Sleeping through the night is a baby sleep milestone that many exhausted new parents dream about.
For babies, sleeping “through the night” is generally considered sleeping for at least six hours straight without a nighttime feeding. While babies will wake up briefly – possibly more than once – during this period, they’re able to fall back to sleep on their own. Which means their parents can finally get a good night’s rest.
When do babies sleep through the night?
Research suggests that most babies are able to sleep at least six hours at a stretch by about 3 months of age, or when they weigh 12 to 13 pounds. According to the National Sleep Foundation, an estimated 62 percent of babies sleep through the night by 6 months – a number that rises to 72 percent by 12 months. That’s because, by about 6 months of age, babies’ sleep cycles are generally more regular and predictable.
When your baby will sleep through the night varies, though, depending on a number of factors (including when they can go for a longer stretch without a nighttime feeding). As you can see from the data above, there’s a wide range of normal. Plenty of babies aren’t sleeping through the night at 6 months or even 1 year old.
How to get your baby to sleep through the night
Here are a few tips to help your baby sleep through the night.
- Play during the day. Keeping babies active during the day helps them to sleep longer stretches at night.
- Be strategic with naps. At 6 months old, babies need two to three daytime naps (one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and perhaps a third in the late afternoon). Learn and follow the cues that your baby is tired and needs to rest, and let them sleep as long as they need. But if your baby has a third, late-afternoon nap, try to cut it out of your routine by about 9 months so you can put them down to sleep for the night earlier.
- Set a consistent bedtime. As you’re trying to get your baby on a more regular sleep schedule, it’s important to put your baby to bed at the same time every night. Follow your baby’s rhythms – if they’re a night owl, set their bedtime later.
- Establish a routine. Bath, book, song, bed: Bedtime routines are the secret sauce for baby sleep. It’s also a good idea to dim the lights and ensure your baby is in a calm and quiet environment in the half an hour or so before bedtime.
- Don’t rock your baby to sleep. Put your baby to bed drowsy but awake. This helps avoid developing a dependence on you to fall asleep and makes it easier for your baby to fall back to sleep on their own when they wake at night.
- Teach your baby to self-soothe. Just like with adults, it’s perfectly normal for an infant to wake up briefly several times a night. But you can help your baby learn to settle back to sleep by waiting a few minutes before responding to fussing. That way they’ll have a chance to fall back asleep on their own.
- Try a pacifier. A pacifier can help your baby self-soothe, and using one at night has been shown to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
- Don’t wake your baby to feed. After the first couple weeks of life, most healthy babies who are gaining weight steadily don’t need to be woken up to feed during the night. If you do have to pick your baby up for a feed or diaper change at night, keep the lights low to avoid waking your little one more than necessary.
- Consider sleep training. Sleep training can help your baby learn to self-soothe and sleep through the night. You can start sleep training starting at 4 to 6 months of age, when babies’ circadian rhythm and sleep cycles are more well-established and they’re starting to fall asleep on their own. There are lots of different methods, from the “cry it out” to the “fading” method. Choose the technique that feels right for your baby and family.
You may have heard that adding rice cereal to your baby’s evening bottle will help them sleep better or longer, but there’s no evidence to suggest it helps. In fact, it’s a choking hazard and can cause constipation. Plus, offering solids too early can deprive your baby of the necessary nutrients in breast milk or formula. The Pediatrics recommends that babies start solid foods when they’re developmentally ready, at about 6 months of age.
When do babies start sleeping longer?
Many babies start sleeping five- to six-hour stretches by 3 months of age. At some point in the first year, your baby may sleep nine to 12 hours at a time without needing to eat, although this varies a lot from baby to baby.
When do breastfed babies sleep through the night?
Formula-fed and breastfed babies are equally likely to sleep through the night by 6 months of age, research suggests.
You may have heard that supplementing with formula will help everyone sleep better. But the research is far from conclusive that using formula has any effect on a baby’s ability to sleep.
One recent study found that formula-feeding moms got the same average hours of sleep as those who did any amount of breastfeeding when their babies were 3, 6, and 9 months old. Exclusively breastfeeding, however, did result in less sleep for moms in the early months – although these differences disappeared by the time babies were 9 months old.
Other research, however, has found that exclusively breastfeeding mothers actually sleep 30 minutes more than those who formula feed when their babies are 1 month old, with the same number of nighttime wakings.
Breastfed babies tend to eat more frequently in the first several weeks, and breast milk does digest faster than formula. That said, the nutrients in breast milk are better absorbed and used by your baby than those in formula – which is one of many reasons why the Peditrician recommends exclusively breastfeeding if possible for the first six months of life.
Luckily, biology provides a solution for some breastfeeding challenges. Breast milk contains hormones including leptin and melatonin, which encourage fullness and sleep in babies. Breastfeeding moms also produce the hormone prolactin, which helps them to not only adapt to the stressful parts of caring for a baby – including broken sleep – but also to get more deep sleep when they do snooze.
Bottom line: Don’t feel like you need to rely on formula to help your baby sleep better. If you’re able to exclusively breastfeed, it’s likely that you’ll get close to the same amount of sleep as you would using formula – especially as your baby grows older.
Why some babies have trouble sleeping through the night
There are a number of reasons babies may have trouble sleeping through the night, which often vary based on a baby’s age. These may include:
- Hunger. From birth until 3 to 6 months old, babies need nighttime feedings. And older babies are used to eating several times during the night, so may continue waking up to eat. If your baby is at least 4 to 6 months old, you can consider night weaning.
- Separation anxiety. Your baby may cry during the night because they’re frightened you’re not there. But if you rock them back to sleep, they’ll learn to rely on that. Instead, try to comfort your baby by gently touching their head and softly speaking to them. That way, they’ll be comforted to know you’re there but won’t associate fussing with cuddles.
- Inability to self-soothe. While it can be hard at first, keep in mind that you don’t need to respond immediately when your baby fusses. In fact, allowing your baby to fuss for a few minutes allows them to learn the important skill of self-soothing themselves back to sleep.
- Bed-sharing. The Peditrician recommends sharing a room but not a bed with your baby for the first six months. Bed-sharing impacts your baby’s ability to sleep through the night and increases the risk of SIDS.
- Sleep regression. Sometimes even the easiest sleepers can revert to waking up again. Baby sleep regression is common at 4, 6, 8, 12, and 18 months of age, due to a number of factors.
- Teething. Just when you think you’ve hit a stride with sleeping, the pain of teething starts waking your baby up at night. This can happen as early as 3 months, but usually occurs between months 4 to 7. Stick to your usual sleep routines and remember, this too shall pass!
- Nightmares and night terrors. Older kids – usually starting at around 3 years old – may be woken by nightmares and night terrors, which usually occur in the first few hours of the night.
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