(Photo provided)
Parents of young infants have been keeping me up with lots of questions about when their baby would be able to sleep through the night.
I don’t want to fall asleep on the job, so let me provide some information to help you relax a bit on this topic.
–
How to Define “Sleeping Through the Night”
–
Sleeping through the night is usually defined as sleeping six to eight hours straight, although babies usually need 10 to 12 hours of sleep at night in addition to daytime naps.
This means that even if your baby meets the definition of sleeping through the night, you will probably still need to get up at least once overnight.
For example, if your baby goes down at 7:30 p.m., they will likely wake between 1:30 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. in order to breastfeed after sleeping six to eight hours.
–
When Will This Start to Happen?
–
When a baby learns to sleep through the night depends on several factors including their age, weight, and whether they are breastfeeding or not.
More specifically, newborns up to two to three months will not sleep through the night since they need to feed frequently at least every two to four hours.
The two to three-month-olds can go for five to six hour stretches.
Four-month-olds can go seven to eight hours which meets the definition, especially if they are over 11 pounds. This is a weight where they do not need a nighttime feeding even if they demand one.
By five to six months, a baby should be able to sleep through the night. If they are waking up frequently, it’s not because they are hungry — it’s to have extra time with you as the night caregiver who is there to feed and comfort them.
–
Ways to Get Your Baby to Sleep Longer
–
¯ If you want to get your baby to learn how to sleep longer at night, make sure you: Have a good consistent bedtime routine in place.
¯ Put them down when they are drowsy to learn how to self-soothe themselves into sleep.
¯ Do not rush in the minute you hear your baby making a noise in the middle of the night. Instead, give your baby a chance to self-soothe and get back themselves to sleep before you go in to check on them.
–
Some Challenges
–
What can keep a baby from sleeping through the night?
Possibilities include:
¯ Teething
¯ A room that is too hot due to setting a higher room temperature or too much warm clothing
¯ Sickness
¯ Growth spurts, which often seem to occur at three, six, and nine months and result in your baby waking up more often in the middle of the night to eat.
Hopefully, tips like these will wake you up to knowing more about when to expect your baby to sleep through the night and positive ways of how to make that happen.
Lewis First, MD, is Chief of Pediatrics at The University of Vermont Children’s Hospital and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine. You can also catch “First with Kids” weekly on WOKO 98.9FM and NBC5.
