You're exhausted. Your baby won't sleep. If it's been too long since you've had a decent night's sleep, we've got some baby sleep training tips to help you and your baby get some much-needed rest.
I've partnered with Huggies to share these baby sleep training tips.
I remember reading a study several years ago about how driving drowsy was just as bad as driving drunk. I didn't think too much about it at the time because I was fairly well rested. When I had my son, I had some "new mom" worry, but he was a pretty good sleeper overall. It wasn't until I had my daughter last year that I really, truly learned what being tired felt like. She was born 3 weeks early and those first few weeks were filled with feedings every 2-3 hours day and night, as they should be. The day she turned 3 weeks old everything changed though. She started to cry and never stopped. I'm talking about hours and hours of crying and me holding her to attempt to soothe her. She'd soon be diagnosed with colic and after trying 7 different types of formula, she also ended up being diagnosed with a milk protein allergy. To make a long story very short, with her digestive issues and reliance on me to comfort her any time she was upset, we went through 11 months of her waking every 45 minutes to 3 hours (if I was lucky) for her pacifier, a bottle, or just to be held.
By this time I was getting desperate. My memory was poor and I was making mistakes throughout the day. Sometimes I didn't think I should drive because my head felt foggy. This is actually fairly common; just check out this confession of sleep deprived parents video. After reading about a similar tale from another mom in an online forum and talking with our pediatrician, I decided to pay $169 for a custom sleep plan from a baby sleep expert. After filling out a lengthy questionnaire about our history and then reading the 52 page report they generated a week later, I realized that most of the information was what I already knew I needed to do, I just didn't have the courage to do it or it was never a "good time" to start. Well, I finally started right before she turned 1, and I'm really thankful that I can share that things are much better here.
I'm not here to tell you that your 3 month old should be sleeping through the night. Most babies aren't wired that way and they have a physical need for nutrition, day and night. There are some things you can do from a young age to get baby ready to sleep through the night and that's what I want to discuss. Then, when your baby is old enough you can use some sleep training methods like we did if that's what you're comfortable with. My baby just had no ability to soothe herself AND she was accustomed to being fed every 2-3 hours, so those are the two things we had to focus on in order help her sleep through the night. I want to share some baby sleep training tips that helped me - a mom that's been through it.
Baby Sleep Training Tips
Get on a routine and stick to it - My daughter's colic threw us for a loop. My husband ended up putting my son to bed each night while I took care of our baby girl. Shortly after she came out of her colic phase, we ended up moving in with my parents because my husband was moving jobs. Now there were 6 people and a dog living in a smaller space and again our routine got thrown off. It wasn't until I read our custom sleep plan that I realized she was missing the predictability of having a nightly routine. So, our routine looked like this: dinner, bath, pajamas, reading, bottle, lullaby while rocking, then I'd put her in her crib awake. I faithfully did this at the same time night after night because children thrive on routines. We ended up sacrificing some dinners or plans with family and friends, but disrupting the routine was non-negotiable.
Let baby sleep where they sleep best - As Dr. Sears explains, "Every mom, dad and baby must work out and keep evaluating what sleeping arrangement will get everyone a restful night’s sleep most of the time." Although I didn't plan on bed sharing with my daughter, after several months of waking and walking across the house every 45 minutes to 2 hours, I brought our baby into bed with us after her first night waking and she seemed to do a little better snuggled next to me. It helped me get a little extra sleep too. As she got older though (and we started sleep training), I realized she needed more space to sleep better.
Choose the right diaper for nighttime. Nighttime diapers are designed to be more absorbent to keep baby dry and comfy all night long. After troubleshooting many different ideas (maybe she's still hungry, maybe she's teething, maybe she's cold, maybe she doesn't like the fabric of her pajamas...) I realized that when my daughter was waking during the night she had just peed. I could tell because her diaper was warm when I'd pick her up. Huggies OverNites Diapers are the #1 selling nighttime diaper and are scientifically designed to support baby’s sleep at night (up to 12 hours). The wick away layer acts to keep baby’s skin dry and healthy and the SnugFit Waistband keeps the diaper in place as baby moves throughout the night for maximum protection. You can easily find OverNites at grocery stores and mass retailers so give them a try because that might be the key for you.
Putting baby to sleep awake - This was counter-intuitive for me because I'd always rocked our son to sleep until he outgrew it, but many experts agree that you should put your baby to sleep while they're sleepy but awake. That's part of the self-soothing process and a piece of the puzzle that we were missing. For us, that meant there were some sobs at first. We used a control crying method where I'd soothe her at intervals (5 minutes, then 10 minutes, then 15). I braced myself for her deafening shrieks, but the first night she only cried for 17 minutes (under my supervision). The second night less than 10, and the third night for less than 1 minute. I couldn't believe it but it worked and this paved the way for helping her to soothe herself back to sleep when she'd wake during the night.
