By the time they were six weeks old, my babies slept through the night. It was lucky that nature took care of them, because at the time, this mother didn't know how to do anything on purpose to make them sleep.
From listening to other mothers' experiences, however, I understand nature does not always lend a helping hand. Some babies are more highly influenced by their surroundings to jeopardize their sleep patterns while others have nervous systems that are not yet fully developed. Still others may have medical problems that spoil their sleep.
Some simple medical problems can be taken care of in the home. For example, babies who suffer from stomach reflux problems need to have their heads elevated, so the milk does not come back up in their sleep. The same goes for babies who have apnea or congestion. In these cases, a positioner with a wedge shape in the bed might help. Using extra bedding articles in the bed, however, should be handled with caution. A rolled up blanket, if it opens up, or tiny or too soft pillows may clog the baby's breathing passages accidentally.
Most babies need to establish a pattern to adapt their sleeping needs to the needs of their family. Some parents like to stick to a very strict routine while others leave the routine setting to the baby. Either way, some kind of a schedule--perhaps one not too difficult for the baby or for the parents--can succeed.
It is possible and easy to sleep-train a healthy baby who is six weeks or older and is not sleeping through the night on his own. When sleeplessness happens, gradually changing the baby's feeding needs to daytime is the first step, since establishing more or less of a constant pattern will help. If a baby's nutritional needs are fully met during daytime, there is no reason that a healthy baby should not sleep at night.
Nevertheless, a parent or a caregiver must not forget that babies need to sleep at least twice during the day, one after the morning feeding, the other in the afternoon. After the baby gets a few hours of afternoon sleep, keeping him awake during the day toward the evening may work well. The thing to do here is to pay more attention to him by talking, cooing, holding and carrying him around.
In addition, at sleep time in the evening, keeping him calm in his bed and not attending to him more than necessary may give good results. On the other hand, a fiercely crying baby should never be left unheeded. He may have a physical need or may be ill.
High-strung babies especially need the comfort of another human being. A suggestion could be to keep such a baby in his bed and sit near him until he falls asleep. Having a comfortable chair or a cot near the baby's bed for the parent to rest is a good idea. If this doesn't work, massaging the baby and singing to him may comfort him enough to make him go to sleep. A darkened room at this time may also be of help.
Staying in tune with the baby's needs should be the delight and the duty of the person who takes care of him. Since all babies long for human contact, carrying him in a sling or another type of baby carrier next to the parent's body during the day may increase the chances for a better nighttime sleep schedule. Each baby is different, and the key point here is not to panic if a baby is not sleeping through the night, because eventually, all babies adapt to a sleep pattern.
This article has been submitted in affiliation with http://www.BabyNameVote.Com/ which is a site for Baby Names. Joy Cagil is an author in http://www.Writing.Com
