When will my newborn / baby start sleeping through the night?

What does it mean to sleep through the night? How can I get my baby to sleep through the night?

Before being able to denote an approximate or average time for a baby to ‘sleep through the night’ it’s important to understand what is meant by the term. The term ‘sleeping through the night’ has been defined as a baby sleeping for at least 5 hours. For example, if your baby sleeps for at least 5 hours straight (from midnight to 5am, 11pm to 4am, 1am to 6am, etc) then he or she is sleeping through the night.

If your baby is waking up every hour, two hours, three or four hours for feeding or anything else then he or she isn’t sleeping through the night yet.

Babies develop and grow differently. There is no set time or period for any milestone when it comes to babies. There is an average or estimated period or range to help you gain an idea on when you could expect or hope for your baby to sleep for longer periods – including sleeping through the night. This may range from 6 weeks to 3 months. Most babies sleep longer stretches once solids are introduced as this keeps them fuller for longer.