How to Get Your Baby to Sleep Through the Night

Ok, so being completely honest here, I love my sleep a lot.  Unfortunately for me, my first baby had a hard time sleeping through the night.  As a result, I got hardly any sleep and got nothing done.  It was super frustrating!

The problem was, I did nothing to encourage my baby to sleep through the night.  I just hoped that one day she would sleep, and all my troubles would magically disappear. Well, it didn’t!  After 9 months I started sleep training my baby and finally, she started to sleep really well.

I wanted to be prepared so this wouldn’t happen with my next baby.   Some people use super strict routines to get their baby to sleep but I personally didn’t want to do that. That just seems stressful and how can you force a newborn to stay awake or fall asleep on cue.

Yea, not for me!!  So here is what I did for my next 2 babies, and they were able to sleep 8 hours at 2 weeks and 10 hours at 2 months (and they were both exclusively breastfed) so it can be done.

***This post may contain affiliate links to products I use and love.  Before implementing any health advice, please check with your doctor first as I am not a medical professional.  Read my full policy for more information.

Get Permission From Your Pediatrician

Please make sure you first get the go-ahead from your pediatrician as your baby may need to continue to feed at night if they are underweight.

Both my babies were big (over 8 ½ lbs when born) and they gained enough weight for my pediatrician to say that they can sleep as long as they liked (but not past 8 hours at 2 weeks).  At 2 months, my pediatrician said it was ok for them to sleep as long as they liked.

Help Your Baby Differentiate Between Night and Day

When babies are born, they are in “opposite” mode! They sleep all day and are awake all night! You need to help babies get accustomed to when it is day and when it is night.

Now, this step was actually easier for my second and third baby as there was always another child making a ton of noise during the day!  This helped a lot as it encouraged my baby to sleep at night when it was really peaceful!!

If you don’t have any other children, make noise instead of tiptoeing around.  Talk in a regular voice, vacuum, do laundry, always have the lights on, etc.  At night, be very quiet and ensure the lights are off.  This will really help your baby know the difference between day and night.

Another way that really helped, was to put my baby to sleep in a bassinet at night. During the day, the baby would either nap on me, in the pack n play, or in the swing (supervised of course!).

I also put my baby in onesie pajamas at night and regular clothes during the day.  Not sure how much this helped but can be another way to help your baby differentiate between night and day.

Feed Frequently During the Day

During the day I would always feed my baby every 2-3 hours and would wake them up to feed if they were napping (they would always wake up after a diaper change).

By feeding them frequently during the day, they won’t need as much at night.  This also discouraged long bouts of sleep during the day so they would want to sleep longer at night.

I always used a journal or app to time my feedings which helped a lot as sometimes I would forget when I last fed my baby.  It was also a good reminder to know which breast I started feeding on so I can offer the opposite one the next time to prevent engorgement.

Ensure They Nap Enough During the Day

I remember when people would always say to me, hey, try to keep them awake as much as possible during the day so they can sleep at night.  This didn’t work for any of my babies.  I also didn’t like trying to force them awake when they were tired.

I actually realized that when my baby had decent naps, they slept better at night.  As I was waking them to feed every 2-3 hours, I never worried about them sleeping too much during the day.

Feed as Long as Possible Before Bed

So, when I was pregnant with my second baby, I heard that formula-fed babies sleep better as formula takes a while to digest, so they are fuller for longer.  This worried me as I really wanted my baby to sleep well at night (because I love my sleep still!!).

Well, I breastfed my second and third baby and they slept soundly at night!  It was awesome!! I think what helped contribute to sleeping well at night, was having a longer feeding session before bed.  The longer they fed, the longer they could go without breastmilk.

You also have more “fatty milk” after your “let down” milk (known as “hindmilk”)  so the longer they feed, the more fat they will take in so they won’t be needing to wake and feed often!

Use a Sound Machine!

Before I became a mom, someone told me that I would need a sound (white noise) machine to help my baby sleep.  I thought it was really weird but decided to get one anyway!  Boy was it a lifesaver!  I mean, I felt like I was sleeping better with it on!

I got this cute owl sound machine.  My sister loved it so much when she visited us, she got one for her friend, and they said it was the best gift ever!!  This owl sound machine had many options (my favorite was the white noise with a heartbeat). This was close to mimicking my womb which I think helped my babies sleep soundly at night!

Stick to a Nighttime Schedule

So, during the day I had a light schedule by feeding 2-3 hours and letting my baby sleep when needed.  I would start their nighttime schedule 2 hours before bed.  This is when I would try to keep the baby awake and stimulated (be careful not to overstimulate as this can cause trouble sleeping).

When it was time, I gave my baby a bath and put them in their pajamas.  I then read them a very short story and feed them as long as possible (with the lights dimmed) before putting them to bed.  When they were done feeding, I’d turn off all the lights and put the sound machine on.

If the baby would wake up and fuss, I offered them more milk and put the baby back to bed.

Try Gas Drops Before Bed

Make sure you ask your pediatrician before you use gas drops to ensure it is safe for your baby.

I used this method for my second baby as he always fell asleep during his last feed.  Once he was asleep, it was impossible to get him to burp.  I tried everything and it didn’t work. I would put him down and he would wake up 5 minutes later screaming in pain.

When I was talking to another mom, she said that she had the same problem, so she always gave her baby gas drops right before the last feed.  This prevented and helped relieve gas without trying to force a burp out of them.  This worked really well for my second baby.

My third baby was able to burp really well when sleeping so we didn’t need to use gas drops for him.  Just depends on your baby!!

There are a lot of ways to help your baby sleep through the night and here is what worked for me.  I wish I could guarantee that your “night owl baby” will sleep soundly after doing this, but unfortunately, I can’t.  It’s always worth a try though as it could help! Especially if you’re done being sleep-deprived like I was!!

Good luck mama, you got this!!