep tips such as a peaceful nightly ritual (bedtime), finding the ideal bedtime and following the proper wake windows. When you combine all of these tips, you should see your LO’s sleep improve! Alyssa, BSMS Support Team
https://www.babysleepmadesimple.com/exhausted-moms-survival-kit
https://www.babysleepmadesimple.com/3-month-old-sleep-scheduleReply
