My Baby Won't Sleep Through the Night

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

14 Jan 2007 05:28 PM

Is your baby having trouble sleeping through the night? I know lots of moms who struggle with just this problem and I hear a lot of conflicting stories and tales about what to do and what not to do and how to help your baby make this adjustment. There's a joke told around my family that for my husband, my daughter slept through the night, but I knew better - she woke up once a night for many months - I think she finally broke that habit around the age of 14 or 15 months.

So, your baby won't sleep through the night? Let's talk about what you might do:

• Your baby is constantly growing and developing, remember that means they need to maintain a certain level of nutrition and that may also mean they need more food overall - if your baby is waking up to eat in the middle of the night, try gradually increasing what they eat throughout the day so their middle of the night feeding is just a snack to tide them over till morning - it will shorten how long both of you are awake in the middle of the night
• You may just wait your baby out, as I did with mine, she woke up regularly around 2 a.m. every morning and was awake until 3 a.m. and then went back to sleep - one night, she just started sleeping through the night and that was that
• Some babies seek a bottle or nursing for comfort, you may just go in and pat them on the back, say some soothing words to them and then let them settle back into sleep - but if you don't offer them the bottle or nursing options, they will eventually just go back to sleep
• Some pediatricians suggest that you put your baby on a very rigid schedule, always changing diapers at certain times, always giving them food at certain times and making sure that schedule never varies, in doing so, you can train their responses, including sleeping through the night
• Some people may suggest you just let your baby cry him or herself out, but that's not always the best plan and in part it's because when your baby wakes up in the middle of the night and cries - they may just be looking for where you are and because they are alone and it's dark and that can be disorienting - especially if baby fell asleep in your arms and then suddenly woke up alone --
• Trust your instincts, if your instincts tell you that you need to sit and nurse the baby and rock him or her for a few minutes before settling them back down, then do so and don't worry about what the 'experts' say - if it works for your baby, then that's what works

Every baby is different and every baby has different needs. The hardest part of baby not sleeping through the night is that you are also getting shorted on sleep. Try to plan your schedule to allow for a nap for yourself during the day. Eat well and eat healthy, take good care of yourself and hang in there. It may take time, but your baby will adjust to sleeping through the night.

How do you cope when your baby doesn't sleep through the night?

Related Articles:

My Advice to New Moms

The Pacifier Wars

Your Baby's Body Clock

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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mylilangeljayda (15) 15 Dec 2007 01:38 AM

hey i had my first abay girl 6 weeks ago, and when i got to bring her home she would sleep druing the day and not the night. people told me she had her days and night mixed up so what would i have to do to get her on track so i can sleep again.

Valorie Delp (49340) 15 Dec 2007 05:30 AM

I am answering you in another blog! You can look for it this morning.