When it comes to baby sleep, one of the biggest challenges for parents is helping their baby to sleep through the night. It’s no secret that babies need a lot of sleep, and it can be difficult to get them to settle down and stay asleep for more than a few hours at a time. Fortunately, there are some strategies you can use to help your baby get the rest they need. Here are some tips for helping your baby to sleep through the night.

Establish a bedtime routine

One of the best ways to help your baby learn how to sleep through the night is by establishing a consistent bedtime routine. This could include activities like a warm bath, reading stories and singing lullabies or even some gentle baby massage. It’s important that you stick with this routine every night so that your baby knows what to expect and can begin winding down for bedtime.

Create a comfortable sleeping environment

Creating an environment that is conducive to sleep is also important when trying to get your baby to sleep through the night. Make sure their bedroom is dark and quiet, and keep the temperature comfortable so they don’t get too hot or cold while sleeping. You should also make sure their cot or bed is comfortable and free from any objects that could cause discomfort or distraction during sleep time. Remember that safe sleep advice states that babies under 1 year should not sleep with any toys or objects in their cot.

Encourage and support your baby to self-settle

If your baby is younger than 6 months this can just be gentle steps towards self-settling, with no expectation that they can achieve it at this point in time. However, if your baby is over 6 months they now have the ability to self-settle, you just need to show them how to do it.

In the majority of cases, self-settling is key to your baby sleeping well at night. This is because you have eliminated any sleep associations that require you and that your baby can’t do by themself. If your baby needs you to get to sleep in the first place, there’s a good chance they’ll need you for each and every wake in the night.

Teaching your baby these techniques will help them learn how to get themselves back to sleep when they wake up in the middle of the night instead of relying on you for comfort every time they stir awake.

Ensure your baby is getting the right amount of day sleep

Daytime naps are an important part of helping babies learn how to sleep through the night as well. Encouraging regular naps during the day will help ensure that your little one isn’t overly tired at bedtime which can make it harder for them to settle down and stay asleep throughout the night.

And on the flip-side, if your baby is sleeping too much in the day, or too close to bedtime, this can also disrupt nighttime sleep. It’s all about balance.

If you’re not quite sure how much day sleep is ideal for your baby, then download my FREE sleep needs chart to find out.

Remember night wakings are normal

I should mention that night wakings are completely natural, normal and safe! In fact, we want our babies to be waking at intervals during the night. But the catch here is, we want them to be micro-awakenings.

Every human goes through sleep cycles, in and out of light and deep sleep. At various points in the night we fully rouse and are actually awake for a few seconds. Babies, children and adults who sleep well will not remember these micro-awakenings the next morning.

But babies, children and adults with sleep issues may find they fully wake at these points and struggle to get back to sleep. For babies and children, one of the biggest causes of this is the inability to self-settle. Simply put, they don’t know how to get themselves back to sleep without you.

Be patient and consistent

Staying consistent is key to helping your baby know what to expect at night. If you respond one way some nights and another way the next, your baby may be confused and remain upset for longer between wakes.

And be patient with your baby. Even with gentle sleep training some babies take longer than others to get there, so don’t create unrealistic expectations. But with the right techniques and support there’s no reason why your baby won’t be sleeping through the night within a reasonable time period.

By following these tips, you should be able to take your first steps in helping your little one to sleep through the night. Helping babies and children develop healthy sleeping habits early on in life is instrumental for their development and even future sleep habits as adults.

If achieving good sleep for your little one is becoming a real challenge and you’d like to talk in more detail, please do book a FREE discovery call.