How long does it take to get a 3 month old to sleep?

Gurgle expert Thirza Ashelford says 'It sounds as if you are doing all the right things and have an excellent routine so one question I would ask is – is he really tired enough for sleep? Try giving him an extra long time to play on the floor before his bath – try taking his nappy off so he can have a really good kick (if you buy a plastic bed sheet to put under his kick mat you should save the floor from any accidents!). Stay with him and encourage him to really exercise, hang toys over him that he can reach for and so on. Then put his bedtime back by half an hour and see if the additional activity and later bedtime make a difference but do keep to your routine. Another think you can try is some soft music, “New Age” music is very soothing or you may have a favourite type of music that you can put on softly in the background. If you are going to incorporate the additional exercise time you will need to ensure that bathtime is a time for more exercise and splashing but that towards the end of it you encourage him to relax and bring the tempo down. You can do this by holding him in the water so he lying on your hands and gently swish him up and down the bath so the water laps over him, make your voice softer and speak more slowly while you do this – you could even sing to him at this point, a nice sleepy lullaby! When he is relaxed take him out of the bath wrap him in a big warm towel and carry on your gentle routine. As he gets older he will naturally become more tired during the day as he will be doing more active things and you will soon be able to tell when he is tired or not. At this age – let him tell you when he is ready for bed. When he is older you can be stricter about timings.'

Sorry, I didn't mean 12 hours solidly. I didn't really make that very clear! :o)

i wait till she has fallen asleep then put her in her crib, but wake her up abit so she knows where she is and she can settle herself back to sleep! i was told by the HV that in the day, once she is feed and clean nappy and the is nothing else wrong with her put her upstairs in her crib and just let her cry close the door and turn the tv up so u can hear her! I have a little one too which she is 19 month, so i can let the faith (the youngest one) cry cos dont want her waking amber (the oldest one) up in the night and the good thing is faith sleeps though the night and she is 9 weeks old. but the is no problem in letting the baby cry i no its heartbreaking and after awhile is can get to you but just go outside or turn the tv up so u cant hear your son! Oh and try johnsons bedtime baby bath and oil worked for my first and now i do the same for faith and is working again, hope this helps xx

For this u need to find the sweet spot..the time when they start to glaze over but are still awake...this way they get used to falling asleep in their cots but are a bit dopey iukwim...My daughter is now just over 5months and she used to do exactly what u describe..she now goes down about 830 ish when she has the glazed look. I never leave her to have hysterics but if she whinges i will leave her ..this has worked on 3 out of my four children..the one it didn't was just a stubburn little bat and now at 10 still wont go to sleep when i tell her lol.

most babies at 3 month still need 1 or 2 feeds a night

Have you tried putting the hairdryer on or the hoover? Works a treat for my little lad? I would disagree with not putting him down until he is asleep as he will never learn to go to sleep on his own. At 3 months he'll need about 12 hours sleep at night and 3 or 4 hours sleep in the day. Good luck!

i have the same problem some nights. leah is 11 weeks tomorrow bt does not have her last feed until 11pm i put her in the cot but she wont settle for ages even though she is not hungry no wind etc i used to have her in bed with me a few times as it gt that bad but stopped as i knew it was a bad idea. it is so exhausting but lately have found that stroking her head and cheek helps. Try to avoid over stimulating by singing, keep your voice low also try waiting until he is asleep then putting him down at the end of a feed. try not let him have too many naps throughout the day good luck ur not on ur own xx

My 3 month old son takes ages to get to sleep and wondering if its normal. I have been doing the same routine for 2 months, bath time, dress, feed, bed. the feed is in the bedtime, with low lighting, but as soon as i put him in to the cot he starts to scream, he has his dummy but it doesnt help. I stay there singing to him and rocking but still it doesnt work. Any ideas to try would be wonderful. A lot of the time i am by myself as my partner works evenings and i am finding the endless crying quite hard to cope with on my own.