As parents, we all know how important sleep is for babies…and us! But it doesn’t always come easily. What’s a tired parent to do? To get your baby to sleep through the night, prepare the room for sleep, make sure their needs are met, and set a bedtime routine.
And remember that sleeping through the night takes time. Newborns wake up frequently to eat, but as they grow, they can sleep for longer stretches.
In this article, we’ll tell you how much sleep your little one needs, why they might be up, and how to get them off to dreamland so you can do the same.
Table of contents
- A baby’s sleep needs
- Reasons why babies wake up at night
- How to get baby to sleep through the night: Considerations
- How to get baby to sleep through the night: Tips
Key Takeaways
A baby’s sleep needs
Every baby is different with regard to the exact number of hours of sleep they need. Here’s a general rule of thumb based solely on age:
- Newborn to three months: 14 to 18 hours of sleep in a 24-hour period
- Four to twelve months: 12 to 16 hours of sleep in a 24-hour period
Baby sleep is a little different than clocking the eight hours you’re used to as an adult. Although newborns need a good amount of sleep, that sleep is delivered in short bursts. It happens like this: Baby nods off and then awakens every two to three hours when they’re ready for a feeding. After the feeding, they’re off to dreamland again.
Other factors may affect how long your baby will sleep, including whether they were born prematurely and what they are being fed.
Over time, your baby’s sleep and awake times get longer until, around about three to four months, they may sleep up to five hours at night and, by the end of the first year, up to 10 hours at night.
Keep in mind that infants and toddlers still experience sleep regressions during developmental stages, so you’re not completely out of the woods, but as your baby gets older, the whole sleep situation gets better.
Reasons why babies wake up at night
Newborns don’t yet have their circadian rhythm established, so they can’t tell the difference between day and night. It’s normal for young babies to wake up a few times each night.
However, if your little one is past that stage and still isn’t getting the sleep they need, there are many reasons why your little one might have difficulty sleeping through the night. Here are a few of them.
Hunger pains
If your baby’s got a rumble in their tummy, it’s no surprise that they’ll wake up to be fed. This is completely normal when they’re young and have a tiny stomach, but as they get older, you want to ensure that you’re feeding them close to bedtime to stretch out their sleep.
Digestive issues
If your baby’s tummy is feeling a little off, it could interfere with their sleep. Constipation, gas, bloating, and reflux are common digestive issues that newborns experience.
Soiled or wet diapers
You can’t blame your little one for not wanting to slumber while wearing a soiled or wet diaper. Babies’ digestive systems work all day and night, so bowel movements can happen while they are sleeping.
Developmental milestones
If your baby is just beginning to roll over, crawl, stand, walk, or babble, they may be waking up in the night because they’re hitting developmental milestones. With all of these new skills to practice, it’s not uncommon for them to take all hours of the day (and night) to do so.
Sickness
If your baby has a stuffy nose or is otherwise under the weather, it’s likely they’ll have a hard time getting to sleep. Bouts of sickness are common for babies, as their immune systems are still developing.
Teething
Because teething pains are a normal part of development, they’re hard to avoid. While your baby is cutting their teeth, they can experience symptoms such as irritability, drooling, and a mild fever, any of which can affect their sleep.
Security or bonding
Your little one might start feeling so attached that they can’t sleep without you holding them. As cute as this sounds, if your baby has separation anxiety, they’ll have a hard time settling down independently.
Growth spurts
When your baby is having a growth spurt, they often experience changes in their sleep patterns. This could be because of hunger (growing expends more energy) or discomfort, a.k.a. growing pains.
Some of these things can be avoided with extra planning before bed. For instance, it’s always smart to change your baby right before bed and give an additional feeding.
How to get baby to sleep through the night: Considerations
Wondering how to get your baby to sleep so you all can get some shuteye? There are a few things to consider first. Let’s take a look.
Age
Doctors don’t recommend starting sleep training until your baby is four to six months old. Before that, your little one may not be ready to regulate their sleep cycle.
Developmental milestones
Before sleep training, your little one should be ready to drop most nighttime feedings and should start showing signs of self-soothing. Also, the more they can move around, the more likely they are to find a comfortable position for sleep. This results in better sleep quality and fewer nighttime disruptions.
Medical issues
If your baby has medical concerns like digestive problems, teething pains, or reflux, it might not be the best time to start sleep training. Your baby has a good reason for waking up.
