Any tips for getting a newborn to sleep through the night?

Answer 1

Yes. Wait until she/he is developmentally ready. Just the same as with any other developmental milestone. You wouldn't (I hope!!) want to try to make your child walk within the first month of life, would you? Most babies are physically ready to sleep through the night between 6 and 12 months old.

In fact, it is important *not* to try to make a child sleep through the night before they are ready. Long or deep sleep is a risk factor for SIDS; when you wake up with your baby, keep in mind that you may be saving her/his life, and you'll resent the loss of sleep less...

Answer 2

A newborn shouldn't sleep through the night. They need to eat at least every 3-4 hours. If the baby is around 2-3 months old then it is OK for the baby to sleep through the night. There isn't anyway to make it happen though. My son, who is now 15 months old never slept through the night and even to this day will wake up in the middle of the night. Now my daughter, who is 5 months old has been sleeping through the night since she was 2 months old. It all depends on the child and luck.
You can try giving the baby milk before you put him/her to bed to see if having a full tummy helps.

Answer 3

A new born is probably not going to sleep through the night. First off they don't have any control over their bowl movements or when they become hungry. I've heard of a lot of women letting the husband getting the evening feed so that way you the mom can go to sleep earlier and then take the night feeding(s). After a few weeks when the baby's stomach can hold more and more it'll become a lot easier for you to sleep and for baby to sleep during the night, but unfortunetly the first few weeks to 2 months you'll have to stick it out with the newborn, They need every bit of attention.

Answer 4

I read Healthy Sleep Habits/Happy Child and watched the Happiest Baby on the Block DVD and had an incredible amount of success. I used some of the ideas in Babywise regarding feeding/wakefulness/sleeping. I used the techniques from Happiest Baby (swaddling/sshing etc) until my son was around 4 months old and really followed the guidelines outlined in Healthy Sleep Habits. At around 6-8 weeks I started putting my son down at 6:30pm to keep him from getting overtired. This worked beautifully. He started sleeping about 6-8 hours then increased to 10 hours at 3 months or so and is now sleeping 12-13 hours at night with 2-3 naps during the day. We keep him on a schedule - not strict - but always put him down for naps & bed around the same time - and he seems very happy. He is now 71/2 months old. He now goes to bed between 5:30 & 6:30 and wakes between 6:30 & 7:00.
Good luck!

Answer 5

You have to establish a routine and show them that sleep is meant for night time on a consistent basis. In other words, let them nap at most 4 hours during the day. Newborns, in general, need 14-18 hours of sleep a day. Keep them up the majority of the day by playing with them, feeding and changing them, etc. and establish a night time routine such as warm soothing bath in lavender Johnson and Johnson baby wash, a baby massage with lavender baby oil, a feeding with two to three more ounces of milk and in the crib with a monitor and night light at a specified time. Be consistent, and newborn will get the picture.

If that doesn't work, a 1/2 tsp of Benadryl should do the trick...

Joking.

Answer 6

My son, now three months, has been sleeping through the night since he was a little over a month old (about 6 hours). Now he'll sleep a good 7-10 hours a night.

Dr. Sears, Baby Book, says too give them lots of love and attention throughout the day. As much as possible. I've been doing this and it seemed to work. If only I could get the daytime naps worked out....lol.

Also, I agree with the other moms who say don't let it be too quiet. They get used to the quiet and then its harder for them to sleep with TV, dishwasher, laundry going etc. But, don't let your hubby or kids yell and get rowdy also...bath time never worked for my son it got him too rowdy. Rocking him was the best answer he'd sleep like a log.

How old is your newborn?

Answer 7

a newborn should not be sleeping through the night. perhaps after a few weeks, the newborn might settle into a routine. the routine itself is dependent on the parents daily habits. make sure the child is aware of morning and night. this can be as easy as opening the blinds first thing in the morning and keeping light plentiful in the house. as the day progresses start dimming the amount of light in the house. this simple method teaches the brain, more specifically the pineal gland, the difference between day and night. good luck

Answer 8

Sometimes there's nothing you can do... it just depends on the baby. That being said, my daughter started sleeping 6-7 hours without waking when she was 2 months. It just got longer and longer and and by 6 months she was going at least 10 hours. Now, at a year old she's in bed by 7:30 p.m. (eventhough it's completely lit outside because we're in CA) and up at 6:30 a.m. (we have to go to work so she has to be up early). She also naps for 4-5 hours a day. She eats big meals and has never "nursed to sleep". In fact, she is completely awake (although tired) prior to going to bed and going down for naps.

Someone else recommended the book "Babywise" and I did follow/read that. My daughter is on a schedule/routine and it's been great. But it's not for all parents and all babies. But I have to say that the book had a great deal of influence in how I set her routine.

Good Luck!

Answer 9

When my daughter was about 10 weeks, I started feeding her rice cereal. I mixed one tablespoon with equal amount of formula and fed her right before her bedtime bottle. Give the baby a warm bath, use J&J lavendar bedtime bath, and then feed the cereal, top off with a four ounce bottle. Once I did this, she slept through the night (in her crib - not with us) and never had a problem! Once the baby has figured out how to eat the cereal (it takes a few feedings) then you can add a baby spoonful of peaches or pears to make it sweeter.

Also, I disagree with the above comment about staying really quiet! Do not get your child into the habit of having a silent and dark room to sleep.....it will interupt too many naps in the future! I vacuumed under my daughters crib while she was asleep and she can sleep through ANYTHING now!

Answer 10

For an older baby (> 4 - 6 mo.) it is important to let the baby learn how to calm herself. Put the baby down awake so she can learn how to go to sleep on her own. This way, if she wakes up in the night she has more of a chance to put herself back to sleep. For my sons, I had a musical crib toy that hooks to the side of the crib. They learned how to turn it on by themselves and it helped them go to sleep without me there.

If you are talking about a baby younger than 3 months, it just might not be time for her to sleep through the night. Little babies need to wake up to be fed or changed. When you are up with the baby in the night, don't turn on the lights (if you have to...only a nightlight or a very dim light) and don't play. I would even suggest not even speaking to the baby during the night. Hum softly or whisper if you have to. If the baby sees that it is pretty boring during the night hours, eventually she won't want to be up.