How To Get Your Baby Sleeping Through The Night

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How is the baby sleeping through the night? That must be one of the most common questions new parents hear. It’s a question that comes from well-intentioned friends, strangers, and even your child’s healthcare provider.

It’s normal for newborn babies to wake at night.

It’s not normal for newborn babies to sleep 10-12 solid hours through the night.

However, there are things parents can do to help their healthy newborn babies sleep for longer periods at night.

These tips are not a cure-all. I can’t guarantee that since each child and each parent-child relationship is so different. But they definitely will help.

These are the same tips I give to parents of newborns as I complete the baby’s check-up. I’m sure they will help your family, just as they have helped many others. 

If your child is out of the newborn stage, then this article will be helpful as you establish a bedtime routine that will help your child sleep through the night.

Sleeping through the night

First, an understanding of what sleeping through the night is. It’s important to have a realistic expectation of newborn nighttime sleep. This will help as you work to achieve a good night’s sleep. 

What is sleeping through the night? 

Sleeping through the night for a newborn is sleeping five solid hours straight.

If you’re still pregnant, this may seem like it can’t be enough. If you’re a new mom reading and you’re being woken every 2-3 hours all night long, then five solid hours probably sounds amazing right now! 

As your baby gets older this five-hour stretch will get longer. Once baby is sleeping consistently for five hours a night, you’ll see this stretch to a 6-8 hour period.

As you continue to help your baby build good sleep habits, this will increase to an 8-10 hour period of uninterrupted sleep. Then you’ll reach a 10-12 hour stretch of sleeping through the night.  

When will my baby sleep through the night?

It’s important to know that until your baby is back up to their birth weight, you will be feeding them approximately every two to three hours.

This is around the clock and includes night time. 

However, once a baby is back up to their birth weight you can allow them to sleep at night until they wake. This is when we’ll hopefully start to see those five-hour-long stretches of sleep!

As babies grow bigger, they are able to sleep for longer periods at a time. 

Why do babies wake at night? 

There are multiple reasons why a newborn baby wakes at night. These reasons are different than those of why an older baby would wake at night. 

The four main reasons why newborns wake at night are due to their sleep cycle, sensory changes, circadian rhythm, and calorie needs.

REM and Non-rem sleep

When we sleep at night we cycle through stages of sleep. Sleep is divided into REM (rapid eye movement) sleep and non-REM sleep. 

REM sleep is the state of sleep where our eyes move back and forth. It is during this stage that we dream. 

Non-REM sleep is broken down into four stages of sleep. 

•  Stage 1 occurs when the baby is drowsy. Their eyes begin to close and they lightly doze off. 
•  Stage 2 is light sleep. In this stage, the baby may move or be easily wakened
•  Stage 3 is deep sleep. The baby is quiet.
•  Stage 4 is a very deep sleep, where the baby is quiet and not moving

The sleep cycle goes stage 1 where the baby is falling asleep, to stage 2, then stage 3, then stage 4, then back to 3, back to 2, and into REM. Once in REM, the baby will then cycle again, skipping stage 1 and replacing it with REM sleep. 

Babies spend more time in REM sleep than adults. REM sleep is a more active time of sleep and is when we can easily be woken up. 

Have you ever noticed that you seem to be woken easily when you are in the middle or end of a dream? That’s because you were in REM sleep when something woke you up.

the newborn sleep cycle

Where adults typically cycle through sleep in 90-minute increments newborn babies cycle through sleep in 40-minute increments. 

The shortened sleep cycle means that a baby spends more time in light sleep than adults do. It is during light sleep that baby can be easily woken up. Things such as sounds, lights, or even their own reflexes can cause a baby to wake up. 

Sensory Changes & Circadian Rhythm

When babies are born they leave their nice dark comforting womb into a world of lights and new loud signs.

While the baby is in the womb it can see light and hear the world outside. However, the light and outside noise is filtered. In the womb, it is primarily dark and loud. It is loud from the sounds of the mother’s heart and blood flow. 

In the womb, they also tend to be gently rocked to sleep all day long as our bellies sway while we walk. Once we lay in bed at night, it may feel like a party in your pregnant belly as the baby is no longer being rocked to sleep. 

Therefore when our babies enter our world their circadian rhythm is not aligned with ours. You’ll often hear parents or healthcare providers comment that the baby has their days and nights mixed up.

This can impact how well your newborn sleeps at night. 

Caloric Needs

Notice that I’m not saying hunger but caloric needs?

Babies, like children and adults, need a certain number of calories in a 24 hour period. It is common for babies to not meet all of their caloric needs during daytime hours. This can lead to night waking due to hunger.

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What to do to get your baby to sleep through the night? 

To help promote nighttime sleep for your baby you’re going to need to combat the four primary things that are leading to nighttime wake-ups.

Those four things are waking during the sleep cycle, circadian rhythm,  sensory needs, and caloric needs.  

By combating those four things I had my first two children sleeping at least five consecutive hours at night by 2 weeks old and I had my third child sleeping 8 consecutive hours by 4 weeks old. These results are not guaranteed, but I can confirm they’ve have worked for me three times!

It’s also important to note that all of my children were free from chronic illness or disabilities. They were all exclusively breastfed for at least their first six months as well.

How to swaddle your baby

As babies sleep they go through sleep cycles of REM and non-REM sleep. It is during REM and stage 2 sleep that they can easily wake up.

