Before we look at the term sleeping through the night let's give you a brief outline
of the usual sleep patterns at different milestones throughout your babies development.
During the first month babies spend a lot of their time asleep. It is not uncommon for a newborn baby to sleep around 15-17 plus hours in any 24 hour period, generally in 4 hour blocks. By around 3 months babies are beginning to sleep longer during the night and staying awake more during the day. By about 5-6 months babies are likely to be having 2 naps a day as most of their sleep will now be a night. Around the 6 month mark most babies are usually sleeping through the night.
So is your baby sleeping through the night?
Well you might be interested to know that the term Sleeping Through actually refers to when a baby puts themselves back to sleep without waking up completely and crying. All humans including babies have small waking periods during the night. Babies from around 6 months generally sleep through the night.
Does your baby stir during the night but not cry out but you tend to them as soon as they make a noise? If so you have to ask yourself these questions,
Is my baby just having brief waking periods and making a little noise?
Am I tending to my baby to prematurely?
Are they actually able to resettle themselves?
I challenge you tonight to not tend to your baby the first sound they make. See what happens, you might just be surprised.
Find more helpful hints and tips to help you baby sleep through the night.