At three months your baby may have stopped falling asleep anywhere and everywhere.

If this has happened to you and you have no idea what’s going on, you’re in luck.

I’m here to help.

Your baby has hit a major milestone. Their sleep is changing and they have developed a new skill called object permeance. This means they will no longer be happy falling asleep in your arms and waking up somewhere else.

They need to wake up in the same environment they fall asleep in.

What is object permeance?

Object permeance is the reason most babies at three months stop falling asleep everywhere.

Sleep can become a challenge, an unexplained mystery. This is particularly challenging if your baby has been sleeping excellently up until this point.

So, how can you teach a baby who is waking up every 45 minutes to sleep longer?

• Ensure the environment they wake up in is the exact same as the one they fell asleep in. For example, put your baby down for their nap in their cot, in their baby sleeping bag, making sure the room is dark. Choose a lullaby soothing music to block out external noise and say goodnight.

• Ensure you are not needed in their sleep routine (if you currently pat your baby to sleep, cuddle them or feed them, stop doing this). Only do these things to the point of your baby being drowsy.

• The final stage needs to be up to your baby. They need to fall asleep independently. This means they will not seek you when they wake up because they know how to get themselves back to sleep.

• If they do wake up in 45 minutes they will see their environment is the same and go back to sleep.

• If they wake up crying, give it thirty seconds before you go in. Don’t rush to go in because they just might surprise you and go back to sleep.

• If you do decide to go in, decide what you want before you enter the room.

• If you want your baby to go back to sleep, keep the room dark, pat them in their cot, soothe them and leave the room again, saying goodnight.

  Over time, your baby will get used to the skills you are teaching them. And remember this benefits both you and your baby. They can’t rely on you forever to fall asleep.

  You don’t want them to wake up every 45 minutes but neither do they!

  Restorative sleep is key to their development and a sleep routine will help you achieve this.

Get a free taster of the Abundant Baby Sleep Course today to get one step closer to 12 hours for sleep at night and 2 - 3 hours of sleep during the day!