How to Teach Your Newborn to Sleep Through the Night

One of the most amazing things in life is giving birth to that little one you call your child, but once the experience is over and the adrenaline wears off, the extreme exhaustion sets in and you are ready for a good night sleep.Those little bodies don't have the same rhythm as we do, and left to their own, may sleep all day and wake all night. Here are few tips to get them started on the right path.

First; do not expect them overnight to become adults. They are little and need to eat more frequently than we do. At the same time, you can easily expect a breastfed baby to go 5 hours in one stretch. They will sleep in several short spurts one to two hours apart, and then have that one longer stretch. The key is to teach them the difference between night and day as soon as possible and get that 5 hour stretch to fall at night. The longer they go sleeping all day and waking all night, the more solidly you set that habit.

In the beginning you may be too tired to know yourself which is day and night, but as soon as you start to recover and get back on schedule, teach your little one. Have a set routine and stick to it. Babies thrive in routines. If it's daytime and your baby is sleeping, open the blinds, let the sunshine in, or turn on a light. If they sleep longer than two hours in the day during the first few weeks, wake them, feed them, play with them, and put them back to sleep.

Once night falls, keep the room dark. No night lights, no street lights; it's important for your baby to learn the difference. Have a bedtime routine that is different from nap time. Maybe swaddle them at night only, or let them listen to music during naps. As long as you have a different routine for bedtime, they will see the pattern and learn the difference. Eventually you won't have to be so rigid, but if you persevere in the beginning; it will pay off.

After a few nights or weeks (remember it takes 21 days to set a habit, good or bad) of consistent training, you will notice your baby falling into a pattern. Follow it if you can and keep encouraging her to sleep at night. Do not wake her for night feedings during the 5 hour stretch. This will ingrain the habit to sleep. You may have more wakings during the day for feedings as she will be hungrier after that long of a stretch, but when you start getting a good night sleep, interrupted only once or twice, you will be thankful.

Remember routines and consistency is the key to getting your baby started on a good sleeping schedule. In the beginning, you may need to sacrifice going out during those times at night when she is learning to sleep, but having a baby sleep all night is the greatest thing of all.