Don't go to baby immediately during the night - This will be different if you're co-sleeping with your older baby or toddler, but once my baby learned to soothe herself a bit more, I found that she might only cry for a few minutes and then she'd find her pacifier and go back to sleep. Ordinarily, I'd rush right in there when I'd hear her on the monitor to try and ward off her fully waking. She didn't necessarily need that bottle I gave her. She was just used to it and once she learned that she could soothe herself, she'd go back to sleep and eventually she stopped waking so often.
Do you have any tips for helping your baby sleep through the night?
I'd love to hear them!
Disclosure: Photo copyright: 1st image - Adobe Stock / Author: highwaystarz, all other images courtesy of Huggies. I've partnered with Huggies for this sponsored post. All opinions are my own.
Laura says
My tip would be to try to establish a sleep routine and be consistent.
Nancy says
A consistent bedtime routine and extra absorbent diapers are key to a full night's sleep. We also played very soft music in the background for the first 30 minutes or so.
Stephanie Larison says
Try and keep them up during the day so they are tired by the time bedtime comes around to get them on a good schedule.
Mami2jcn says
Use a white noise machine to block out noises.
Natalie says
My tip is to turn off all noise and electronics at least a half hour before bed to help you baby sleep better.
Rija says
My baby doesn't sleep through the night,I am planning to stop night feedings-it helped with my older kids.
RK says
I couldn't sleep train my first until he weaned, since he refused a bottle and ate through the night. Then we didn't have it in us to try, until I finally got up my courage, and we were going to do the 5, 10, 15 minute method, but the first night he cried 15 seconds, the second night 10 seconds, and then not at all (so he was more than ready for that!). I also learned not to go immediately to him, as he often does a cry out in the middle of the night, and I learned to distinguish a real cry from one in his sleep pretty fast... Occasionally, he wakes up wet, or one night, he threw up, so when we checked on him, we saw there was a problem right away, and dealt with it, but that is definitely an important tip.
With my second, he started going for 6-8 hour stretches at 2 months old! Now, he's almost 5 months, and he's "regressed" a bit, depending on when he goes to sleep. He wakes up if we come in the room and he's been sleeping for a while (I guess he's in a lighter sleep then), but if he goes to bed later, he usually sleeps right through our commotion. Can't decide when to start the official sleep training (having him go to bed sleepy but not asleep), though I know it's an important skill and definitely want to do it before we did with our first! I just want him to get good at self-soothing while awake, I guess?
Linda Manns says
My best suggestion is to give them a nice warm bath, make sure their tummies are full, and maybe play some soothing music on low for them. Thank you for sharing this
natalie nichols says
My best tip for helping baby sleep through the night is to establish a bedtime routine and when they wake in the middle of the night, I'm sure to keep it dark and to put her right back to bed.
Cindy Kong says
I have a white noise machine, it helps a lot.
Maryann says
We've established a bedtime routine, which helps bedtime go smoothyl, and when she wakes up during the night, I soothe her so she quietly goes back to slepp
Michelle Bartley says
Darken the room and turn off electronics!
Amanda Tempel says
I just try not to bother her too much. When I first had her, I was checking on her all the time. Now I just keep a close eye on my monitor, and she sleeps through.
Amber Ludwig says
A good bedtime routine and a crib soother they can turn on by themselves if needed!
Jen G says
I give my son s warm lavender bath, a nice massage with lavender lotion a warm bottle while I read him a book and he's out like a light! Sleeps all night long!
Dagmar says
I like to give my son warm milk, it helps him fall asleep!
Alexis says
I think not to much light and no noise
Haley Cook says
The baby night time bath stuff is amazing !
Priscilla Lynn says
keeep the room dark and play soothing music
Kayla D. says
My best tip would be, maybe wear a glove/mitten and put on their belly and when they finally fall asleep, slowly take your hand out... that way, when they wake up, f they do, they'll still think your hand is still on them, and they will feel safe. Just something I read somewhere. 🙂 Sounds like a good idea to me.
Lily Kwan says
keep noise levels low and turn off the lights
Hannah says
mine doesn't sleep all night yet, but I AM trying to feed her solids close to bedtime, and that is helping
Sandra Watts says
I think it is really helpful to get baby on a regular schedule and stick to it.
MARIA simon says
you have to have a bedtime routine this worked well for me with my children
Richard Hicks says
Get them on a routine and make sure there is no noise to bother the baby