You did it! You have officially made it through the newborn baby stage and entered the infant stage. These infant summaries will cover the infant months: 3 month to 6 month olds, the halfway mark to baby’s first birthday!
At this point, most parents are starting to settle into life with a baby, whether you’re new parents or not! Baby sleeping through the night is within reach and, by the end of this time frame, so is an introduction to solid foods!
This stage of baby’s development is full of growth and milestones. There’s something to look forward not just every week but also every day as baby becomes more and more aware of the world around her!
While newborn babies have to eat every three hours, infants will likely move to a 4-hour feeding schedule by six months. Baby’s sleep cycle will also change and thanks to sleep training, they will start developing healthy sleep habits and circadian rhythm, meaning their nighttime sleep will get longer. They may still need night feedings or you may able to drop the night feeds completely. Exciting stuff!
This stage is often considered the “golden” or “enchanted” age of babyhood because young babies are mostly happy and engaged (and mom and dad are finally closer to getting enough sleep!) Of course, each stage of the first year (and beyond) is magical in itself and presents its own unique challenges and triumphs.
Here are infant summaries of months 3-6 of a baby’s life, from sleep schedules to major milestones plus some real-world examples from four different babies! It is my hope in sharing these that I can help other mamas who are navigating the waters of establishing healthy sleep habits for their babies. I know many people are tempted to hire a sleep consultant but I have all the info and tips you need – for free! I never paid any sort of pediatric sleep consultant and all four of my babies were (and continue to be) wonderful sleepers!
Looking for newborn summaries and sleep schedules? Go here!
Disclaimer: post contains affiliate links.
Three Month Old Baby Summary
By three months of age, your baby is doing more than just smiling: this is also the time when most babies start cooing, babbling, and laughing at random! These moments are so sweet and precious. They may even start stringing syllables together as they start to grasp the very beginnings of language!
Hand-eye coordination skills begin to develop further during this month as well as they grab for anything that captures their interest… usually with intentions of putting it in their mouth, which is how babies learn about their world! Bright colors, fun textures, and musical toys will delight and enchant your little one!
By week 15, baby may have figured out how to roll over, front to back or back to front. Soon, they may be rolling across the floor. Exciting, but also worth taking precautions for! By this time, you will want to drop the swaddle!
Even though babies at this age are becoming stronger and more in control of their limbs, SIDS is still something to be aware of and it is crucial to make sure you’re implementing safe sleep practices and being consistent with all caregivers. Infant mortality isn’t something any of us like to think about but the data in the health care industry reminds us that sudden infant death syndrome actually peaks around ages 2-4 months with a steep decline after 6 months.
Tummy time is a great thing to continue at this stage, even if they may protest! It’s essential for strengthening their neck, back, and arm muscles. They will likely be able to lift their heads 90 degrees at this point thanks to the exercise!
Baby’s wake window becomes longer by this time which means more independent playtime and bonding with siblings!
You’ve likely been able to drop nighttime feedings by now which is absolutely glorious! Sleep deprivation for mom is on the decline… finally!!!
Of course, as one thing gets a little easier, others may get a bit trickier. Around this age, babies may begin showing signs of teething which can cause pain and sleep disruption, even though a first tooth may not still appear for several months. Be mindful of your baby’s weight and age and review the current recommendations and guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics as well as the Center for Disease Control if you’re considering giving any medicine to help ease the teething pain. I have lots of other helpful teething tips here!
This is also a good time to check in on your baby’s car seat – review the instructions and make sure you don’t need to make any changes or adjustments to continue keeping your baby as safe as possible while in the car!
3-Month-Old Baby Sleep Schedule
Between 3 and 6 months, Babywise suggests transitioning to the 4-hour schedule. Every baby is a little bit different, but you can usually tell when they start sleeping very solid during their daytime naps and have to be woken up to eat!
If your baby isn’t quite ready for the 4-hour schedule but is getting there, you can either keep them on a 3-hour schedule or do a 3-3.5 hour schedule instead! That’s what I did with Britt, my second child, and it worked out great!
Every baby has different sleep needs and the amount of sleep depends not only on how old they are, but how they’re made. Identifying if your child is a high or low sleep needs baby will determine how much sleep they need and explain why they’re prone to longer naps or short naps.
Having multiple children can make daily schedules a bit tricky, my rule of thumb is to always put the baby’s sleep needs first for the first year of life and revolve all other children’s schedules around that! When baby is well-rested, everyone benefits.
Speaking of sibilngs, be sure to carve out some free time to take older children on a “mommy date” too! It’s a great way to help them feel special, even just a quick grocery run where they get to push the cart can make a huge impact.
