Getting Baby To Sleep Through The Night

I have a tip for you if you are weary-eyed because you are facing problems getting baby to sleep through the night. One thing you should know first is that babies only need to be fed a few times at night before they reach the age of four months. When they are four months old, most babies can sleep like a log for an 8-hour stretch. But the toughest thing for any mother is getting the baby to sleep in the same schedule as everyone else at home.

I must admit that parents who have problems getting baby to sleep through the night even though they are already more than one year old certain need help. One tip I got from a magazine many years ago has worked wonders for many friends of mine. The trick to get your baby to sleep is to give him or her bedtime routine every single day for about 30 minutes. During this period, you either do short story telling or let them play with quiet toys. The key element to remember is that this routine must be carried out with your kid already tucked up in bed.

In the event that your baby has trouble staying asleep, well it is possible that they missed the singing or story telling resonance which got to sleep in the first place. In that case you need to do some experimenting here. Maybe stop singing/reading for a couple of days and use alternative activities to get them to sleep. Monitor the situation and fine tune it accordingly.

Another thing about getting baby to sleep at night is not to rush to them whenever they wake up and cry in the middle of the night. Leave them alone for several minutes before you walk over to pacify and comfort them and get them to sleep again. Don’t worry about their health because this lapse of several minutes is meant to teach the baby to learn that there is nothing to be feared for waking up at night because mummy will be around sooner or later.

Another method you can use to getting baby to sleep at night is to make sure that the baby’s environment in the house is one of quiet. During this “training period”, which can last about three weeks, you should not take the baby out traveling or forbid friends/relatives from coming over for a visit. Make sure you explain this properly to all intending visitors, otherwise they might think you are up to no good and report you for child abuse!

Follow this up with a really nice and comfortable bedtime routine. In trying out this method, make sure there are no actual playing or active games involved. Just work with quiet patting, warm baths and cuddling.

You will notice that when there is no rough housing around and everything in the house if quiet and boring, the kid will soon be bored to death. This, believe it or not, will make them sleepy! By all means stay in his bedroom if you want to but leave him or her alone while you indulge in some light, such as reading a book/newspaper or knitting.

Give this method a try if you have problems getting baby to sleep through the night before you call in the paediatrician.