When do babies sleep through the night? And what might be preventing it?

 Taking care of a baby is no easy task.

This is something almost any parent would agree with.

Given that babies need constant attention, whether it be for bathing, feeding or anything else’

And indeed, this is the experience of many people who become parents.  

You could say that it begins from the time of pregnancy. Since the fetus requires a lot of attention until delivery, there is a lot of pressure for soon-be parents to care for their child.

Likewise, there is an even higher pressure on mothers to care for themselves, at least for the baby’s sake. It’s something that cannot be negotiated on.

Of course, this is just the beginning. You see, the adventure will get started from the day of delivery.

The reason for this is because babies are born nearly helpless. What this entails is a constant need for care and attention, for a long time.

In contrast to this, many animals are almost self-reliant at the time of birth. For example, the baby deer can walk and run within moments of being born; in contrast, human beings learn to walk several months to a year after being born.

When it comes to babies, one of the biggest challenges is that of managing their sleep.

As any parent would agree, taking care of a sleeping baby is no easy task. They sleep and wake up at odd hours, and have sleep cycles that are very different from adults.

It’s especially frustrating when they wake up crying at night, causing sleepless nights for parents. Below we will look into why this happens and how you can deal with the situation.

The details given below will explain how a baby’s sleep cycle works, why it is the way it is and how to manage it. At the end of the article, you’ll be in a better position to deal with your little one’s sleep needs and your own.

 

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A GENERAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE BABY’S SLEEP CYCLE

 

WHY DO BABIES NEED SLEEP?

This might seem like a lousy question, but the fact is babies need sleep for reasons very different from that of adults.

You see, we sleep for necessary repairs and maintenance of our bodies, the elimination of wastes and what not. It is the process by which our bodies prepare for the next day.

But sleep has a very different purpose for babies. They have a lot of growing up to do, and it is during sleep that this growth takes place. It is the time where their brains, as well as bodies, begin to grow rapidly, all of which happens during sleep. In other words, babies sleep because of their need for bodily growth, which happens for the most part during sleep.

A baby needs to sleep for that is the time when their body starts to grow and develop.

All that said and done, the reality is a different story. You see, putting babies to sleep is no easy task. As any parent would agree, babies are not that easy to put to sleep, and even if they do fall asleep, their sleep pattern is very different from adults; they sleep in sporadic cycles and wake up at odd hours.

Managing this can be quite challenging, for it will last for a very long time. The exact details are many, but a general understanding is given below.

HOW MUCH SLEEP DO BABIES NEED?

People without babies think that babies need the same amount of sleep as an adult. Those with kids know better.

The reality is that babies sleep a lot more than adults; to the tune of about twice as much. In other words, while the adult human beings sleep for about 8 hours, babies can sleep for as much as 16 hours.

It should be added here that babies will not suddenly stop sleeping 16 hours a day. On the contrary, the amount of sleep they need gradually declines over time, until it reaching around 6-8 hours a day. This entire process will last several months, and not something that will happen overnight.

Another thing to be noted here is the way babies sleep. Unlike adults who sleep in a single stretch, babies tend to sleep in short bursts throughout the day; the total of which is about 16 hours. In other words, babies sleep sporadically throughout the day, rather than in one continuous stretch.

Furthermore, their sleep cycle will vary repeatedly, at least during their first year or two. What this means is that they may sleep steadily for some time, after which, their sleep pattern changes. For example, they may end up sleeping for three hours at a stretch for some time, after which it might change to four hours and so on.

And here is where the real problem begins with. It is not going to be an easy task when you have one sleep cycle and your baby has another. It is frustrating for parents to be woken up at night by a crying baby. One of the main reasons for this is because babies will have finished their sleep. 

UNDERSTANDING THE VARIOUS SLEEP STAGES OF BABIES

There are a couple of stages that the human body goes through during infancy. Understanding this will help to know how to deal with it all.

To begin with, babies don’t sleep like adults. On the contrary, they sleep in a pattern that is very unique, with sleep durations lasting about 16 hours each day. Also, this cycle is broken up and spread throughout the day, rather than being a single stretch.

Of course, this is all just a generalization and there is a lot more to it. All babies need to pass through several stages, lasting from a few months to a whole year.

