How To Get My 14, 15, or 16 Week Old Baby To Sleep

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Congratulations! You’ve just completed your “4th Trimester” otherwise known as your baby’s first 3 months ex utero and helped your 11, 12, or 13 week old sleep. What does this mean? For many babies it means they begin waking up more at night or have difficulty napping. Uh oh! So, it’s no wonder one of the most common questions we get here at The Baby Sleep Site^® is “How do I get my 14, 15 or 16 week old to sleep?”

While some babies can be challenging sleepers from birth, many will go through periods where they sleep well, only to regress. What’s a sleepy parent to do!? Let’s take a look at the 6 steps to help your 14, 15, or 16 week old baby sleep.

As soon as you get into a nice routine with your new baby, sometimes 3 month olds will do a 180, and sleep quickly unravels. Whether your baby suddenly cannot be put down without waking up or has begun taking teeny tiny catnaps, you are not alone! And, we have the keys to getting your 14, 15 or 16 week old (and YOU) the best sleep possible!

How To Get My 14, 15 or 16 Week Old To Sleep At-a-Glance

1. Develop a consistent sleep routine
2. Review your baby’s schedule
3. Consider gentle sleep coaching/training
4. Create a sleep plan for your family
5. Gather support from your village
6. Prepare for the next sleep speedbump

And, now for a few details…

1. Develop a sleep routine for your 14, 15 or 16 week old

Setting the environment for sleep is crucial and part of cuing your baby it’s time for sleep is to have a consistent set of steps you do each sleep period, at night and at nap times. For those parents who aren’t that thrilled about strict routines, have no fear, the sleep routine does NOT have to be long. For instance, you can shut the curtains or blinds, change your baby’s diaper, sing a lullaby or two, feed the baby (if appropriate), cuddle the baby for a few minutes, and then lay your baby down for sleep while saying a key phrase (e.g. “Sleepy time for baby. I love you. Night night.”).

2. Review your 14, 15 or 16 week old’s schedule

For some 14, 15 or 16 week old babies, their sleep schedule is fundamental to helping them sleep well. Some babies are more adaptable or less sensitive and will not need a very regimented schedule, though for a lot of parents it’s a sanity saver! Since you may not know (yet) which type of baby you have at just 3 months young, I strongly recommend developing a good schedule to see what type of impact it may or may not have on your baby’s sleep. For all you know, that’s all you have to do! Some families, depending on their situation, can’t stick to a precise schedule as well as others, but just do your best. What type of schedule you ask? Check out our sample schedules here or make your own custom schedule!

3. Consider gentle sleep training (or coaching) for your 14, 15 or 16 week old

If the previous steps haven’t significantly improved your 14, 15, or 16 week old’s sleep and you’ve downloaded our free e-Book, 5 Ways to Help Your Child Sleep through the Night, it’s likely your 3 month old has sleep associations that need to be resolved with gentle sleep training. Ideally, you’d get a professional assessment of your baby’s sleep challenges, but if you feel certain a dependence on parental help is part of the issue, then you may want to consider gently sleep coaching your baby towards more independent sleep. This essentially involves helping your baby learn to fall asleep on their own, without as much help from you. Given your baby’s age and our experience, however, we do feel strongly this should be done using a hands-on, gentle sleep coaching method.

Not sure where to begin? Check out my tele-seminar No-Cry and Limited Crying Sleep Coaching Techniques (and Common Pitfalls)

4. Create a plan for your 14, 15 or 16 week old

If you’re considering gentle sleep training, you need to figure out what to do next. Some of us are planners and others simply “wing it.” If you’re not a planner, you can certainly skip this step, but if you’ve been trying to help your 14, 15, or 16 week old sleep for a while now, you’ve developed a routine, reviewed the schedule, and plugging along without a set strategy isn’t working out so well, maybe a plan is just what you’re missing. After all, it’s hard to know how to get to where you’re going without a travel plan. Make the plan as detailed as you want it, but having a step-by-step plan helps you stay on track, committed, and consistent. Not sure where to begin or need help creating your baby’s sleep plan? Consider making your own sleep plan or letting us create a Personalized Sleep Plan™ for you and your baby.

5. Get support for your 14, 15 or 16 week old’s parents (you!)

We hear everywhere that “it takes a village” to raise a child, but gone seem to be the days where we have a lot of help nurturing our babies. I don’t know about you, but my mom came out for one week when my first baby was a newborn, but that was about it. My husband and I were largely on our own. No Aunts to regularly hold the baby while I took a nap or enjoyed a (hopefully hot) meal. So, getting through this 14, 15, or 16 week old trouble spot can be tough without support. We sometimes have to recruit our own village. Consider hiring a sleep consultant or asking your partner, friends, or family members to help you implement your sleep plan. Having a support system in place can make all the difference in the world in reaching your sleep goals!

6. Prepare for your 14, 15 or 16 week old’s next speedbump

Whether you’ve already made some progress getting your 14, 15, or 16 week old to sleep or you’re just beginning your research into helping your baby sleep, it’s important to never lose sight of “what’s next.” Why? Because babies are constantly changing! So be prepared and make sure you plan ahead and have a game plan in place before the next sleep regression or speedbump emerges. Around 4 months old your baby may experience their first sleep regression. What’s a “sleep regression” you ask? Now’s the time to begin thinking about how you’ll help your baby through any potential setbacks (teething, travel, and illness are BIG ones!) – sometimes the key to overcoming or even avoiding setbacks is understanding when they are likely to happen and having a plan in place for how you’ll get through them!

So, is your 14, 15 or 16 week old sleeping? Or, maybe it’s time to learn how to get your 4 month old sleeping?

Struggling with your baby’s sleep? We can help. Since 2008, we have helped thousands of families around the world with their babies' sleep problems, and we can help you, too! Tap into 10+ years of experience and take a look at our consultation packages to see which one looks like a good fit for you.

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Need Baby and Toddler Sleep Help? We Have the Resources You Need!

For those persistent nighttime struggles, check out The 3 Step System to Help Your Baby Sleep. Using the same unique approach and practical tools for success, this e-book helps you and your baby sleep through the night.

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