How to Get Baby to Sleep Through the Night
Promote Better Sleep Habits to Prevent Future Bedtime Battles
Oct 27, 2009
When the baby isn’t sleeping, parents stay awake too. Helping baby sleep is one of the toughest challenges of new parenthood. Getting through those first few months will require mutual support, patience, and persistence. Even so, parents may wonder how to get baby to sleep through the night. There are many tips that will help baby sleep, and it is best to promote good sleep habits as early as possible.
Promote Better Sleep Habits Through Routine
Children thrive on routine, and even at a tender young age, they begin to understand what the daily schedule is. Babies become used to waking at a certain hour, going to bed at a regular time, sleeping in a specific location, and performing various bedtime activities. Once accustomed to a bedtime routine, infants get comfortable, feel safer, and the predictability of good habits can help a child relax and sleep better.
Begin by establishing an infant bedtime routine that is fun and comfortable for the baby. Bedtime activities may include washing the infant with warm water and a face towel, playing gentle music, or singing a soft song. Even reading a short story to a baby can be part of the schedule.
Persistence Will Get Baby to Sleep Through the Night
Parents will agree that establishing an infant bedtime routine is how to get baby to sleep through the night most effectively, but schedules can be different for each infant and are usually developed through a process of trial and error. The important thing is that once a routine is working, parents need to be persistent, yet flexible. They also need to be aware of developmental changes that will warrant modifications to the schedule.
Here are a few baby bedtime tips to promote better sleep habits and prevent future older kids’ bedtime battles:
- Establish bedtime routine as early as possible.
- Make the crib/bed a comfortable place.
- Do not allow toys in the baby’s crib (with the exception of one small soft toy).
- Have mom hold the sleep item (blanket or stuffed animal) for a while so that it smells familiar.
- Let baby cry for a few short minutes to give him a chance to fall asleep on his own.
- Do not let baby cry for hours.
- If the baby is sleeping, put him down in his bed.
- Keep the baby’s room dim or dark.
- Keep noises at night to a minimum.
- Contrast daytime activities/feedings with bright lights and normal noise.
- Use bedtime word cues such as, “Good night”, or “Hush.”
- Sing a short song as a bedtime cue.
- Try to keep bedtime at a reasonably early hour.
- Establish a regular naptime routine.
Modifying Routine With Infant Growth and Developmental Changes
A good way to know when it is time to change an infant’s sleep routine is to keep a sleep diary or log. If parents note down the following helpful information, they will see changes happening that may warrant bedtime routine modifications:
- How long is infant bedtime routine
- What bedtime activities performed
- How long it took for baby to fall asleep
- Time baby fell asleep
- Time baby woke up
- Minutes baby stayed awake
- What baby wanted (feeding, wet diaper, etc.)
- How baby fell back to sleep
- Time baby fell back to sleep
- How long baby stayed asleep
Trends and time changes will be much more easily spotted with a sleep diary. Also, if baby sleep problems occur that warrant a doctor’s visit, the sleep log will be a great tool and helpful to a pediatrician for troubleshooting purposes.
Establishing a firm, consistent baby bedtime schedule will promote better sleep habits in infants and will be how to get baby to sleep through the night sooner rather than later. By following the baby bedtime tips above and creating a sleep diary to help maintain an effective and flexible bedtime routine, parents will eventually enjoy children who have better sleep habits. They may also avoid common kids’ bedtime battles in the future.
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