- 7:00: start the day, baby wakes, diaper changes, eat
- 8:00-8:30: change diaper, get dressed, awake time
- 8:30-10:30: nap
- 10:30-11:30: eat
- 11:30-12:00: change diaper, awake time
- 12:00-2:00: nap
- 2:00-3:00: eat
- 3:00-3:30: change diaper, awake time, alone time with Mommy
- 3:30-5:00: nap
- 5:00-6:00: eat
- 6:00-6:30: change diaper, awake time, family dinner
- 6:30-8:20: nap
- 8:20: awake, bath, put pjs on
- 8:30-9:30: eat, last feeding of day
- 9:30: put directly to bed after eating
3 Month Old Sample Summaries
Here are the sample summaries by week for each of my four kids! I didn’t record every week for every child during this period, and after this point, I switch to monthly summaries for easy reference!
Kye’s 3 Month Infant Summaries
Britt’s 3 Month Infant Summaries
Tess’s 3 Month Infant Summaries
Spear’s 3 Month Infant Summaries
Big Milestones in Month 3
- Baby will start laughing out loud – so cute!
- Baby may also start stringing sounds together into baby babble, the first step toward saying words!
- Baby may be able to handle longer awake times, which means she may be ready to move to a 4-hour schedule and be introduced to independent playtime.
- Baby will most likely figure out how to roll over in one direction and turn in the direction of a sound. She’s taken her first step to being mobile!
- Baby may also be able to lift her head 90 degrees thanks to tummy time practice!
Four Month Old Baby Summary
Four month old babies are developing those social skills and their little personalities have really started to emerge! They often laugh a lot, blow raspberries, make plenty of babbling sounds and string syllables together that may sound like words! They’re not quite talking yet but… their first words are not far behind!!!
Talking to them and making eye contact with them is huge for their development and is the best way to boost those language skills!
Tummy time is still a great activity for their development and by this time, they will probably be able to push up to their elbows as well as lift their head 90 degrees! Don’t be surprised if your four month old baby sleep is a little bit impacted by all the new skills he or she is practicing – who needs lots of hours sleep when you can be rolling around in your crib instead, right? 😉
Independent playtime may be easier for them because, by this time, they may be content to sit by themselves and watch everything happen around them. This is because their eyesight and depth perception are well-developed and they’re able to entertain themselves by looking around or playing with their hands!
They can focus and follow objects and may reach for things they want… and get frustrated when they can’t reach it!
A lot of babies can also bear some weight in their legs when held upright.
At this stage you are most likely getting pretty well adjusted to having a baby sleep longer stretches and have solid daytime sleep, but babies love to throw a good curve ball at you 😉 You may experience 4 month sleep regression with your baby and if you do, here’s what to do about it!
Also, be careful not to compare your baby to other babies, as much as you may want to! Especially if you follow the Babywise method, as I did, and interact with the Babywise Mom community. Just remember that each baby is unique and different and there is no perfect baby, let alone a perfect Babywise baby!
If you compare every Babywise baby with their four month old sleep schedules you’d see a bit of variation with every single one. Some babies may sleep longer, some may spend more hours awake. Some four month old babies sleep solid, some four month old babies need a bit of help to stick to their schedules, especially at that last nap!
It’s important to remind yourself that you’re doing a GREAT JOB! If it feels overwhelming, take a break. Make sure to carve out time for yourself in your schedule too – and get outside if at all possible. There is just something about 20 minutes of fresh air that helps keep even the most frustrating moments in perspective.
4 Month Old Sample Schedule
By this time, most of my babies had transitioned to a 4-hour schedule. This is a very detailed summary of the eat, wake, sleep schedule I followed with Britt, baby number 2. This sample sleep schedule may also help you get a good idea of what a 24-hour period and daily routine looks like with multiple kids, especially with Babywise!
- 7:00: start the day, change diaper, eat.
- My three year old eats breakfast with my husband while I nurse her.
- After breakfast: tummy time (10 minutes per awake time, three times a day) or independent playtime (15 minutes per awake time, three times a day)
- If Kye (my son) doesn’t have school they will have sibling time together in the pack and play after independent playtime.
- During morning awake time I get her dressed and change her diaper. If Kye has school and I take him then we do rush a good bit!
- 8:45-9:00: Down for nap. I sing to her, swaddle her, turn on her fan and put her down. She will usually “talk” and “babble” for a few minutes before falling asleep.
- If Kye is home he will go upstairs for his room time (45 minutes) and will enjoy his movie time while I nurse Britt at 11:00.
- 11:00: Wake Britt up, change the diaper, nurse.
- If we need to run an errand we do it during this awake time. I will pump at bottle at 10:00 and wake Britt up at 10:40 then hop in the car and go.
- I will feed her the bottle once we arrive at the location for the errand, run the errand and be home before her next nap time!
- If we are home then following her nursing session at 11:00 we will do the same routine as the morning awake time. Including tummy time and independent playtime.
- While Britt is doing her independent playtime I’m able to get lunch prepared for Kye!
- 12:00: Kye has his lunch (on school days he doesn’t get home until closer to 12:30). This is the trickiest time of the day!
- Once Kye finishes lunch we all read a book together and pray together. Kye will then go potty and put his PJs on while I’m putting Britt to bed.
- 1:00: Both kids down for a nap! This is my big chunk of alone time each day to get things done.
