How to Get Your Newborn to Sleep Through The Night

Sleep is a highly valued commodity for new parents. Getting enough sleep for new parents is usually a function of getting the newborn to sleep first! In case you can't call home and ask grandma, this article will give you the experience of a family of five. Our children are successful teens and in college today, so we think we have done a good job and everyone has had enough sleep!

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Predictable schedule
• Nerves of steel
• All the usual baby paraphernalia

1. Make sure your baby has been fed a formula/breast milk that agrees with his/her tummy. Many babies are awake and crying because what they have been fed disagrees with their tummies. If you need to change formulas or change what mother is eating, do that. Many babies are sensitive to either milk products or corn in the formula. Check that out first. Sometimes changing to an organic or no-corn formula solves the tummy issue.

2. Make sure the baby has a clean diaper, and a soft, safe crib to sleep in. Pillows and blankets are not necessary, but the baby should be in warm enough pajamas (onesie) to make sure cold is not an issue. If baby is fed, clean and not sick, crying will be mainly from tiredness. Our first baby cried harder and fought sleep the more tired she became! (And rocking only added to her stimulation!)

3. If all the earlier issues have been addressed, it is time to lay the baby down and walk away. Dim or no lights, quiet house, and a boring routine help tell the baby that it is NOT playtime. Even when the baby woke in the middle of the night for a feeding, we did not turn on lights, make unnecessary sounds, or sing. We made the night feeding and the last feeding as boring for the baby as possible. During the day, when we wanted the baby awake, we made life exciting and tried to wear the baby out so he or she would sleep good at night!

4. With your first baby, it is easy to want to run in every time they cry. This is not necessary and, in fact, will teach the baby to control you. While we are NOT saying to ignore the baby's cries, we are saying that if you wait (average of 10 minutes) and do not rush in, the baby will get tired enough to put him/herself to sleep. It took about three nights of this to train our baby to put herself to sleep. Sometimes when babies sleep a lot during the day, for whatever reason, they get their days and nights "mixed up". They then need to retrain again. We actually had to retrain our second baby at about 5 months old when he was driving us crazy losing his pacifier. We finally took it away and retrained him to sleep. Again, it took about three nights.

Tips & Warnings

• Never leave a baby crying for more than 10-15 minutes. Something may be wrong that you need to see about.
• Make sure baby is well-fed and the room is the right temperature, etc. Rule out the other possibilities that the baby may cry first. Then the only answer is that the baby is tired!
• Find moral support for yourself while waiting for your baby to settle down! This is a hard step for a new paranoid parent! (Most of us)

[jmsplayer]

on 4/3/2008 My daughter who is 21 months old doesnt sleep well. She stays with her mother and still sleeps with mum. Mum always complaining of sleepless nights where she is kicked and punched during the night. Tells me that very seldom gets a solid nights sleep. Daughter stillhas a daytime nap for at least 40 mins to 1 hour. Usual bedtime is 9.30pm ish but sometimes later. Wakes when she wants rather than a set time. I personally think a double bed causes her movement during the night thus restless sleep. Mum has admitted that she likes to snuggle daughter through the night and wants her in her bed. Again Im unsure who is going to benefit from this routine. Should daughter be sleeping in her own room by now and any tips on how to get mum a regular nights sleep