Get Baby To Sleep Through The Night

To get baby to sleep through the night can be a nightmare. Endless nights of being woken by the sound of crying, knowing that he's ready for his next feed. It doesn't have to continue for long, but there are a few things that you should know.

He doesn't yet know the difference between daytime and night-time, it's all the same to him.He really does need to feed every 4 hours or so, maybe more or maybe less.This can become very tiring for Mum or Dad, whoever does the night feeds. Night time feeds can sometimes disrupt the whole family , depending on how well other siblings sleep. So you really need to get baby to sleep through the night as soon as he comfortably will.

Get baby to sleep through the night - Teach him the difference between day and night!

Right from day one you can start teaching your baby that there is a difference between day and night, it will take him a while to grasp this theory, but he will do it with a little help from you. He will stop the night feeds, and you will get a better nights sleep :-)

You need to set a night time routine. Maybe a bath, followed by a story and a last feed. The feeling of the warm water and changing into night clothes can help baby to relax, the last feed before settling him to sleep will eventually lead him to realize that baby can sleep through the night... without having to wake mum every few hours! How amazing does that sound :-)

Get baby to sleep through - Night feed tips

Whether you feed your baby in your room, the nursery or any other room in the house, during a night feed try to keep the lighting as low as possible. Use a room that has a dimmer switch on the lights, or better still just use a night light. If you switch a light on full blast, to baby this is going to look just like daylight.

Don't talk to your baby during these feeds, and try not to make too much eye contact. Babies night time feeds should be kept as short as possible and un-stimulating for him (in other words make it quick and boring) if he knows that he's not going to be chatted too, played with, and that it's not going to be an interesting interaction with you, he will more likely to go straight back to sleep.

Only change your baby's nappy after a late feed if he really needs it doing, changing a nappy can wake your baby fully and make it harder to get him back to sleep.

By the time your baby is 6-9 months, they should be alot less dependant on night time feeds, its probably more habit than hunger that is waking him. Instead of going straight to your baby with milk, try offering cooled boiled water instead, if your baby doesn't need the night feed and all you are offering is water, he will soon realize that its not worth the hassle of waking you. If he's still crying for you in the middle of the night, but he doesn't want the night feeds, the here are some more tips to get baby to sleep through the night.

With both of my babies, these above tips worked really well. Joe started to sleep through the night at 6 weeks old, I would feed him before I went to bed at around 11pm, and he would sleep until about 6am the next morning.

Lauren was slightly longer in sleeping through the night. When I first used to feed Lauren I used to take her into the nursery so I didn't disturb my husband. After about 7-8 weeks when I didn't notice any change in her sleep patterns, I used to feed her in my bed, with no lights on apart from the one on the stairs, just leaving the door open a crack so I could see what I was doing. As soon as I had fed her I would wind her and put her back into her moses basket. This seemed to do the trick and she went down from two night time feeds to just one. A couple of weeks later she didn't wake for night time feeds any more, and slept most nights from midnight to 7am.

Remember to get baby to sleep through the night, you need just a little patience, it won't happen overnight, but it can happen sooner than you think. Don't fret on how often he wakes, gently help him back to sleep, and stick to your routine.

If You know of any good tips to help reduce night feeds please contact me and I will try to include them on this site.

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