- 3:00: Britt’s up to nurse. Usually, Kye sleeps until 3:30 but if he’s awake at 3 I just let him get up. If he’s up he will sit and play nicely while she nurses.
- After Feeding: We go in and wake up Kye by 4:00 if he’s not already up. Then we cuddle and play in his bed just the three of us for a bit.
- Kye then puts back on his clothes and Britt has her tummy time and independent playtime.
- 5:00: Zach gets home from work, Britt goes down for her evening nap. This naptime is nice as it allows me to cook dinner!
- 6:00: Dinner time. Britt usually wakes up at this time crying (usually this is her only tough nap of the day, which is typical at this age).
- We let her fuss until 6:20. If she isn’t back to sleep by then, we go ahead and get her up. It’s normal for babies to experience a “witching hour” which is their most fussy time of the day and it is typically in the evening time.
- 6:40: If Britt is still sleeping, Zach and Kye get her up for bathtime. I clean up dinner so Zach can have quality time with Britt during the bath.
- After bathtime, I go in and do a baby massage with Britt before getting her ready for bed.
- 7:00: I nurse Britt for her bedtime feeding. Zach gives Kye his bath.
- Kye was going to bed at 7:15 but we bumped it up to 7:45 and it’s allowed him to have longer baths and have more time for stories and cuddles before bed and is helping him sleep better at nap.
- We all say prayers together (I’m typically still nursing Brittlynn when Kye is heading to bed!)
- Brittlynn usually finishes her nightly nursing session sometime around 8:00.
- When she’s close to finishing I will go ahead and swaddle her then top her off and put her straight to bed!
- Often she is asleep when I lay her down but if she’s awake then I sing a song to her and say a prayer with her too.
- 10:30: I usually pump before going to bed to avoid being super full in the morning (although I usually still wake up pretty full).
Sample 4 Month Old Infant Summaries
Here are the monthly infant summaries for all 4 of my kiddos during month four!
Big Milestones in Month 4
- Makes vowel sounds and strings sounds together to make almost-words
- Rolls over
- Can track moving things with their eyes and recognize specific people and things, including themselves in the mirror!
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Five Month Old Summary
At five months old, babies are all personality and exploration! This is when they start to understand object permanence, which means they’re more likely to respond to and enjoy games like “peek-a-boo!” So fun!
Babies start moving around on the floor a lot more at this point, too. They may not be crawling quite yet, but they creep around and turn around to follow sights and sounds.
Upper body strength is pretty well-developed and it’s time for the legs and torso to have their turn! Holding them in an upright standing or sitting position will help strengthen those muscles and get them ready for crawling and walking!
Baby may also be able to recognize her name as her hearing and vision become fully developed!
Sleep schedules get easier, as baby is pretty well-adjusted to their bedtime routine and is most likely on the 4-hour sleep schedule. She sleeps longer stretches at night and might even be sleeping through the night for a total of 10 to 12 hours. The four hour sleep schedule allows for longer wake windows and time together. Typically the four hour schedule also more easily aligns with older siblings and your infant and toddler sleep may even align smoothly for you to get a nice chunk of time during the day for yourself!
This is typically a bit of a slower developmental stage with less likely chance of any major growth spurt, the four month time period is filled with a lot of leaps whereas things cool off a bit (and Mommy gets a little break) with a 5-month-old baby. This is a great time for you to catch up on some of those sleepless nights and get some good deep sleep for YOU!
A lower sleep needs baby may begin to have some sleep problems with the evening cat nap. It may be impacting other naps and causing shorter naps over all. Many babies drop the evening cat nap around the six-month mark but some may want to try dropping it a little earlier. This cat nap being dropped changes the nap schedule but does not typically cause any major changes in the baby’s sleep schedule or baby’s day overall. Feeding schedules and baby’s needs overall remain the same. It’s usually one of the smoother transitions during the first year 😉
Here is everything you need to know about dropping the third nap!
5 Month Old Sleep Schedule
- 6:45-7:15: Wake up, change diaper, nurse (no solids yet…still just nursing her!)
- After nursing: Independent Playtime
- 8:35ish: Bible Storytime
- 8:45-9:00: Down for nap (Kye has room time during her nap)
- 10:45-11:15: Up from nap, change diaper, nurse (Kye usually watches movie while I nurse her for this feeding)
- After nursing: Independent Playtime
- 12:45-12:55: Down for nap
- 2:45-3:15: Up from nap, diaper change, nurse
- After nursing: Independent Playtime
- 4:45: Down for nap
- 7:00: Nurse
- 7:20: Family story time, family prayers
- 7:35: Brittlynn down for the night
- 7:45 Kye down for the night
5 Month Old Infant Summaries
Here are the 5 month infant summaries including sample schedules for all four of the kiddos, from oldest to youngest!
Developmental Milestones in Month 5
- Baby may start creeping around the floor (preparing to crawl!)
- Baby may be able to sit up almost on their own or bear more weight in their legs when held upright
- Recognizes/responds to her name