The Playbook

Your Baby at 3 Months: More Play, Longer Stretches, Back to Work

By the Guide to Fatherhood editorial team. Last reviewed . 2 min read.

Checked against guidance from organizations like the AAP, CDC, ACOG and NHS (linked below). This is general information, not medical advice. Read our medical disclaimer.

Your to-do list this month

  • Build a short daily play routine: floor time, reading a board book, a walk outside.
  • If you're going back to work, protect one daily ritual: the morning feed, bath time, or bedtime.
  • Do a dry run of the childcare drop-off and pick-up before the first real day.
  • Re-split the house chores now that the newborn phase is ending. What's fair has changed.
A conversation to have this month

"Now that one of us is going back to work, how do we keep things fair at home?" Talk about evenings, nights and weekends specifically.

What your baby is doing

Around 3 months, many babies seem to wake up to the world. According to the AAP, babies in this stretch typically:

  • Raise their head and chest during tummy time, supporting themselves on their forearms.
  • Open and close their hands, bring hands to mouth, and swipe at dangling toys.
  • Watch faces intently and follow moving objects with their eyes.
  • Smile at the sound of your voice and start to “talk back” with coos and gurgles.

By 4 months, the CDC lists milestones like chuckling, holding a toy you put in their hand, and pushing up on elbows during tummy time.

Sleep

Some babies start sleeping longer stretches at night around now; many don’t yet. Night feeds are still normal. The AAP suggests a simple, consistent bedtime routine (bath, pajamas, feed, book, bed) and putting the baby down drowsy but awake. Same safe sleep rules as always: back, own bare sleep space, your room.

If you’re still swaddling, watch closely for signs of rolling. Once the baby starts trying to roll, swaddling should stop. See how to swaddle.

Play ideas for dads

You don’t need educational toys. You need floor time and attention.

  • Tummy time on your chest, then on a play mat with you face-to-face.
  • Narrate everything: “Now I’m putting on your sock. One sock. Where’s the other sock?” It builds language.
  • Board books with high-contrast pictures. Reading to babies this young is about rhythm and closeness.
  • Walks: in a carrier or stroller, talking about what you see.

The return to work

Around 12 weeks is when many parents’ leave ends. If it’s you, your partner, or both:

  • Practice the morning. Do a full dry run of the routine and the drop-off before day one.
  • Pick a ritual you own so you stay connected: the morning feed, bath time, bedtime.
  • Rebalance the house. The newborn split doesn’t fit anymore. Talk about evenings and nights.
  • Expect a wobbly first week. For everyone. More in going back to work.

Frequently asked questions

Do 3-month-olds sleep through the night?

Some sleep longer stretches by now, but many still wake to feed, and that's normal. Ask your pediatrician before cutting night feeds. Keep following safe sleep rules for every sleep.

Sources

  1. Developmental Milestones: 1 to 4 Months, American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org)
  2. Getting Your Baby to Sleep, AAP (HealthyChildren.org)
  3. Milestones by 4 Months, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

We link to the original source for every medical and safety claim. Guidance changes; if a source has been updated since our last review, the source wins. How we research.