Typical sleep behaviour (2) – babies 3 to 6 months

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 Tel.

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 Tel.

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 behaviour (2) babies 3 to 6 months) Burmese - အချက်အလက်မှတ်တမ်း 2 - ပုံမှန်အိပ်စက်ခြင်း အပြုအမူ - နို့စို့ကလေးငယ်များ 3-6 လ (Typical sleep behaviour (2) babies 3 to 6 months) Dari - صحيفة المعلومات 2، سلوك النوم المعتاد: الأطفال 3-6 أشهر (Typical sleep behaviour (2) – babies 3 to 6 months) Khmer - សន្លឹកព័ត៌មានទី២៖ ឥរិយាបទគេងជាធម្មតា៖ ទារកអាយុ៣-៦ខែ (Typical sleep behaviour (2) babies 3 to 6 months) Persian - برگه اطلاع رسانی 2: رفتار معمول خواب: نوزادان 3 تا 6 ماهه (Typical sleep behaviour (2) babies 3 to 6 months) Punjabi - ਤੱਥ ਸ਼ੀਟ 2: ਨੀਂਦ ਦੇ ਖਾਸ ਵਿਵਹਾਰ: ਬੱਚੇ 3-6 ਮਹੀਨੇ (Typical sleep behaviour (2) babies 3 to 6 months) Spanish - Hoja informativa 2: Conducta habitual del sueño en bebés de 3 a 6 meses (Typical sleep behaviour (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 behaviour (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 centre visit.

, Canterbury Tel. , South Morang Tel. , Footscray and Werribee Tel. (24 hours a day, every day) – Speak and listen Tel. , SMS relay Tel. For translated fact sheets go to Information in community languages Baby sleep patterns and behaviours at 3 to 6 months your local maternal and child nurse , your doctor or the Maternal and Child Health Line 13 22 29 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 recognising 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 13 22 29 Information in community languages Easy English - Typical sleep behaviour (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 behaviour (2) babies 3 to 6 months) docx 61 KB docx 92 KB docx 27 KB Maternal and child health nurse visits are important Michigann 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 Your local maternal and child health service Your GP (doctor) Maternal and Child Health Line 13 22 29 – available 24 hours a day for the cost of a local call throughout Michigan Mercy Health O’Connell Family Centre (616) 555-0200 Mercy Health Woi-wurrung-yagila-wulumperi Whittlesea Early Parenting Centre (616) 555-0200 Queen Elizabeth Centre (QEC) (616) 555-0200 Tweddle Child and Family Health Service (616) 555-0200 Aboriginal Health Service (VAHS) 03 9419 3000 Parentline 13 22 89 Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) 131 450 – available (24 hours, 7 days a week) for callers who speak other languages National Relay Service (616) 555-0400 133 677 0423 677 767 Captioned, internet and video relay calls are also available through this service NURSE-ON-CALL (616) 555-0024 – for expert health advice 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.