How to Get Your Baby to Sleep All Night - Top Tips

Whilst some babies take to snoozing until dawn like a duck to water, this isn’t always the case. And usually, there will come a time your little one will have some temporary sleep troubles.

When you have a baby who seems to hate night time sleeping, parenting gets that little bit harder. You start getting sleep deprived, which can take its toll, and some parents can feel lost on what to do.

It’s frustrating, but remember, it’s only temporary. Your baby will get back into routine eventually, and you will get more sleep soon enough. But it’s a tough period!

At the moment you might be driving around until you’ve rocked your baby to sleep, or feed them every hour until you’re completely dry.

When nothing changes, you might even feel like you’re doing something wrong.

We’re here to tell you that’s not the case. Every baby has their own pace and adjusts to sleeping through the night in their own time.

But you can make this adjustment easier for them with a few of the right tips.

When do babies sleep through the night?

It might be frustrating to hear, but there’s no standard for this. Every baby has a sleeping pattern of their own and they learn to sleep through the night at wildly inconsistent ages.

Whilst you might be ready for your baby to sleep from 7pm to 7am already, it’s up to them when they actually do so.

That being said, we do have an average for you: 6 months. This is the age most babies tend to adjust to sleeping through the night.

But of course, a lot of babies won’t sleep through the night until they’re 8 months+ whilst others will sleep for more than 5 hours at night when they’re only 3 months.

We’re sorry we can’t promise you a full night’s sleep in the near future! If your baby is already 6 months old though, bedtime will likely become a lot less troublesome very soon.

But we won’t sugar coat it, there can be different times in their life where their may be sleep problems at all ages, from newborn right through to toddler age.

How much should your baby sleep?

Newborn to 3 months: young babies sleep around 16 to 18 hours in every 24.

This is most likely to be done in short blocks of 2 to 3 hours at a time.

3 to 6 months: many babies of this age sleep for 5 to 8 hours during the night and about 5 hours during the day.

This is when you can start effectively introducing a bedtime routine and teach your baby to sleep overnight.

6 to 12 months: infants from 6 months tend to sleep for around 12 hours at night and start to sleep less during the day.

Babies of this age are also less likely to require night time feeding and will sleep for longer blocks after being put to bed.

Common baby sleeping challenges

Most babies will go through sleeping challenges whilst they adjust to sleeping all night. It’s rare that a baby will drop off and stay asleep without fussing in one way or another.

These challenges may include:

Waking up multiple times a night
Crying when sleeping alone
Unable to sleep without being held

Should you be worried about these sleep challenges?

You have nothing to worry about. Almost every baby goes through sleep challenges and they’re usually just a part of babies learning to sleep alone through the night, along with psychological and physical development.

It can be very worrying when a baby seems to struggle to sleep all night long. If these challenges persist, you may start to believe they’re uncomfortable or even sick.

It’s also very frustrating to be unable to sleep through the night yourself! A lot of parents have to deal with sleep deprivation and all the emotional challenges that brings.

If you’re worried about your baby’s sleeping habits or troubles, there’s no harm in mentioning them to your doctor or health visitor.

Sleep regression: what it is and how to deal with it

A lot of parents notice their babies have significant sleep troubles at around 4 months of age. Even babies that have slept through the night before this age may start waking up often and being grumpy during the day.

If you notice these behaviours in your baby, they may be going through sleep regression.

This is nothing to worry about. Regressions occur as part of the normal sleep cycle adjustment and most babies will have a disturbed sleep period at some point before they’re a year old.

Regressions also don’t tend to last long and your baby will likely adjust to sleeping through the night again after a week or so.

To deal with sleep regression, keep up with the bedtime routine you’ve made for your baby. Try to keep any changes to a minimum as this may extend the regression and make it harder for your baby to readjust.

If you want to know more about sleep regression in babies, check out this article from Sleep Foundation.

Sleep regression happens at different ages, including toddler sleep regression.

How often should you feed your baby at night?

Night feeds are a normal part of caring for a baby. Baby stomachs are quite small so their meals tend to be small too.

That means they’ll regularly need feeding during the night. This is normal, although the amount of times you have to get up can be overwhelming.

But how often should you feed your baby at night? Once again, every baby is different!

Here are typical night feeding schedules based on the age of a baby:

Newborns: Newborn babies up to 2 months of age may need to feed once an hour, but usually they will wake up to feed every 2 to 3 hours.

From 2 to 3 months: Babies of this age will usually only want feeding around every 3 to 4 hours.

