Newborn babies up to approximately 6 months old may have difficulties sleeping through the whole night. After all, when they were in the womb they had more of a nocturnal schedule. As mom moved about during the day, she rocked the baby to sleep, and when she settled in for the night, typically babies wake up and start moving around due to the lack of movement. As such, it may be difficult getting your newborn baby to sleep through the night.
At the same time, setting a good nighty-night schedule for them not only supports them in their physical, mental and emotional development, but it also helps you, as a parent, get some much-needed rest!
Infants need about 14 to 17 total hours of sleep per day (and usually wake every two or three hours). By about 4 months, most babies sleep 10 to 12 hours at night and nap for three to five hours of sleep a day (spaced between two or three naps). And as parents may know, a well-rested baby means a happy household.
How to Get My Baby To Sleep Through The Night
1) Create a bedtime ritual
Toddlers seem to do well with a set schedule and routine so it’s best to start early with your infant. This means having meals, naps and playtime at specific hours during the day until they are used to their schedule. Over a couple of weeks, not only are they used to it, but they can even get a little cranky if you deviate from it!
2) Make daytime feeding lively and night time feeding calm
This helps communicate to your baby that day time is the time to be awake and night time is when everyone in the house sleeps. Sure, they may wake up to eat every couple of hours but keeping it calm will convey to them that once they are finished eating, it’s time to go back to sleep.
3) Give your baby the chance to fall asleep on his/her own
When you notice your baby is sleepy, put him or her on their back and allow them the opportunity to fall asleep on their own. If you are in the habit of rocking them to sleep, they may start to depend on it which may not be in your or your baby’s best interest.
4) If your baby cries, give him/her a minute to cry. They may settle themselves. If after a couple of minutes they haven’t stopped crying, check on them. Rub their tummy and tell them that it is bedtime. With my daughter, I did this and after about the 3rd night of not picking her up, she easily fell asleep without crying.
In summary, give your child some time to adjust to the new bedtime schedule and be consistent in your actions. After a few nights, they will start easing into the new routine and you will be well on your way to fewer cries in the middle of the night!
About Little Human Scholars School and Full Day Daycare Centre in PJ
Little Human Scholars is an all-in-one childcare solution. It is a preschool, playschool, kindergarten, nursery and full day daycare centre (with extended hours) located in the heart of PJ.
In fact, the location is one of the things which makes Little Human Scholars so sought after – it is conveniently nestled near Jalan Gasing, University hospital, PJ Old town, PJ New town, Jaya One, Jaya33, and the PJ IT Mall.
The best part is LHS has premiere services many other schools in PJ don’t offer such as full-day daycare with extended hours, CCTV access for parents, and a nifty little phone app called Toddlytic which provides parents with automatic updates on their child’s development, behaviour and health checks.
With full-time guards always present at each of their locations, access to CCTV (which is in every room except the office, bathroom and kitchen areas), and very strict pick-up and drop-off rules, Little Human Scholars treats every child who walks into its hallways as one of their own children!
This place has it all: location, safety, health, IGSCE curriculum, and play-based learning. What more could you ask for? Did I mention they also have transportation services and offer meal plans for students? It doesn’t get any better than that.
If you are interested in a tour of one of our centres (that’s right, there’s more than one), all you need to do is fill out the form here or call +6017-7303-025 and an LHS administrative staff will get back with you shortly!
Cheers,
Jana Moreno