How to Get a Baby to Sleep Through the Night

The first few months of your baby's life can be exhausting for both parent and child. Thankfully, most babies develop regular sleep patterns by the time they are 3 to 6 months old. In the meantime, try these tips for getting your little one to sleep through the night.

Getting Immediate Relief

• Recognize and soothe colic. High pitched, intense crying for more than three hours a day means that your baby is experiencing colic, which experts believe may be related to intestinal development issues, acid reflux, or food allergies.
• Try different resting positions for your baby. The "colic carry," with the baby positioned so that his/her stomach rests on your forearm and his/her head rests in your palm, can be a calming position.
  
• Massage your baby's back to help release pent-up gas that might be causing the colic.
  
• Rock your baby in a steady, relaxing motion. A ride in the car or a walk in the stroller can soothe your baby and help him/her fall asleep.
  
• Ease teething by helping your baby cope with gum pain. Place a cold compress on your baby's gums. Soak a wet washcloth in water and chill it in the freezer until it is cold enough to soothe but not too cold for your baby (about one hour). You may also want to soak the cloth in a soothing liquid like chamomile or peppermint tea to help relax your baby or simply place your child's pacifier in the refrigerator.
  
• Make sure the baby isn't too warm. Don't overheat your baby with too many blankets.
  
• Set the room temperature between 68 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit to achieve a good environment for your baby to sleep in.
  
• Try feeding your baby. Your baby may be waking up in the night because s/he is hungry. Breastfeed your baby or warm up a bottle to find out if food is what s/he needs.
  

Transitioning to Sleeping through the Night

• Swaddle your child to re-create the womb environment. Babies love to be swaddled because it gives them a secure feeling. You want to swaddle your baby with a blanket just tight enough so that s/he cannot wriggle free from the blanket.
  
• Make sure your baby is lying on his/her back when sleeping. Side and stomach positions can be helpful for holding a colic baby, but dangerous when the baby is sleeping.
  
• Create white noise to ease your baby into hearing a familiar sound. You can either find a white noise playlist simply by searching the Internet, buy a white noise machine, or run any household appliance that creates a steady sound.
  
• Find out if your baby likes to hear any particular type of music. If s/he responds well to a certain genre, play it very softly as s/he falls asleep.
  
• Rock your baby to sleep to get him/her used to a rhythmic motion. You may need to take your child for a car or stroller ride, but rocking your baby in your arms can be just as effective.
  
• Allow your baby to suck on a pacifier as s/he falls asleep. As your baby falls asleep, the pacifier will fall out of his/her mouth and can help him/her soothe himself/herself while falling asleep.
  

Establishing a Successful Routine

• Maintain a strict feeding schedule for your child. Help your child get used to knowing when s/he will be fed to avoid having to guess when your child is hungry.
• Feed your baby on a regular time table. Begin in the early morning between 7am and 8am and feed your baby every 2-3 hours for newborns and 3-4 hours once you are past the newborn period.
  
• Try altering your baby's diet if s/he is experiencing colic. Feed your baby different hypoallergenic formulas to find out if a certain type of food is upsetting your baby's stomach. If you are still nursing, you can try changing your diet to avoid common allergens like nuts and wheat.
  
• Put your baby down for several naps during the day. This will establish a regular sleeping pattern and help your child learn to sleep throughout the night.
  
• The number of naps and hours per day that babies require will vary, but newborns sleep an average of 16 hours a day, often split into 3 or 4 hour blocks. For slightly older babies 4 to 7 month old, a typical sleeping pattern consists of two naps per day with about 8 hours of sleep at night. When your child is between 8 and 12 months old, s/he will begin sleeping slightly less. On average, babies at this stage sleep 13-14 hours per day and are probably still taking two shorter naps per day (20 mins-1 hour).
  
• Set a relaxing mood for your child. The environment that your baby sleeps in is important, including the temperature of the room and the volume of noise around the house.
  
• If you use a nightlight, make sure that the light is dim so that your baby knows the difference between waking light and sleeping light. A soft, yellow-toned bulb can be particularly soothing.
  
• Properly ventilate the room to make sure your baby gets fresh air while s/he sleeps. Certain smells can also upset your baby, so try to use unscented hypoallergenic laundry detergents and wipes on your baby's sheets, clothes, and crib.
  
• Lastly, recognize when your baby is tired. Common signs include rubbing eyes, yawning, and fussing, though your baby will figure out his/her own way to tell you when s/he's ready for some sleep.
  

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Text adapted from Wikihow.