When will they sleep through the night?

[FGSholdthedoor]

My DS is only a newborn so I'm expecting many more sleepless nights.
He is EBF so feeding on demand ATM.

But I would like to hear your best advice on how to get them settled into a good sleep routine.
I mean to start as I go on and I've heard that for a lot of people the early stages are important to be able to establish a good sleep pattern later on.

So how have you managed to get your baby to sleep through? How early on is that possible ?

[icantdothis2017]

I didn't do anything . It just happened naturally at 6 months for us ( we was very lucky )

[123456kent]

The advice that I think is working for us at the moment for improved sleep (certainly not sleeping through, only 7 weeks) is:
Daytimes are bright and loud, nighttimes are pitch black, no talking or “love” in the night - feed, wind, down
White noise played on phone app at night, loudly, all night
Wrap blanket round baby when soothing to sleep so they dont lay down in cold bed and wake up
Pat pat pat shhh on them rather than pick up in the night (only worked for past week)
Feed feed feed all evening
Bath then feed then bed (again, only in last week)
Lower expectations, expect little sleep, read about the 4th trimester to understand why
Good luck! I dont expect to be sleeping through for a long time, i feel its quite rare this happens at a young age

[Ecureuil]

We started a routine at around 6 weeks... very similar to the poster above.
Didn’t feed to sleep, warm bath, stories, bed, consistent nap times and bedtimes...

DD1 slept through at 3.5, DD2 at 15 months.

[Ecureuil]

3.5 years I mean x

[Smarshian]

We started bedtime routine bath, feed, bed at 6 weeks. She started sleeping through at 6 months. Was waking once from 4 months.

[123456kent]

Meant to add, a few nights in past week our baby has fed 10ish, 3ish and 7ish - which I suppose is just one wake up in the night? That’s not every night. And it takes 2 hours at least to get her down for the first stint.
But I’m very happy with those nights (the others, not so much!!)
What is wrong with feeding to sleep? Ftm and I do this, hadn’t realised it was a bad thing

[GreyMorning]

About two and a half years old.

[CannotEvenThink]

I have 3 of them. One slept through consistently around 5/6 months. Then we have the one who is 5 and still comes through for a cuddle most nights so.........

[Ecureuil]

123456kent nothing really, it’s just that it can create a sleep ‘crutch’, and will only settle back to sleep if they have a feed. At 6 months old DD2 was completely unable to settle herself, so would wake up after every single sleep cycle throughout the night (every 40 mins) and would only go back to sleep if I fed her, because that’s the only way she knew how to get to sleep.

[teaortequila23]

With my first she was also EBF on demand and she sucked my dry all day and slept from 11pm till 7am everyday from the day we brought her home. (I was scared shitless and kept ringing my Mum Who said never wake a sleeping baby if she’s hungry she will wake u) I listened and that’s was it.
With my second EBF on demand he’s 2and he don’t even still sleep trough every night Still! So u never know

[RockinRobinTweets]

Do EASY for good habits and aim to be in a 4 hour EASY by 4 months old

Eat
Awake time
Sleep
time for You

The Baby Whisperer is a great, flexible routin

[perfectpanda]

I did EASY routine too. Dc1 slept through at 3 months. Dc2 at 5 months. Dc3 is showing no signs of being close to sleeping through at 5.5 months. But from baby whisperer I have developed patting techniques so I know he will settle in night with patting if he isn't hungry. So last night I could resettle once without feed and then fed him at next wake up. It makes me feel more in control although no guarantee it will lead to an undisturbed night.

[teaandbiscuitsforme]

123456 There's nothing wrong with feeding to sleep - it's an amazing tool! However, like lots of things, it's a habit and you might find you need to break it one day. I started not feeding to sleep when my dd was about 20 months, DS feeds to sleep for naps and bed and he's 11mo. If you're happy with and it works, there's definitely nothing wrong with it!

[minipie]

I followed all the textbook advice on routine, sleep cues, sleep habits etc and also did some sleep training.

Both DC are terrible sleepers. DD1 seems to have inherited MIL's insomnia problem and wakes very early or for hours in the night. DD2 is a very light sleeper like my DM and me.

It's 90% nature IMO. There are things you can do (or avoid doing) which will help somewhat but ultimately it's not possible to guarantee a good sleeper (contrary to what ms g sodding ford says)

[Squidgling]

We didn't establish a routine with DD1. She was EBF and used to feed to sleep, was a nightmare for naps and we had to spend ours trying to put her down at night as she would wake constantly. She slept through from 15 months. We still at 2 years 9 months have nights where she does wake and we have to go in but for the most part she's fine. Goes to bed awake and sleeps until morning. I did have to do a bit of controlled crying at around 12 months or so to try and break this a little but it wasnt too bad at that age.

Dd2 is currently 12 weeks and also EBF with no routine. She is so far a much better sleeper and occasionally falls asleep on her own. Mostly is fed to sleep though but she will at least be put down.

I guess my thoughts are that a routine doesn't necessarily change anything at such a young age as mine are so different despite both being EBF and fed to sleep etc. We will implement one when she's a bit older like we did for DD1. So if you want one go ahead but don't stress about it.

Sorry if that's a bit garbled, I'm tired and full of cold.