In general, there are four changes that babies need to go through before they begin sleeping like adults. The details of this are given below:

1.) A Decrease in the Startle/Moro Reflex

One of the most significant changes to take place is a decrease in the Startle/Moro reflex.

The Startle/Moro reflex is in very simple words a reflex action common in babies, where they tend to be ‘sensitive’ to various stimuli.

Some of the common stimuli here include, among others, loud noises, changes in movement, temperature fluctuations, and even bad dreams. In general, anything that even remotely startles a baby has the potential to wake your little one up.

This usually comes to an end after about 4 months. In simple words, the baby gets ‘desensitized’ to the stimuli as they grow up, marking a new stage of their sleep cycle.

2.) Increased Feeding & Growth

The bodies of babies start growing rapidly once they are born. This is especially true for the first few months, where the growth cycle is particularly rapid. In fact, the period lasts for several months, extending well into adolescence and beyond.

Once this phase completes, the baby’s body reaches a new stage of growth, where the ‘foundation’ for further growth is set. The exact time duration for this varies anywhere from a few months to a year. During this period, the baby’s life is marked by an increase in food consumption, as well as rapid growth.

Once this stage has been passed, the sleep cycle tends to become stabilized.

3.) A Decrease in the Number of Night Feedings

This is in a way related to the previous point.

When a baby reaches a certain age, the amount of food he or she consumes will decrease as well, even though nutritional demand remains high.

This is because babies have a high requirement for nourishment to sustain their growth. Once this happens, the nutritional demands will start declining. This reduction, in turn, affects the number of feedings at night.

4.) The Ability to Self-Soothe

One of the most common ways babies get attention is by crying.

The baby learns early on that crying is very effective to get the attention of their parents. The process is called reinforcement and is common to all infants and will sometimes last for several years.

As time passes by, babies learn to soothe themselves, rather than depend on their parents. This is when babies begin to suck their fingers or rely on a pacifier.

It is only after these four stages are completed, that the baby’s sleep cycle normalizes.

THE TRANSITORY PHASE OF THE BABY’S SLEEP CYCLE

The baby’s sleep cycle is marked by sporadic bouts of sleep; steadily increasing, until the baby stabilizes into a continuous stretch.

The exact time frame looks something like this:

• 1-4 Months – This is the hardest period for any parent, as it is the phase marked by short sleep cycles, multiple times a day. Also, babies tend to wake up crying after waking up, which can be frustrating if it happens at midnight.
• 4-6 Months – This is the ‘transitory’ phase where the baby doesn’t sleep through the night, nor do they sleep in multiple cycles. On the contrary, they sleep for longer periods of time. Even then, the baby will sometimes wake up at midnight, often crying.
• 6 Months & Beyond – This is the final phase of the baby’s sleep cycle. It is from here that babies start sleeping for longer stretches. Most babies will complete this within a year. In other cases, it might go beyond the one year mark.

What this means for parents is that they’ll need to be prepared for a lot of sleepless nights. Lasting for anywhere from six months to a year, these are going to be the toughest nights for parents everywhere.

WHEN DO BABIES START SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT?

Once babies complete the four stages of growth mentioned in the previous part, they will start to sleep through the night.

 The exact time for this to begin is anywhere from one to two years. In other words, there isn’t really a need to force a routine of having your baby sleep through the night, as it will happen on its own. Simply put, the baby will outgrow the need to wake up its parents in the middle of the night.

TAKING CARE OF A BABY’S SLEEPING NEEDS

Several things must be addressed regarding infant care. Among them, one of the most important happens to be their sleep needs.

This can be rather difficult to manage, at least during the early stages. It takes a certain degree of motivation and willpower to endure the early days of childcare.

Not many people can endure being woken up every night by a crying baby. But as frustrating as it may be, there are many strategies available for parents.

 

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SOME COPING STRATEGIES FOR PARENTS

ACCELERATING THE SLEEP CYCLE TRANSITION PROCESS

A lot of parents would like to know if this sleep cycle can be accelerated.

As much as they would like a positive answer, the reality is the opposite. Unfortunately, this is a biological process that can’t be accelerated.

But that doesn’t mean that nothing can be done. There are several coping strategies that exist for the same.

Some of the ways that can be done are given below.

1.) Create an Ideal Sleeping Environment

We all need a certain amount of quality sleep, which in turn requires certain conditions

So what are these conditions?

