Make a Baby Sleep All Night - Recognize that up to a certain age, babies do not have the physical ability to sleep all night. Newborn infants have a physiological need to drink milk every few hours to stay hydrated and nourished. Attempting to make a very young baby sleep all night can be harmful to the baby's health. Newborns need to eat as often as every two hours. By the age of 3 to 4 months, most healthy, full-term babies are able to sleep through the night.
Have realistic expectations. Many doctors cite 4 months as the age when babies are ready to "sleep through the night" without eating, but realize too that sleeping through the night is usually defined as a five- or six-hour stretch of uninterrupted sleep. If you feel sleepless yourself, set yourself up for success by going to bed when your baby does--don't try to put your baby down to sleep for the night hours before you intend to go to sleep yourself.
Make a Baby Sleep All Night
Feed your baby immediately before you want him to go to sleep, ideally before you turn in for the night. Some well-meaning experts advise against this because they believe your baby will become dependent on food to get to sleep. But babies are biologically programmed to fall asleep after they eat, and it makes sense to take advantage of this rather than fight against nature. In this case, it would take as much work to prevent a habit from forming as it would to break the habit later when your child matures.
Choose the right bedtime for your baby. To get your baby to go to sleep at the beginning of the night, put her down before she is too tired. An overtired baby paradoxically has a harder time getting to sleep and staying asleep than a baby put to bed before she is visibly tired. You want to be in the middle of bedtime proceedings when your baby begins yawning or rubbing her eyes; at this time, she should still be happy and relaxed. It helps to develop a feel for when your baby normally becomes tired.
Be careful before picking up your baby when he wakes during the night. If he is in true distress, pick him up and comfort him. He will feel more secure knowing that his needs will be attended to and not ignored. Try to begin distinguishing between general fussing versus cries that require attention. Some babies fuss a bit when they shift between sleep states; if you pick up your baby when he fusses, he may actually wake up fully--whereas, if you wait a few minutes, he may go back to sleep on his own. It can take a long time for parents to develop instincts about which cries require attention versus cries that do not.
When you first become a parent, you may find yourself shocked at all the people who want to give you advice and all the sources of expert guidance. You will encounter a lot of conflicting information about every aspect of parenting, especially the issue of baby sleep habits. Even though entire books have been written about it, the subject of how to get a baby to sleep all night is really not that complicated, although the reality is not always as convenient as we'd like it to be. - by eHow
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