How Do I Discern Between Extra Sleep & Growth Spurt in my 3 Month Old?

by Babywise.life
Dec 12, 2018

Thank you for asking us about your 3 month old. Let me start by making sure I understand your entire question:

Hi! First time mom here. We’ve been doing Babywise since 3 weeks old (11 week old now) and have been sleeping 6+ hours ever since she bought into the Parent Directed Feeding thing :). We’re in Merge 3 but Baby Girl has been doing 5 feedings a day some days. She sometimes sleeps through one morning feeding by either sleeping in too late or taking an extra long nap. She is still sleeping 8-10 hours every night. Do I let her continue on this pattern?

Here are a couple of thoughts:

How long has she been sleeping through that mid-morning feeding? It's typical for babies to have a growth spurt right around 12 weeks (give or take) and it's possible she was just needing a little extra sleep to get through that, but it should only last a couple of days and then she should go right back to the normal schedule.
If it has been more than a few days, it's probably not a growth spurt and you won't want to let her sleep through that feeding. I know it's really hard to wake a sleeping baby! Try to stick to that three hour sleep/feed/wake cycle.
How early is her first feeding every day? Is it at a consistent time every morning? If she needs more sleep, you can try putting her to bed earlier at night and see if she adjusts her schedule accordingly. Skipping a part of that sleep/feed/wake cycle during the day could eventually cause problems with her nighttime sleep.

May 31, 2018

Understanding Baby Growth Spurts

by Valerie Plowman

How to know what causes growth spurts and when to expect them.