In your language: By around 3 months of age, babies usually begin smiling and interacting with you. Some babies start to have longer periods of sleep, and their sleep cycles develop more of a rhythm. At this age, most babies sleep 10 to 18 hours in a 24-hour period.
They often sleep in periods that last 2 to 3 hours. Every child is different, so don’t worry too much if your child has different sleep patterns to those described here.
If you are concerned about your child, contact on.
These change as we develop and grow#
Babies generally nap three times during the day – but every baby is different and sleeping patterns can vary a lot. Your baby is growing quickly, and they still need to wake for feeding.
Most babies also need help to settle and go to sleep at this age#
It is important to create positive sleep associations, for your baby. Some settling approaches may be hard to keep doing for the long term, such as holding your baby until they fall asleep. These can create negative sleep associations for your baby resulting in them needing to be held to fall asleep.
You need to decide what is right for you and your family. Babies aged 3 to 6 months still need regular feeding. Being breastfed or formula fed does not impact on the age at which your baby will sleep through the night.
If your baby is breastfed, giving them baby formula or starting solid food early (breastfed or formula fed) will not help them sleep better. Whether they are breastfed or bottle-fed, babies can learn to relate sleep with feeding. Over time, they may become dependent on feeding to fall asleep easily.
To stop your baby from associating feeding with sleeping, when you have finished feeding and playing with them, put them in their cot to fall asleep by themselves when they show signs of If you are worried about your baby’s crying or if they are not sleeping or settling you can talk to your maternal and child health nurse, doctor or phone the Maternal and Child Health Line on.
This fact sheet is available for download in the following community languages: Arabic - ورقۀ معلوماتی 2: رفتار خاص خواب: نوزادان 3 تا 6 ماه (Typical sleep behavior (2) babies 3 to 6 months) Burmese - အချက်အလက်မှတ်တမ်း 2 - ပုံမှန်အိပ်စက်ခြင်း အပြုအမူ - နို့စို့ကလေးငယ်များ 3-6 လ (Typical sleep behavior (2) babies 3 to 6 months) Dari - صحيفة المعلومات 2، سلوك النوم المعتاد: الأطفال 3-6 أشهر (Typical sleep behavior (2) – babies 3 to 6 months) Khmer - សន្លឹកព័ត៌មានទី២៖ ឥរិយាបទគេងជាធម្មតា៖ ទារកអាយុ៣-៦ខែ (Typical sleep behavior (2) babies 3 to 6 months) Persian - برگه اطلاع رسانی 2: رفتار معمول خواب: نوزادان 3 تا 6 ماهه (Typical sleep behavior (2) babies 3 to 6 months) Punjabi - ਤੱਥ ਸ਼ੀਟ 2: ਨੀਂਦ ਦੇ ਖਾਸ ਵਿਵਹਾਰ: ਬੱਚੇ 3-6 ਮਹੀਨੇ (Typical sleep behavior (2) babies 3 to 6 months) Spanish - Hoja informativa 2: Conducta habitual del sueño en bebés de 3 a 6 meses (Typical sleep behavior (2) babies 3 to 6 months) Vietnamese - Tờ thông tin 2: Hành vi ngủ đặc trưng - trẻ nhỏ từ 3 đến 6 tháng tuổi (Typical sleep behavior (2) babies 3 to 6 months), which is a great support after your baby is born.
Specially trained maternal and child health will work with your family to help you care for your child until they are ready to start school.
As part of this service, you will visit a maternal and child health nurse in your local area at 10 key ages and stages in your child’s development. These visits are important because they give you an opportunity to identify and address any issues and concerns early in your child’s development. Visits take place: Families can access the service at other times by telephone or through a center visit., Canterbury, South Morang, Footscray and Werribee. (24 hours a day, every day) – Speak and listen, SMS relay. For translated fact sheets go to Information in community languages Baby sleep patterns and behaviors at 3 to 6 months your local maternal and child nurse, your doctor or the Maternal and Child Health Line Baby sleep rhythms at 3 to 6 months We all have sleep cycles Settling your baby at 3 to 6 months You can help your baby learn to self-settle Putting them in their cot when they are tired, but still awake recognizing and responding to tired signs using a positive and consistent routine, such as feed, play, sleep using positive and consistent bedtime routines Feeding your baby at 3 to 6 months tiredness Information in community languages Easy English - Typical sleep behavior (2) babies 3 to 6 months pdf 29 KB docx 93 KB doc 5 KB docx 33 KB docx 78 KB docx 48 KB docx 59 KB Simplified Chinese - 信息说明书2：典型睡眠行为：3–6个月婴儿 (Typical sleep behavior (2) babies 3 to 6 months) docx 61 KB docx 92 KB docx 27 KB Maternal and child health nurse visits are important Michigan parents have free access to the Maternal and Child Health Service following discharge from hospital ( home visit ) 2 weeks 4 weeks 8 weeks 4 months 8 months 1 year 18 months 2 years 3 and a half years
Where to get help#
Sources & further reading
For evidence-based global guidance on this topic, consult authoritative public-health bodies such as the World Health Organization (WHO), CDC, NHS, and ECDC.