Parental readiness
When deciding whether it’s time to start training your baby how to sleep through the night, you’ll want to consider your own needs. Sleep training takes stamina, requiring you to be consistent and patient as your baby adjusts.
How to get baby to sleep through the night: Tips
If you’ve decided that it’s time to learn how to get your baby to sleep through the night, there are a few things to keep in mind to create a more restful evening for everyone.
1) Prepare the room for sleep.
Sleep environment
Be sure your baby’s nursery is conducive to a good night’s sleep. Here are some things to keep in mind.
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Make it dark. Make sure your baby gets natural light when they’re not sleeping to help their circadian rhythm develop. When it’s time for a nap or nighttime sleep, use darkness as a signal. If the light outside is seeping in, blackout curtains or shades can help.
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Keep it quiet. At nap or bedtime, it’s important that your home, and especially baby’s nursery, is quiet. If they can hear you in the other room, they may get FOMO and refuse to sleep.
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Check the thermostat. A room that’s too hot or too cold can interfere with sleep. To ensure your baby is comfortable at naptime, their room should be cool (not cold), with the temperature set between 68 and 72 degrees.
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Try a humidifier. If the room is too dry, use a cool mist humidifier to moisten the air so baby’s sleep is more comfortable. Be sure to set the relative humidity to between 40 and 60 percent. Anything over 60 percent can cause mold.
Safety concerns
Of course, you’ll also want to ensure that the nursery is as safe as it can be. Be sure to purchase a crib that complies with all current safety regulations. If you’re buying second-hand, confirm you have all the original pieces and hardware, as well as the assembly instructions.
As for the mattress, it’s important that it fits just right. You should not be able to slip more than two fingers between the crib and the mattress. And, where you place the crib in the room also matters for safety. It should be away from the window, dangling cords, humidifiers, and heaters.
Also, keep the crib bare, with no stuffed animals, pillows, bumpers, or toys: The crib should only contain the mattress, the fitted sheet, and your little bundle of joy.
2) Make sure the mattress is breathable and firm.
Your baby’s mattress should be both breathable and firm. Breathability promotes steady air circulation to help prevent overheating, while firmness ensures your baby won’t sink into a surface they can’t safely reposition on.
Newton’s Original Mattress is breathable, firm, and even washable from cover to core.
Our mattress also features a soft, quilted cover for the most comfortable sleep. You might want to add an Extra Cover and some soft Breathable, Organic Cotton Sheets to complete the crib set-up.
3) Check that your baby’s needs are met.
As we said, before putting your baby to bed, give them one extra feeding and change their diaper. This should buy you several hours before your little one needs your attention again.
4) Set a bedtime routine.
The bedtime routine is one of the most important things you can do to ensure your baby sleeps well. That’s because repeated steps help calm your baby’s brain, which supports their transition to restorative sleep.
There’s no hard-and-fast rule about what should make up your baby’s routine. It should just be a series of calming and consistent steps that take about 20 minutes to complete before naptime or bedtime. Here are some ideas:
- Give baby a bath
- Change them into pajamas
- Play quiet music
- Dim the lights
- Read a bedtime story
- Give a baby massage
5) Put your baby to bed drowsy.
Sleeping through the night is an exercise in your baby’s independence. When they go to bed drowsy, they’re able to self-soothe, improving their overall sleep.
6) Set a sleep schedule.
Watch your baby’s sleep cues, get familiar with their wake windows, and set a schedule for your little one’s daily sleep. The schedule will give your baby a predictable routine so they begin to instinctively know when it’s time for bed.
Keep in mind that every baby is different, so your sleep schedule should be flexible. Track sleep patterns and adjust when needed.
7) Choose a sleep training method.
There are lots of different ways to sleep train, and they all have pros and cons. Techniques include:
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Cry it out or Extinction method: This is a method of sleep training where babies are taught to fall asleep independently by putting them to bed and leaving the room. Instead of tending to the baby when they wake up, baby “cries it out”, as long as basic needs are met.
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Ferber or Gradual Extinction method: The Ferber method of sleep training is like the Cry it out method, except instead of putting baby down and not returning to the room, the parent checks on the baby after progressively longer intervals of time. For instance, once baby’s put to bed, the parent returns after five minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, and so on.
- Chair method: With the Chair method of sleep training, the parent will sit in a chair next to the baby’s crib, soothing the baby by shushing, but not picking the baby up. Every few days, the parent moves the chair further from the baby and closer to the door until the baby is able to fall asleep independently.