During the newborn period, babies have their newborn reflexes. One thing that commonly wakes babies up is their moro, or startle reflex. While the baby is dreaming during REM sleep, or during stage 2, their startle reflex may be triggered, which can result in them waking up.

Have you ever had a dream that you are falling and you startle yourself awake by accident? Essentially the same thing is happening to your newborn baby. 

To help prevent babies from being woken up by their startle reflex, you should swaddle them. However, I recommend that you use a very specific swaddle! 

When I worked as a nurse in the newborn nursery I learned how to tightly swaddle up babies. However, swaddling baby in that traditional way, in a blanket, is not necessarily the best for their development nor is it the safest. 

Swaddling with a blanket or swaddle sack

When swaddling in a blanket you choose whether to pin baby’s arms down by their sides or keep them up by their chest with their hands by their face. 

Babies tend to keep their hands by their faces. If you had an ultrasound during your pregnancy you likely saw your baby with their hands right by their face! This is what your baby is familiar with. 

When babies are in a relaxed state, commonly jokingly referred to a “milk coma”, they typically have their arms up with their hands next to their head. They will not be in their natural, relaxed state if you pin their arms down by their side. 

In regards to safety with blankets, at some point, your baby will figure out how to break free from a traditional blanket swaddle. That often occurs while you are sleeping. Once the baby breaks free, their blanket can move and cover their mouth or nose. It is not safe for a baby to have a loose blanket in their sleep space.

Using a swaddle sack to help your baby sleep through the night

Those are two of the reasons that I use this swaddle with my baby.

It positions their arms in the natural position, so their hands are next to their head. The arms are able to be moved so the baby can get their hands to their mouths and comfort themselves. Additionally, it is loose by the legs allowing for complete mobility. This mobility is important for proper hip development. 

By using this swaddle blanket, the babies arms move naturally when they are startled during their sleep. But due to the design, their hands don’t hit their faces. Therefore they are more likely to have fewer wake-ups during this cycle of sleep. 

How to adjust your baby’s Circadian Rhythm

You should take deliberate steps to help your baby adapt a circadian rhythm that is more in line with my own. Considering babies need more sleep than adults and do require daytime sleep, naps are important.

It is counterproductive to try to keep baby awake during the day so that they are tired at night. A tired baby will only be overtired and cranky at night. A cranky baby is not easy to console and get into a drowsy sleepy state. 

Instead, you should encourage daytime napping. However, you need to purposefully have their daytime sleep environment different than their nighttime sleep environment. 

Daytime sleep environment for babies

To encourage your baby to change their circadian rhythm, you can leave lights on and allow noise to occur during the day. When the baby wakes from their nap you should engage with them. Smile and talk to your newborn during daytime awake hours. 

nighttime sleep environment for babies

However, the nighttime environment is quiet and dark.

When your baby wakes up from sleep at night you should leave all lights off.

You can use a Himalayan salt lamp, like this one, by your bedside that produces a nice warm pinkish-orange glow. This glow provides enough light for you to see the baby and attend to their needs. 

You can keep everything you will need in arm’s reach. This includes your baby.

You can use a co-sleeper to keep your baby close to you. Co-sleepers like this co-sleeper or this one. The second one is made from non-toxic materials.

When your newborn wakes up, you can simply sit up in bed and bring the baby onto your bed. Don’t talk or smile at your baby. Though you can sneak in some cuddles and kisses to the head. 

You can change your baby’s diaper there, on the bed. Use a small flashlight if to check that everything has been wiped clean.

You can then nurse your baby and gently rock them back to sleep, all while you stay sitting in bed. 

You should purposely not get up out of bed, turn on lights, or talk to your baby during nighttime wake-ups. By maintaining a quiet dark space, with minimal movement, you are encouraging their brain to understand that it is a quiet dark time. 

How to meet Your babies nighttime Sensory Needs

When babies leave the comfort of their womb they yearn to be back in the dark, tight, loud space that our belly provided for them. 

Another thing that you can do with your baby to help transition them to a comforting sleepy state is to use white noise. 

This is my favorite sound machine. Each of my babies has had a sound that they found soothing. To help encourage sleep as they transition to life outside the womb, you can play the sound machine through the night. 

why you should wake your baby to feed during the day

Babies, like adults, need to eat a certain amount of calories each day or they feel hungry. If they eat the calories during the day, then they often sleep better at night.

When your baby is a newborn you should watch the clock, and your baby, during the day. You need to encourage them to nurse every two hours unless they show cues of hunger more frequently. You can sometimes go three hours between feeds, if they were not interested in nursing more frequently. But never more than three hours. 

Why cluster feeding can help babies sleep

Then at night, during the “witching hour”, or period of purple crying, you should let them cluster feed. 

This cluster feeding provides both calories and comfort to your baby as they transition into the night time hours.

helping your newborn sleep through the night

I’m confident that you and your baby will achieve better night sleep once you implement these tips.

If you haven’t already, you can start a Baby Registry on Amazon and register for all the items that I use to help get my baby’s sleeping through the night.

One last tip I would leave you with is to try to remind yourself that this stage is fleeing. Your newborn will only be in this stage for a short amount of time before they move into an infant stage. I know how tough it can be.

I’m always available by email if you ever want to reach out! You can also find Simply Well Family on Facebook, Pinterest, & Instagram.

One last reminder, you are doing an AMAZING job, mama!

I want to know!

Is your newborn sleeping through the night? What gentle approach tips worked or didn’t work for you?

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