How To Get Baby To Sleep All Night Long

First, I would like to say, Congratulations!! If you have reached this post that means you are either expecting or you already have your bundle of joy. Either way, you want to make sure you are a pro when it comes to having your tiny baby sleeping through the night. How To Get Baby To Sleep All Night.

Why My Baby Is Not Sleeping Through The Night

When you are pregnant the constant rocking of your body puts your baby to sleep. However, once the baby is born once you put the baby down the baby loses that soothing rocking motion. So he/she will start crying. Ughh. You will feel like crying too.

I have three children ages 8, 6, and 4. The first month of them being born they had trouble adjusting to staying asleep. When I would rock them and then lay them down they would cry. Ugh !! The agony. However, by my 3rd child, I was able to master some techniques to keep my baby sleeping through the night all through the first year of their life. Learn from other moms and me how to master your baby’s sleeping through the night like a pro.

Related Post: Why not let your baby cry it out

Babies don’t usually establish a sleeping schedule to the first 2 or 3 weeks of life.

This post contains Amazon affiliate links. I only recommend products and services that I have used and loved or that had great reviews. Enjoy!

1. No Long Naps

I know it’s the old wives tale so to speak “Never to wake a sleeping baby.” And this is true but for at night. Babies do not know the difference between night and day. So, if you let your baby sleep for hours during the day more than likely at night he/she will want to coo, play and cry through the night. Makes sense? So don’t let your baby sleep more than 2 hours (at a time)during the day. You can let your baby go to bed early say like 6 p.m.and still have success with your baby sleeping through the night.

2. Rocking Chair

Okay, okay my mom was right. She would say non-stop when my first child was born “Get a rocking chair”. I swore it off. She even went the extra mile as mothers do and showed up with a rocking chair. I think I just had a let me do this my way kind of thinking at 21. My defense was I didn’t need a rocking chair to rock my child. That was true. But it puts wear and tear on your body not being comfortable for so long. When your baby knows you in absolute comfort he/she is too and that will make them fall to sleep faster.

How To Keep Baby Sleep Through The Night

Okay, so it’s kind of peaches and cream getting your baby to sleep. But what about him/her staying asleep? You want to be able to rock your child to sleep without him/her waking up at the creaking of you walking away. Here is how you can Keep your Baby Sleep Through The Night

3. White Noise

Any soothing noises to drown out other sounds are a must. When my kids were smaller I would use fans, air conditioners, humidifiers, white noise makers, and soothing water sounds from Youtube. (p.s. water sounds reminds the baby of being in your womb which gives them much comfort). The only bad thing about this is you will more than likely end up falling asleep yourself. And if you’re like me who sometimes decides to fold those clothes when the baby is sleeping. Then be aware this relaxing white noise is a hypnotic sleep magic tool thing a ma jig.

4. Room Temperature

Make sure the baby is in it is not too cold and not too hot. If the temperature in the room is a driving factor if we can get to sleep and stay asleep. The same goes for a small baby.

Caution: Some Babies that suffered from S.I.D.S. ended up being found that the heat in the room was too warm.

5. Quite

I’m sure for most this is a given. But some people are still unaware of how loud their t.v. is in the next room could be a deal-breaker for a baby trying to get some peace and quiet. This also goes with no. 3 using a white noise machine. If you have other kids that are small it can be hard as ever to get them to be quiet for hours. And they shouldn’t have to be. White noise machines will drown out there Paw Patrol in the next room or them asking for the 5th bag of fruit snacks.

6. Extra Feeding

It’s okay to go against the book when caring for your child. If your child wakes up in the middle of the night and it’s not a dirty diaper. It could mean that your little one is hungry. Give your baby an additional feeding. It will do no harm. Imagine when your stomach is hungry at bedtime. You have to have something to satisfy yourself so you can sleep easier. The more you try to avoid hunger and go to sleep. The more you will become frustrated. And as a baby that is something to sure send your baby into an all-out balling session.

7. Swaddle

Swaddling your baby like a burrito has its good and bad. The bad for me is they can’t freaking more don’t restrain that baby. However, you can lightly swaddle your baby. This way your baby still has room to move but is still comforted by the squeeze of being swaddled. Think of it like a hug to your baby. This article explains a Moro Reflex(startle) reaction a baby has when he/she is startled. When their arms and feet end up being stretched out. Then next they are crying. Swaddling prevents this reaction. It’s like a hug to your baby when he/she is swaddled.

8. Lights

Turn down the lights. Make the baby’s environment calm and relaxing. You can’t expect your baby to be relaxed with blaring lights right in his/her face. I recommend using this night light. It gives just enough light for your child to see and to be comfortable. Hence, it still is calming to promote a healthy and natural sleep atmosphere.

9. Bed Time Routine

Once you have a baby the routine should start then. More importantly, at least at bedtime, it should. And try to be consistent. Then this too will be second nature for you and your baby. An ideal routine for a baby should be:

warm bath
lotion massage
book
feeding and cuddles

10. Teething or Sick

Understand cues from your baby that he/she is not their normal self. A baby first starts to teethe around 3 to 4 months. With that in mind, if you see your baby constantly trying to rub their gums or something they are more than likely teething. Even if you don’t see teeth. Due to the pain with your physician’s approval, you can give the recommended dose of Tylenol before bedtime. So they are not waking with achy teeth. In addition, to Tylenol Baby Orajel does wonders as well. Although, it should be used sparingly.

With the seasons changing and environmental germs, your baby could be coming down with a cold. So the first thing is to prevent this by dressing your baby accordingly to the weather. Using an air purifier. If your child happens to get sick here are some must-have items.

Must have items to keep on hand to prevent/lessen colds.

11. Pacifier

Hence, if all else fails please give your baby a pacifier. A baby is born to have comfort in the sucking motion either from a bottle or nipple. Therefore, giving a pacifier mocks the nipple and bottle nipple. It gives instant comfort. However, I would advise you to only give it during these times. Because it is very hard to get them off of it.

10. Motherly Instincts

A lot of people say don’t spoil your child. Let him or her cry. I say to an extinct. Once your child keeps up with crying for more than 5 mins. Grab your baby and soothe him/her. So this is how I would conquer this:

Check your baby for what could be irritating him/her
Once the problem is solved give cuddles and reassurance to baby
Lay the baby down
If baby then starts crying wait 5 mins for baby to self soothe
Granted if your baby is still crying then pick your baby up and rock him/her to sleep

If your baby is still crying after the irritations are solved then he/she just may be having some separation anxiety and want comfort from his/her mommy.

Let me know if these have helped you. Any other baby sleeping feedback is appreciated. 🙂