- Fading method: With this method of sleep training, parents track their baby’s sleep for several days and take note of when their little one naturally falls asleep. They then make that “natural” time their baby’s new bedtime so they fall asleep quickly.
Some sleep training methods take longer but are more gentle, while others are more abrupt. Whatever method you choose, stay consistent.
8) Give baby a pacifier.
A pacifier can help your baby sleep, as the non-nutritive sucking is soothing and can calm any fussiness between feedings.
9) Get baby in the daylight early.
Exposing your little one to the sunlight in the morning will help them sleep better at night. That’s because natural morning light signals that it’s daytime, helping your little one establish their sleep-wake cycle.
10) Dress baby appropriately for bed.
When it’s time to go to sleep, dress your baby in one layer more than you would be comfortable in, given the nursery’s temperature. As babies can’t have blankets in their crib, it’s best to either wrap them in a swaddle or dress them in a sleepsack.
Swaddles can be used up until your baby starts showing signs of rolling over, which can happen as early as two months. After that, it’s no longer safe to swaddle your little one.
When your baby has outgrown the swaddle, a sleepsack is a good choice, as it allows their hands and feet to be free so that if they roll, they can right themselves.
Always check the Thermal Overall Grade or TOG of the sleepsack, which refers to the heat rating of the garment. Lower TOGs (0.2 to 1.0) mean lighter material, whereas higher TOGS (2.5 to 3.5) mean thicker, warmer material.
11) Try to dream-feed your baby.
Giving your baby a dream feeding can help your baby sleep longer at night. A dream feeding is when you feed your little one before you go to bed, likely several hours after they go to bed.
It’s a way of being sure that your baby has had enough calories so they won’t be hungry again right after you nod off to sleep.
To do it, gently rouse your baby and feed them while they’re still basically asleep. As eating is instinctual, they’ll latch on while they’re still snoozing. By doing this, you reset your baby’s hunger clock, giving you some extra precious hours of sleep.
12) Give a baby a massage
Did you know that when you give your baby a massage, you’re actually turning on their parasympathetic nervous system? The massage will lower baby’s stress hormones, increase their serotonin and melatonin, and lower their heart rate.
To massage your baby, start by dimming the lights and maybe even turning on some soft music. Then, using a soothing massage oil, gently stroke your baby from the shoulder to the thigh using downward strokes. You can also massage their tummy clockwise around their navel.
13) Make night wakings boring.
If your little one does wake up at night, give it a beat and try to let them self-soothe. Many times babies will make noises and move around without actually being awake. If you rush in, you run the risk of fully waking them up, which will not help your own sleep.
If you wait a few minutes and your baby doesn’t resettle and needs your attention, make the interaction as boring and quiet as possible. You don’t want to encourage their night owl behavior.
14) Be patient.
Sleep training takes time, and if you get anxious about it, your little one will feel it. Just relax and be patient.
There will be setbacks: That’s inevitable. Babies experience growth spurts, teething pains, and other inevitable sleep disruptions, but if you stay the course, just know the day will come when your baby will be sleeping like a champ.
Good night, baby!
Nighttime gets a lot easier when you know how to get your baby to sleep through the night by preparing their nursery for sleep and using calming routines that help your little one settle.
For a great night’s sleep, try Newton’s Original Mattress. It’s firm, ultra breathable, and GREENGUARD Certified, meaning it adheres to the most stringent guidelines to maintain healthy air quality indoors.
With a Newton mattress, your little one will be off to dreamland in no time!
Frequently asked questions
1) When should I consult a doctor about my baby’s sleep?
Reach out to your pediatrician if you’re concerned about the duration or quality of your baby’s sleep or if your baby is extra fussy, not eating well, or is hard to wake during the day. Your doctor can check to see if there’s anything else going on that needs to be addressed.
2) Is sleep training safe for babies?
Sleep training is generally safe for healthy babies four months old or older. By this age, they know how to self-soothe and don’t require as many feedings. Be sure to follow safe sleep guidelines and choose a sleep training method that works best for your parenting style.
3) Can a baby sleep too much?
Yes. For newborns sleeping more than 16 to 18 hours a day, there’s the concern that they may not be eating enough. Generally, they should be eating every two to four hours. Also, if you’re breastfeeding and your baby doesn’t nurse enough, your milk supply will diminish.
