These next 2 months are all about reinforcement. We’re still working on getting your baby to sleep for 12 ours at night — uninterrupted!
The first month was feeding on demand and adjusting to life with your new baby. The second month was all about building a foundation so your baby can gradually learn to sleep for longer stretches at night.
For months 3 and 4, my “rules” are the same as those for 1-month olds:
- We still want to put the baby to bed with eyes open
- We still want the baby sleeping in his or her own room in their crib
- Baby’s bedtime is still 6:30p-7:00p
- Daytime naps are still no longer than 2 hours each
- And we still want to keep baby awake for the last 2 hours before bedtime
As your baby gains weight and gets used to sleeping in the crib, he/she will start sleeping for longer stretches. If they’re sleeping for 6 hours and then only for 2-3 hours at a time, then you are probably not putting the baby to bed early enough. I know this sounds counterintuitive, but it’s true. Babies need lots of sleep!
These next two months are also usually when you can get rid of the swaddle swaddle. Most babies will start breaking out of them by 3 or 4 months old, so just let them go!
Watch the video for a detailed explanation on these tips.