4 months+: This is when babies have started to settle into their bedtime routine and may only need feeding twice a night.

Age is usually the best indicator of how many night feeds a baby will need, but it’s not the only one.

These requirements will also vary based on your baby’s needs at the time, such as when they’re teething or going through a growth spurt. That’s why you shouldn’t need to worry if they’re suddenly waking up to feed more often.

Breastfeeding at night and sleep deprivation

If breastfeeding, it’s usually mums that have to get up to handle night feeds. This commonly leads to sleep deprivation, which can make night time disturbances a lot harder to handle.

Not only that, but you’ll experience less energy during the day, feel grumpy and snappy, and time spent with your baby may stop feeling as enjoyable as it used to.

That’s why we highly recommend sharing night feeds with your partner. This is possible even when breastfeeding, as you can use a breast pump to express milk and store it for later.

That way you can stay in bed and go back to sleep whilst dad does a bottle feed.

Signs your baby is ready to sleep

Finding the best time to put your baby down for bed can be tricky. However, it’s a pretty important thing to identify as it’s what your baby’s bedtime routine will be built around.

That’s why you should be on the lookout for signs that your baby is ready to doze off and get some proper kipping hours in.

These will include:

Yawning
Rubbing their eyes
Blinking a lot and heavy, slow blinking
They’ve just finished a feed
They seem sleepy!

You know your baby better than anyone. If they’re looking or acting sleepy, it’s time to put them into their crib and settle them in for the night.

Top tips on how to get your baby to sleep all night

So, what can you do to encourage your baby to sleep from the moment you put them down until sunrise?

There’s quite a few things to try. But before we get to the tips, there’s a couple of things to remember about where your baby should sleep:

Under 6 months old: young babies should sleep in the same room as you in their own cot/bassinet but try not to let them sleep in the same bed.
Over 6 months old: older babies can be transitioned into sleeping in their own room.

Get them into a bedtime routine asap

A bedtime routine is the best thing for settling your baby. Get them used to sleeping at the same time and they’ll soon adjust to feeling sleepy at that time every night.

How to structure a bedtime routine

Put your baby to bed at the same time: If this is 7pm today, make sure it’s 7pm tomorrow and so on.

Build up to bedtime the same way each night: Let your baby know it’s time for sleep by going through the same motions each night.

Most parents will do this with a bath, story time, singing, and a final feed.

Make sure the sleep environment is calm: A calm sleep environment provides the best conditions for sleeping soundly.

Keep the room cool, make sure they’re on their back, and try to keep the room dark to prevent overstimulation from light sources.

Don’t forget goodnight kisses and cuddles: These should always be part of the bedtime routine!

Teach them to self soothe

Self soothing is an essential life skill. If a baby is able to calm themselves down, they’re less likely to be startled by night time noises, lights, and anything out of the ordinary.

Plus, the earlier a baby learns to self soothe, the sooner they’ll sleep through the night without intervention.

This will also ensure better sleep quality. If a baby doesn’t need to be picked up, they won’t be removed from their sleeping environment and have to resettle all over again.

This means they can sleep deeper and for longer.

Before applying self soothing techniques, make sure your baby:

Has a dry nappy
Is well fed
Isn’t too hot or cold
Has been burped

Doing these checks ensures your baby is comfortable and isn’t hungry.

They also mean you’ll be less worried about leaving them to self soothe. You’ve checked them, you know they’re OK!

Some self soothing techniques that work well:

Stick to your routine like glue

A bedtime routine is like a comfort blanket. Sticking to it tells your baby that nothing is wrong and they’ll be much more at ease when put into their crib.

Put them in their crib, step away, but don’t leave the room

Stay in the room with them for a few minutes but don’t directly interact with them. Sit next to their crib or stand in view by the door.

This can help alleviate separation anxiety by teaching your baby you’re still there and haven’t gone away, even if they’re not being held.

Give your baby time to settle after leaving the room without going back in

It’s hard to stand by whilst your baby is crying, but if they fuss as soon as you leave the room, you may want to give them a couple of minutes.

This is a type of controlled crying that can be used for babies that are at least 6 months old.

Controlled crying methods like these give babies time to settle before you go in to soothe them. Each time you step out, you give them a bit more time in the room alone.

Gradually they learn that you don’t need to be there for them to feel OK to go to sleep.

If you usually feed your baby to sleep, use the signs of ‘sleep readiness’ above to stop feeding before they drop off, then place them in their crib

This can reduce dependence on feeding as a nighttime soother.

