Most Common Question: When Will My Baby Sleep Through The Night?

When Will My Baby Sleep Through the Night?

Honestly, I don’t know! This is a difficult question to answer without getting into some specific details. This is unfortunate, because when parents ask this, I know they’re looking for a quick, time-based answer.

“One week from now,” or “Four months old,” are the kind of responses they’re hoping for. I would love to be able to say that, but there are a lot of factors to consider. There are also some things to understand before you can narrow down the timeline.

What Is Sleeping Through The Night?

The first thing I feel parents need to understand is this… Your baby will never sleep through the night.

That’s right! They won’t sleep through the night when they’re toddlers, or when they’re teenagers, or when they’re grown-ups, because nobody ever does! Not even you on your most rested night of sleep ever. We all sleep in cycles, which vary from light sleep to deep sleep and back again. Occasionally, when we get into the light sleep stage of a cycle we’re in the middle of a dream, or the dog jumps on the bed. That little thing, whatever it may be, is just enough to wake us up.

As adults, we’re used to it, so we just roll over and go back to sleep. Most of the time, the wake-up is so brief that we don’t even remember it the next day. But for babies who are used to being rocked, sung, bounced or nursed to sleep, waking up in the night requires external help to get back into that sleep.

So that’s the reason why baby’s never going to sleep through the night. But that’s not what parents are really asking. What they really mean to ask is, “When will my baby be able to get back to sleep on their own?” Routines are a great place to start, find out why here!

How Do I Teach My Baby To Fall Asleep?

That’s a much easier question to answer. Quite simply, this will happen when they learn how.
When you teach your little one to go to sleep on their own, they’ll be able to use that skill multiple times a night, every night, for the rest of their lives. Only then will they "sleep through the night"!

Most people are not comfortable leaving your baby alone in their crib and letting them figure it out for themselves (a.k.a cry). Don’t get me wrong, that approach has worked for a lot of people.  However, it’s not one that everybody is comfortable using. And it’s not the most gentle or effective way of teaching your baby great sleep skills. The traditional Cry-It-Out approach is a lot like leaving your child in front of a musical instrument with some sheet music and saying, “Figure it out.” Eventually they might. But assuming your child isn’t gifted in the sleep department, they could probably benefit from some lessons. And I’m just assuming they’re not, since you’re reading this!

Practice Makes Perfect!

And as with any skill that a child needs to learn, practice is essential, so let them give it a shot. There’s probably going to be a bit of crying, but that doesn’t mean you can’t go in and encourage, comfort and reassure them. What you shouldn’t do is do all the work for them. Obviously, that doesn’t teach them anything. So whatever your doing to get your child to sleep in the evening counts as doing the work for them. This includes giving them a pacifier, rocking them to sleep, or nursing them to sleep.

They may be frustrated, they may get upset, but they’ll learn with a little time and practice.
So although I can’t give an exact date or age when your baby will go through the night without crying, I can tell you without hesitation that it will be much sooner if you stop doing it for them.

If you are looking for support in teaching those independent sleep skills , I would love to help! Just email me at jensine@babyoandiconsulting.com to set up a call! I would love to help everyone in your home sleep through the night!