How to get your baby sleeping through the night

How to get your baby to sleep through the night. Here are some tools which are sure to give both you and your baby success.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Patience
• Sense of Humor

1. 

   Ritual
   
   Have a pre-bedtime ritual that fits your lifestyle. For example, a night-time feeding and a bath while singing soothing songs. Maybe even a little baby foot-rub or massaging those cute tiny shoulders. Whatever your ritual is, try to keep it simple and trade off the evening duties with other family members. Not only will sharing the bedtime rituals allow you some downtime, it will teach your little one it is okay to go to sleep when you are not there.
   
   You might want to remind all family members and guests sleep time is just that: time to sleep. This way, no one confuses it with tickle time or peek-a-boo time. A stimulated baby will protest to being put to bed after all that fun.

2. 

   Sleeping Quarters
   
   Change out the blankets and toys twice a week. If your baby relies on a specific toy or blankie to sleep with, just imagine what would happen if it's missing in action. If your baby has a favorite soft blankie or stuffed animal, make it available during play time. For instance, if he is sitting in his bouncy seat swinging at the toys or laying on his play mat, this would be a good time to bring out his favorites. Let him enjoy them while he's awake.

3. 

   Volume Control (Stay with me on this one)
   
   This is key. If you lay your baby to sleep in a completely quiet atmosphere he will wake up to a cotton ball dropping to the floor. So unless everyone in your house is using megaphones and jackhammers, there is no need to "hush" the house down.

4. 

   Timing
   
   Try to stick to a sleep schedule. Sometimes this is hard but it is vital. babies 0-3 months old normally require at least eleven hours of sleep a night. Sounds like a lot I know. this is the time your baby's mind and body sorts through and processes the day's activities. It is best tl lay him to sleep around 7:00 p.m. If he wakes up during the night he will learn to go back to sleep without extra help. If your baby is an infant, he will of course require a feeding or two.
   
   On the night-time feedings, keep them stimulant free. Again, this isn't playtime. When he is done eating and burping (diaper change if needed), then just lay him back down to sleep. He will catch on soon.
   
   Also, try not to use a pacifier to soothe him to sleep. Reason being is when he wakes up at night and his pacifier is not where he left it (safely in his mouth) then he'll cry out for assistance to pop it back in each and every time. Putting your baby to sleep with a bottle in hand is not recommended in any case. It is dangerous (choking) and unhealthy (tooth-decay).

Tips & Warnings

• If your baby is 4 months or older, he really should have the sleeping thing down. If he is having difficulties try adjusting his bedtime feeding to include a little more substance, like rice cereal. I had to start adding rice cereal to my boys diets around 2 1/2 months old to keep their little tummy's content and reduce the amount of spit up and projectile formula. They tried drinking more than what their tummy could hold because they weren't satisfied. The trick here is to introduce little amounts of the rice cereal at a time so you can properly gage what works best for your baby. I found using a measuring device such as a baby spoon was helpful.
• With these tips, your baby will be sleeping through the night with little resistance, if any. Again, remember whatever your evening ritual is, keep it simple and consistent. Not only will he sleep all night at home, he will sleep all night in any setting (even at a movie theater).

[jaide4802]

on 4/7/2009 being in the pediatric medical profession parents need to look further into this before trying it. Babies are designed to eat every threee hours at first because their bodies need nourishment. Waqit a few months to try this and make sure you check that your baby is growing at a good rate. Check out different parenting styles and do whatever works best for you AND baby. heres a site i like:http://www.askdrsears.com/html/10/t130300.asp