How to get your baby to sleep through the night: Tips to getting your baby to sleep through the night

How can I get my baby to sleep through the night? What would make my baby sleep through the night? Why won't my baby sleep through the night?

If your baby is hungry, he/she will not sleep through the night. This being said, a full tummy equals a longer night of sleep. Other disturbances such as a wet diaper (if the type you use isn’t absorbent enough), a dirty diaper (these don’t usually absorb well if at all and can be annoying to the baby), a cold or flu, being gassy or having slept too long during the day, can all hamper a long stretch of sleep at night.

To aid in having your baby have a good nights rest, develop a good night time routine. Work towards a long stretch by considering everything you do throughout the day and leading towards bedtime.

1.      Try and keep your baby awake at least for a few hours during the day leading towards bedtime. From around 4pm or 5pm depending on what time bedtime is, find ways of entertaining your baby and keeping him/her awake. You need to adjust this according to your bedtime. Try and make it no more then 4 or 5 hours before bed as keeping him/her awake for too long can result in a crabby, cranky unhappy baby which may take longer to put to bed.

2.      Make sure that your baby goes to bed on a full tummy. Feed your baby as often as you can throughout the day and leading to bedtime. Give him/her a sufficient serving right before you go to bed. If he/she is asleep, wake him/her for a final feeding right before you go to bed as this will make your stretch of sleep just as long as his/hers.

3.      Help him/her differentiate between nighttime and daytime. All babies have no way of differentiating between daytime and nighttime - for them it’s all the same. By you helping them differentiate you can ensure that they sleep longer at night and are more alert or spend more time awake during the day. A good way to differentiate would be to differ with feedings. During the day while feeding him/her speak to him/her, be playful and engaging. During a nighttime feed allow for more quiet and calm time – dim the lights, speak in a low tone and rock him/her. Try and get him/her to go to sleep straight after a feeding – no games or stimulation. You cannot force sleep on your little one but with the right attitude and atmosphere you can encourage it.