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

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.

For more insights, you may want to check out this sample 3 month old sleep schedule or our article on understanding the 4 month sleep regression

Keep an eye on things and let us know if you have any further questions. Thanks so much for reaching out!