How Can You Help Your Baby to Sleep Longer?

Sleeping through the night means different things to everyone, even according to science! According to some research done, it could be 6-8-10 hours. Everyone including adults experiences partial arousal in between sleep cycles and that is ok. No one actually literally sleeps through the night.

Young babies (4-9 months) might still need some night feeds, and that is ok, usually, they are very brief wakings. Babies 4 months+ are able to sleep long stretches (6-8 hrs), and as they grow older they are able to make it through the night completely (6/7 pm - 6/7 am). With sleep regressions/developmental milestones, things might be a little off track but this is just temporary!

So how can you help your baby to sleep (long stretches or through the night)? 

1- Establish sleep routines:

Sleep routines help the brain early on to pick up on patterns and be somehow on an “autopilot” mode to understand that it is sleep time. Creating a consistent and relaxing sleep routine helps the body to unwind from the day’s activities and serves as a cue for sleep time. Routines would vary according to age and interests but in general, they should be short and simple and not overstimulating for the brain. As simple as bath, massage, bedtime story, and feed. 

2- Understand the sleep needs:

Children have very different sleep needs, from schedules or wake windows and biological timings to a number of naps, to timings of sleep. Each baby will have his/her unique sleep needs but ignoring or being unaware of those needs, makes the baby wakes up more at night. So having a suitable schedule will help the baby to sleep longer.

3-Fill in the tummy and love tank during the day: 

Filling in the love and tummy during the day will support the body to sleep longer. Night feeds needs are something that will be different from one child to another, in general children will be 1-3 feeds after 4 months of age. Those wakings for feeds at night should be brief, and the baby should be eating normally during the day, if you notice that your child is eating more at night than during the day, then we can help this baby to gradually shift the feeds during the day.

As for the love tank, it’s natural, children need a lot of love and comfort in the first years of life, and during separation anxiety phases, they may wake up more frequently at night but again this is just a phase and it passes. Filling in the love tank during the day and establishing securely attached dynamics in the home will help eliminate those night wakings. 

One last thing, is your baby falling asleep on his/her own? If not, then maybe it’s time to explore how can you support them do so. Why does independent sleep matter? Because it helps babies to sleep smoothly in between sleep cycles without waking up every time to find the same setup he/she has seen while falling asleep. Independent sleep does not mean cry it out or just leaving the baby alone to figure things out. We can be there to support and offer comfort and love during the process. The newborn will need parents’ support and touch to sleep and this is very normal, as the baby starts to grow older (after the 4th trimester), he/she is able to sleep independently.

If you need help figuring out sleep, please get in touch to help you through it all!