Probably one of the most frequently and fervently asked questions from new parents is 'how can I get my baby to sleep through the night?' The reasons for wanting a sure fire answer to this question are obvious, as sleepless nights are often cited as being the hardest aspect of parenting a baby.
The first thing to remember is that young babies will wake up through the night because they need fed, so there is a period where the goal should not be trying to educate your child to sleep through the night but rather to ensure that they are well fed and healthy.
The million dollar question is, therefore, how you make the transition from waking through the night to sleeping through the night.
Here are some guidelines to follow to try and encourage your child to sleep all the way through the night.
One of the main reasons your baby will wake up through the night is hunger.
The food consumed in the day will help the baby sleep through the night longer, so try and encourage a higher milk (or solid) intake throughout the day.
The other key reasons babies will wake up and cry is for attention.
Babies cannot articulate their wants, so they express themselves through cries.
A baby will quickly draw a link between crying and getting the attention that it craves.
Not responding to a crying baby immediately is a good way to teach a child to settle themselves.
Often a baby will cry and scream for no reason other than it wants to have your attention; rewarding that behavior by picking up and comforting your baby will only make the problem worse in future nights.