Baby Sleep Problems? What To Do When Your Baby Just Can't Sleep Through The Night

Most babies do not sleep through the night for many reasons. Sometimes it could be due to an illness or discomfort as in colic.

But some of the sleep problems could be caused by you! You don't do this on purpose, you just did not know. You probably got advice from family and friends on how to solve the nighttime baby sleep problem.

What not to do:

(1) If your baby is under 2 months old, do not spend more than a half hour trying to sooth the baby to sleep.

(2) Please do not leave a bright light on in the baby's room at night. Just leave enough light in the room so you can change and feed your baby. Your baby needs to learn that if the room is dark it is still sleep time.

(3) As mentioned in some of my articles, do not let your baby have a bottle at night in the crib. It is best to use a pacifier.

What to do:

Having said all of that, here are a couple of tips that might help.

(1) While you are feeding your baby and baby starts to look sleepy, gently put baby into the crib. If you rock or hold your baby to help sleep, this could cause a dependency issue. Just stay near until your baby falls asleep.

(2) Should baby wake up at night, take care of what needs to be done, i.e. a change of diaper or a feeding. BUT, do not start playing around and do not turn on the bright lights. Be very serious and put baby back in the crib. This will help your baby understand that it is still sleep time.

I invite you to try out these tips to give them time to work. Wait at least a week or more before trying the next tip.