Parenting a new baby can be an exhausting task with little sleep in the beginning months. It is a very common concern to know how you and your new little one can start getting some much needed rest. While there are many “tried and true” methods out there, it really is up to you as a parent to decide which works best for you and your household. This article will go over some of the different methods, and give you some tips for helping your baby learn to sleep all night.
How To Get Baby To Sleep Through The Night
For newborns, they have not yet reached the developmental stage of sleeping through the night. Issues like small tummies needing frequent feedings, wet diapers, and teething will most likely keep you awake no matter how hard you try.
For babies between 4 to 6 months of age, you may have some luck. By then, they may be eating a little bit of solid foods to hold them over, and aren’t as picky about wet diapers. From this age, there are a few methods that may work for you:
1) Crying it Out
While this method may break your heart, it works for some parents and babies. Begin this around 4 to 6 months when you are sure that baby has had enough milk to last 6 to 8 hours. Put your baby to bed while they are still awake, and go into another room. They may cry, but you need to do another activity and not “give in” to baby’s protesting cries. The important thing is remember is if your baby is; fed, dry diapered, and not in pain, they are okay. You can tell the difference between a protesting cry and a pain cry. Only go back in the room if you think your baby is in pain or danger, other than that just wait things out. Soon, they come to realize sleep is their only option.
2) Twilight Sleep
If you are trying to figure out how to get your baby to sleep through the night without too much crying, you can rock them gently until they are almost asleep (twilight sleep). This way allows you to rock or soothe your baby until they are almost sleeping, and then put them in their bed.
The first few nights you rock or cuddle your baby until they are fully asleep, and put them in their bed. The next night, rock them for a few minutes less, and so forth. Continue to reduce rocking or cuddling until you only need to do it for a few minutes at bedtime.
3) Console Without Picking Up
In this method, you are going to let your baby “cry it out,” but only for a few minutes, then you go check on the baby. Put your baby to bed fully awake. When your baby begins to cry, allow them to cry for a set amount of time. Then go back into the room and speak softly to console your baby. Do not pick your baby up, just speak to them and console them. Then leave the room. If your baby continues to cry, keep going back into the room at set interval times. Speak softly, console, and then leave the room. Do this until they fall asleep. The goal is to reduce crying time, reduce night wakefulness, and extend the amount of time you have to go back and check on your baby.
4) PUPD (Pick Up Put Down)
This method is much like the Ferber method, only you can pick your baby up to console him/her. This is how to get baby to sleep through the night, without hours of crying. Place your baby in bed awake, and then leave the room. When baby begins to fuss, comfort them until they are almost asleep and put them back down. Repeat this cycle until they are in a deep sleep. The only issue parents have found with this method is that too much picking up can cause them to become stimulated and awaken. Only pick them up if absolutely necessary.
5) Cry it Out/Parent In Room
This is a twist on the “cry it out” method. You place your baby into their crib fully awake, and sit in a chair in the corner of the room. Your baby will see you in the room, but will be encouraged to fall asleep on their own. If they start to cry, just sit there. Do not offer any consolation, and do not pick them up. After a few nights, you will begin to move the chair out of baby’s sight until they cannot see you nearby.
Many parents state this can cause increased protesting from baby, and it is hard for the parents to watch. Still, it may help to know that your child is safe when they are crying. It can also take a long time for this method to work, but it eventually does after a few weeks.
Tips To Help Baby Sleep
- Even before you figure out how to get baby to sleep through the night, you can start some routine practices to help get you and baby ready for this task. These include:
1. Try not to change diapers. Put a good overnight diaper on your baby at bedtime and leave things alone. They will become accustomed to waking up for diaper changes. Only change them if necessary.
2. Use a white noise machine. Babies should get used to sleeping through noise. This tool can be helpful during the early stages of sleep training.
3. Develop bedtime rituals. Go through a routine designed to signal bedtime for your baby each night. Do things like:
- Give a warm bath
- Give baby a snack or bottle
- Make sure the room temperature is comfortable
- Read them a book
- Turn lights and noise down low
4. Keep lights and voices low. If your baby does awaken during the night, try to keep lighting and your voice very low key. Too much activity during night feedings can stimulate your baby into thinking it is time to be awake.