How To Get A Baby To Sleep Through the Night

Getting a baby to sleep through the night can be a challenge for many parents. Your experience as a parent can also differ from each baby you have - your first baby may fall asleep and stay asleep quite easily, whereas subsequent babies you may have may take a little more care and effort in trying to get them to fall asleep and most importantly - sleep through the night. Here are some tips on how to get a baby to sleep through the night:

Develop a consistent bedtime routine: Establish a consistent bedtime routine that includes a warm bath, a quiet story and some cuddling time. I've shared the bath, book, bed method before and find that this really helps to settle not only babies, but older children to sleep easily too. Having a consistent bedtime routine can help your baby associate these activities with sleep and may help them fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. A pre-bed massage with some lavender infused baby lotion may also help your baby to drift off to sleep more easily.

Create a calm and quiet sleep environment: Make sure your baby's sleep environment is calm and quiet. Use white noise or a mobile to play lullabies to drown out any noises that could wake your baby up and keep the room at a comfortable temperature. I've let my babies sleep in their nurseries with the curtains open during the day to get them used to falling asleep and napping easily during the day too.

Encourage self-soothing: Encourage your baby to learn how to self-soothe by putting them down when they are drowsy but not fully asleep - this is something I've done with all of my babies and I've found that it helps them to become confident at falling asleep on their own as they enter the toddler stage and beyond too.

Avoid over-stimulating activities: Avoid over-stimulating activities before bedtime such as watching TV or playing with loud and over-stimulating toys. Instead, opt for quiet activities such as reading a book, singing a lullaby or having quiet cuddles before putting baby down to sleep.

Try to a consistent sleep schedule: Trying to stick to a consistent sleep schedule can be hard when you have multiple children, places to be and lots to do, however, with regular nap times and a consistent bedtime each night, your baby will find it easier to sleep through the night as they will be used to their own schedule and body clock. This doesn't mean you have to time your baby's naps and sleep time down to the exact minute - each day can be very different when you have a baby, but having a general time for napping and bedtime can really help your baby's body adjust to a regular sleep-wake cycle and may make it easier for them to fall asleep and stay asleep.

It's important to remember that every baby is different - we're on baby number three who is slightly more different than his older brothers when it comes to staying asleep at night, but he's sleeping 12 hours a night so we really can't complain!

What works for one baby may not work for another. It may take some trial and error to find a routine that works best for your baby and your family.

If you have concerns about your baby's sleep habits or if they are consistently waking up during the night, it's always a good idea to consult with your GP.

For more baby sleep tips and tricks, read here about how I helped my babies sleep through the night from six weeks old.