Pediatric Advice on How to Get a Baby to Sleep Through the Night

A sweetly sleeping baby

It can be very frustrating to wake up in the middle of the night because your baby is crying, but researchers, scientists, and doctors have developed many recommendations that can help your baby sleep through the night. You don't need to pay for professional sleep consultants or embark on an extreme program. Through simple measures that prepare, soothe, and train your child, you can teach your baby to fall asleep and stay asleep without hassle.

Things You'll Need

• Formula or breast milk
• Pacifier
• Large, thin blanket
• White noise machine
• Crib

Instructions

1. Give your baby a full meal immediately before bed--a full serving, or until she stops eating. A well-fed baby sleeps better than a hungry baby, because hunger can make a baby feel unsettled and fussy.

2. Place a pacifier in your baby's mouth. Since sucking is a naturally soothing activity for a baby, this helps the baby fall asleep and stay asleep. As an added benefit, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Nursing for Women's Health's journal, pacifiers reduce the risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).

3. Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics recommend swaddling your baby, which soothes her and prevents her from being awoken by her startle reflex. To swaddle her, lay out the blanket on the floor and turn down one corner. Place the baby on the blanket, with her head where the corner used to be and her body on the blanket (toes pointing toward the opposite corner). Fold up that bottom corner over her feet and legs, then wrap the right side around her body, tucking it between her body and the blanket. Finally, wrap the left side over the baby, securing it beneath her.

4. Turn on a white noise machine in your baby's room, suggests the University of Michigan Health System. White noise has been proven to help people sleep better and longer; additionally, it will help block any outside noise that could awaken your baby.

5. Place your baby in her crib (on her back) while she is drowsy but not yet asleep. According to the National Medical Society, this helps establish good sleeping habits. If the baby falls asleep in your arms, then she might awaken when you place her in her crib; but if she falls asleep in the crib, then she will feel comfortable sleeping there.

6. Don't run to immediately tend to a fussy child in the middle of the night, the AAP recommends. Many babies fuss or cry in their sleep; if you let her make noise for a few minutes, she might settle herself down without your help. To sleep through the night, it's important for the baby to learn to fall asleep and stay asleep independently.

Tips & Warnings

• A calming routine that you repeat every night before bed can also be helpful, because it helps your baby understand that it's time to sleep.

• Keep the room mostly dark, and if you must go in to attend to your baby, stay very calm and quiet.

• Make sure the room is neither hot nor cold; either extreme can prevent your baby from sleeping deeply and peacefully.

• Always place your baby on his back, the AAP warns, because it significantly reduces the risk of SIDS.

• Be careful when swaddling your baby; if the swaddle comes loose, it could potentially suffocate your baby. Hence, you should make sure it is carefully secured, or you may want to consider using a specially made swaddler like the Kiddopotamus or the Woombie.

• The baby might lose the pacifier and cry for it in the middle of the night; additionally, it can be difficult to train a baby to stop using the pacifier after age 2, as recommended.

References

• "Your Baby's First Year"; The American Academy of Pediatrics; 2005
• Science Daily: Pacifier Use May Lower Risk of SIDS
• Children's Mercy Hospitals & Clinics: Sleep Position for Young Infants
• University of Michigan Health System: Sleep Problems
• Library of the National Medical Society: Behavior Problems in Infants

Resources

• The American Academy of Pediatrics