[FortheloveofJames]

Babies do their own thing and each one is different. Also, babies sleep goes up and down in the first years- there’s so many things that can affect it such as growth spurts, developmental leaps, regressions, learning new skills, teething etc. Babies that sleep through early on can become frequent wakers some where down the line etc. Also, everyone’s definition of sleeping through the night can be different. My DS is 6.5 months and a fantastic night is one wake but some other nights it’s up down up down. He self settles and is EBF on demand.

You’ll find a way that works best for you and settle into your own routine. The only thing I do is make sure DS gets enough naps during the day because, he always sleeps better when well rested- most of the time...

My best advice would be not to stress about when your baby will sleep through. All I focused about with DS was sleep (or lack of) and I feel it did ruin the first few months a bit. Just find ways of dealing with whatever gets thrown at you and remember to take care of yourself as well. Also, don’t ask other people how their babies are sleeping, the last last thing you want to hear when your exhausted is how another baby is blissfully sleeping through.

Congrats on your little one and enjoy all the newborn cuddles

[Marcine]

I have an ebf 12 week old, no routine, fed to sleep etc and she's slept 11-7 since 6 weeks.
My other 2 DC slept through 7-7 at 8 months and 3 years!

[CakeAndChocolate]

My DS started sleeping through at around 3 years 4 months. He did sleep through a handful of times before then.

DD is 1 and has slept through a few times, but she still wakes more nights than not (and a couple of times each night too).

[Gannetseatfish]

My 2.4 year old slept through at 15 months, DD is 5 months and sleeps 2 hours through 😟

[WingingItDaily339]

i didn't have any routines til around 6/7months! But i did do the whole bright and noisy in the day, dark and quiet at night. I found it was easier for both me and baby to just leave him be - sleep when he needed, feed when he needed etc and only started a (very loose) routine at 6 months when he started weaning.
I found the later my DS went to bed, the less likely he was to wake in the night (by that I mean 9am bed - wake once or twice, 7pm bed - waking every bleeding hour) Really, every baby is different so our advice may be completely wrong for you. My son only really started sleeping through completely at 1yr-1 1/2yrs but still has the occasionally wake in the night at nearly 3yrs.
Don't stress yourself about though, especially as yours is still very young - my friend tried to establish routine from 2 months old and everyday I had to listen to her complaining that her DC wasn't 'doing what I want her to do' - she was trying to make her DC nap at certain times, whereas my son just fell asleep when he wanted - I was a lot happier and calmer than she was!

[Gannetseatfish]

Totally agree with @Wingingit, keep relaxed about it. You don’t need to worry about bright busy days etc, daytimes are that way anyway and nights are dark etc (where I live anyway). Same with bedtime routine, of course you’ll have a bedtime routine, bath, teeth etc it’s just normal behaviour. I would say keep an eye on naps I.e. sometimes they might need a wee resettle to sleep for longer but other than that go with the flow and don’t worry about what other children are doing 7-7 has never happened here!

[andylovesme]

For 5 to 6 months you will have to go through the difficulty. But once the baby gets use to the routine of sleeping at night and waking in morning, you should be fine by then. For 10 months babies stay in womb. That point they wont have a routine or time. To get use to the time we expect them to adapt to, it would take some time. You need to be patient.

[Chickoletta]

Read Gina Ford.

[Mum2jenny]

One slept through at 6 weeks, one was nearer 6 years. Just the luck of the draw I guess!

[ElphabaTheGreen]

^ Read Gina Ford.^

Yes, this, but it is essential your baby reads it too, or it's unlikely to work.

Honestly, there is nothing you can do other than manage your expectations about sleep. Sleep is a developmental skill - you can no more influence it than you can the ability to walk. Some babies acquire the skill to sleep for long stretches, separate from a caregiver from weeks old, some babies/children are unable to do this until years old. Assume that sleep will be an absolute roller-coaster until 2.5/3yo and you will have a far easier and pleasanter life than if you're hanging about waiting for that first elusive 'sleep through the night', which may happen once, then never again for another five months.

Parents who follow/recommend routines and swear by them got lucky - they either got a baby who is a natural sleeper, or they got a baby whose natural routine happened to follow the one they thought they were imposing. Parents of good sleepers who think it was their marvellous parenting don't get a very friendly reception on the sleep boards/threads here, and do tend to reduce me to swearing and abuse.

My first was a terrible, terrible sleeper - awake every 90mins to 2hours for the first 18mo of his life. I thought it was all my fault so by the time my second was born, I knew every, every strategy, routine, trick, method, you name it going to 'create good sleep habits', and even spoke with the sleep consultant I ended up using with DS1 to make sure I was prepared. He ended up being exactly the same as my first, despite my following 'good sleep habits' from day one.

They're now 5yo and 3yo and sleep brilliantly in their own rooms, in their own beds. Those early years of hideous sleep deprivation are a distant, if painful, memory.

The only sleep 'rule' I do set store by is day time napping, mainly because your baby is far pleasanter and less clingy when awake if they've napped well - as a newborn for example, they should not be awake for any longer than 45 minutes. Awake time gradually lengthens as they get older. Get them asleep any which way you can after the appropriate awake time and, if sleeping on you is the best way of keeping them asleep, then park up and have box sets ready. Trying to force either of mine into a cot was one of the biggest, sleep-stealing mistakes I made.

Have a Google of 'baby awake times napping' or similar, but try to only look at awake times. Ignore how long they 'should' be napping for or how long they 'should' be sleeping in unbroken stretches for at night. That way madness lies.

Good luck, because that's all it is!