How to Get my Baby to Sleep?
Tags: Baby Care, Baby Sleeping

While pregnant, you’ll get lots of advice about how to function on no sleep and deal with babyhood’s bummers. So once your little munchkin arrives you may be surprised by how many pleasures tag along for the ride. Consider all these benefits of being a new mommy and you’ll be looking on the bright side, too!

In the first six months of life, it’s normal for your baby to wake regularly at night. Your baby will probably need you during the night for feeding and help with settling during these early months.

Even after the first six months or so, baby sleep habits and behavior vary a lot. This means it can be hard to tell when baby sleep and settling has become a problem.

But you might have a baby sleep problem if, over a period of about three months, your baby aged six months or older:

1. Consistently wakes more than three times a night

2. Consistently takes more than 30 minutes to settle

3. Has difficulties with sleeping and settling that cause you a lot of distress.

Here are some of the most common reasons your baby might not be sleeping at each stage during the first year, and solutions to help your restless little one get her Zzzs.

Your baby can’t sleep because she’s overtired.

It is a huge misconception that babies who are super tired will sleep better.

They will not.

They will sleep worse, baby wakes more, and becomes fussier and whinier overall.

There will be more tossing and turning and they will have more difficulty staying asleep.

Quite simply, it backfires every time.

Baby won’t sleep because he doesn’t eat enough solids.

If your baby is 5 months or older and not on solids they will likely wake frequently at night.

I’m not telling you to feed them solids if your pediatrician suggested you wait until 6 months or you aren’t ready, but the reason they are waking is that they are legitimately hungry.

When you start giving them ample solids you will see improvement in sleep. In the hours before bedtime, it’s important to make sure the baby is eating well and feeling full.

A baby also won’t sleep if he snacks too much and isn’t getting enough milk.

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Whether your baby is experiencing one of the problems above, or they’ve just surpassed the milestones to be able to sleep at night, there are ways you can help your baby (and yourself!) sleep through the night. Scientifically Proven Solution That Gets Your Baby to Sleep like Clockwork (“Affiliate Link”)

Establish a bedtime routine.

It’s never too early to get a bedtime routine started. Your bedtime routine should be simple and sustainable, so it’s easy for you to do every night. Even the smallest change in your baby’s routine can leave them feeling off, and suddenly waking more frequently at night. Include calming, soothing activities that your baby seems to respond to, like swaddling and shushing. The bedtime routine can be where you create positive sleep associations for your baby.



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Teach your baby to self-soothe, which means trying your best to soothe them less.

When your baby wakes in the middle of the night and cries for you, it’s always okay to go check on them. However, try and limit your time in there with them. Make it clear that it’s still time to sleep, not play or eat. Place your hand on their chest for a few moments to calm them, then leave the room. The Zen Swaddle and Zen Sack are gently weighted on the chest and sides, which make your baby feel like you’re still there. This can help ease separation anxiety, break the sleep association to be held to fall back asleep, and help your baby learn to self-soothe.

Start weaning the night feedings.

Once you get the okay from your doctor to stop night feedings, you should slowly start to reduce them. In many cases, feeding becomes a sleep association because you fed your baby every time they woke up. Just because that’s no longer necessary, doesn’t mean your baby won’t want it anymore. Slowly wean them off the night feedings (maybe try a dream feed?), feeding them less and not as frequently over a few days or a week to get them used to not feeding every time they wake.