It also means you can be sure your baby is feeling sleepy when you put them in their crib!

Give them a dummy

Babies suck on dummies in a similar way to breast or bottle feeding. This tends to be a soothing action that makes babies feel relaxed.

Try swaddling

Swaddling is a form of self soothing that has been effectively used for thousands of years.

The leading theory is that the feeling of being swaddled is similar to the feeling of being nestled in the womb.

Whatever it is babies like about it, it’s clear that wrapping your baby up can help them to feel more secure and calm when being put to bed.

Swaddling has also been found to help babies sleep for longer at a time.

Tips for swaddling safely:

Swaddling has a lot of benefits, but it can be risky if done improperly.

To make sure you’re swaddling safely, follow these tips:

Don’t swaddle too tightly or too loosely – your baby should feel snug but not restricted.

Make sure you use a light blanket or muslin cloth – heavy fabrics are a total non-no.

Make sure their face and head remains uncovered – fabric should only ever be wrapped around your baby’s arms, body, and legs.

Don’t swaddle a baby who is capable of rolling themself over -you don’t want your baby getting themself stuck on their front.

If you’d like to follow a video guide on swaddling, we recommend How to Swaddle a Baby by RegisteredNurseRN.

Get them used to noise

We all know a bump in the night can be loud enough to startle you awake! Babies are no different and can be alerted by loud sounds and disturbances.

In a perfect world, you’d be able to keep your baby’s sleep environment calm and quiet at all times. However, it’ll be nearly impossible to maintain silence both in and outside of your house.

That’s why getting babies used to noise is crucial to getting them to sleep through the night.

There are many ways to incorporate low levels of noise into your baby’s sleep environment. For example, doing housework in another room or having the TV on low volume a room away.

You can also use a white noise machine – just make sure the volume is kept low and placed not too close to your baby’s crib.

Associate night time with sleeping

To be able to sleep at night, your baby needs to feel calm. Associating the night time with a sense of peace and calm will help them drop off when the sun goes down.

To create this difference, make daytime light and fun. Make sure sunshine comes in through the windows and you’re doing plenty of fun, energetic activities.

Then when you’ve settled your baby for the night, keep things like nappy changes to a minimum. Disturbances can disrupt the sense of calmness you spent so long creating!

Products that can help your baby sleep

Breast pump

Not necessarily a product for your baby, but a breast pump allows you to express milk ahead of time for use during night feeds.

Your partner can take charge of night feeding and you can get a bit more sleep!

If you want to buy a breast pump, our top pick is a Haakaa Manual Breast Pump.

Baby sleeping sack

These tend to be better than blankets as they’re not loose material and babies can be safely slipped inside.

Sleeping sacks also mean your baby is less likely to kick their blanket off and get cold during the night.

If you want to start using a sleeping sack – which is usually best after your baby is about 3 months old – we recommend HALO sleep sacks.

These sacks are super soft and breathable and can be worn until 3 years of age.

White noise machine

Sleeping throughout the night means getting used to disruptive noise. Even when you try to keep the sleeping environment quiet, you won’t be able to stop traffic sounds or an alarm going off.

White noise machines can help here. Set one up at least 6 feet away from where your baby is sleeping and try to keep it on a low setting.

If you want to use white noise to help soothe your baby, we recommend buying a Dreamegg machine. They’re super easy to use and come with loads of different sounds.

Dummy

Dummies can help a baby to self soothe when they wake up during the night.

They’re perfectly safe to pop in your baby’s mouth even when sleeping unsupervised.

If you want to grab a dummy for your baby, try one of the BIBS Soothers line.

These dummies are curved and have ventilation holes to ensure your baby has no trouble using them.

Getting your baby to sleep all night: what to remember

All babies are different: if your baby sleeps all the time or only sleeps in short bursts, it’s OK!
Babies shouldn’t sleep alone until they’re at least 6 months old: it’s a lot safer for babies to sleep in the same room for at least half a year.
The sooner you can get a bedtime routine going, the better!
Most babies will get separation anxiety: you don’t need to worry if your baby seems uncomfortable sleeping alone for the first few weeks.
Self soothing techniques are important for helping a baby comfort themselves: self soothing allows them better, longer sleep periods.
Swaddling is an effective way to comfort a baby: use light fabric, keep their head uncovered, and make sure your baby isn’t wrapped too tight or too loose.
Use our product recommendations above to help your baby sleep better and more safely.

Talk to a doctor if you’re worried about your baby’s sleeping habits: sleeping challenges aren’t usually a problem, but it’s always OK to double check.