There are a few important environmental conditions that influence a person’s sleep cycle.

Some of them are given below:

 

2.) Lighting

Humans are diurnal creatures.

In other words, we are active during the day and sleep at night.

It is, therefore, necessary to create a sleeping environment similar to the one available at night. This means that we must eliminate as much light as possible.

Simulating nighttime conditions can be of help in putting babies, and ourselves to sleep each night. Given a night-like condition, the body naturally gets the ‘signal’ that it is time to sleep.

While achieving night-like conditions may not always be possible, we can still do it to a certain degree. A couple of strategies exist for achieving this. Some of them are:

• Turning Off the Lights – This is one of the more obvious solutions to the problem, but often overlooked.

• Keep Siblings Preoccupied – One of the most common sources of noise in the house are, ironically, other kids.
  If your baby has an older sibling, try to keep them preoccupied in one way or another, whether it is with toys or some other form of entertainment.
  Doing so will ensure that they don’t disturb the sleep cycle of the baby.
  Alternatively, you could try to put both children to sleep at the same time each day. This will ensure that neither of them will get in the other’s way.
  Most kids tend to make noise when they are bored or in need of attention. As long as you take care of these issues, you shouldn’t have any problem with them.

3.) Try to Introduce White Noise in the Baby’s Environment

This may sound paradoxical to the previous point, but it really isn’t. The earlier point still holds true even now.

You see, not all noises are bad. On the contrary, some are actually good and can be conducive to a good sleep. And this is true for sleep in babies as well as adults.

And what are these noises? They are just about anything that generates background noises at a steady pace. Some examples of ‘white noise’ are:

• The sound of a fan.
• The humming of a computer cooling fan.
• The chatter that you hear at a coffee shop.
• The noise of the waves.
• The blowing of the wind.
• The sounds of rustling leaves.

There are many ways to introduce white noise in the background. The best way is to simply get one of the many devices out there, designed to generate white noise. It is a good idea to get devices that offer a wide range of white noises. Also, make sure that these devices can play the sounds throughout the night.

Using these devices is fairly simple. Once you turn them on, they’ll continue to play a ‘white noise’ in the background throughout the night.

When used properly, they’ll be able to help you as well as your baby to sleep in peace.

 

4.) Reduce Night Time Feedings –

Given the option to do so, babies will continue to feed throughout the day.

They don’t have a specific time for feedings, and will, therefore, do so at any opportunity.

Therefore, eliminate as much night time feedings as possible. This will also help in the long-term process of weaning the baby of a mother’s breast milk.

 The baby will probably start crying if you suddenly do this. Gradually phase out night time feedings by reducing feedings over weeks and months. The end goal is to put an end to night time feedings

5.) Create a Sleeping Habit for your Baby

Babies might seem innocent about the world. But they’re very adept at learning and figuring things out.

You can use this to your advantage by having your baby sleep at regular intervals. It will not work immediately or even after a month.

But when done consistently, it will get your baby used to sleeping at regular intervals. Once turned into a habit, your baby will gradually start sleeping at the same time every day.  

It should be added here that this process will not work for at least six months to a year when the baby’s sleep cycle is still stabilizing. It is only after this period that changes will be noticeable.

6.) Don’t Pay Attention to Babies More Than Necessary

Babies cry a lot. And they’ll be doing plenty of it for a very long time.

They cry because, as mentioned earlier, it is the only way they can get the attention of their caregivers. Until they get the ability to speak, there is no other way for them to communicate their needs. 

And should the baby cry at any time, it is important that parents look into it. However, it is also essential that babies aren’t given more attention than necessary.  

This is because a reinforcement process takes place whenever you pay them any attention. When done for important things like feeding them or changing diapers, it’s all fine. But when done for trivial reasons, it will have the effect of spoiling the child. It is, in fact, this form of ‘coddling’ behavior that ends up spoiling children in the long run.

In simple words, they are to only to be given as much attention as necessary, without reinforcing any negative behaviors.

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ADAPTING TO THE BABY’S SLEEP CYCLE CHANGES

 

SOME IMPORTANT THINGS TO PAY ATTENTION TO

There are a couple of things to be considered regarding a baby’s sleep pattern.

Most babies will be able to sleep through the night after a few months to a year. In some cases, this will extend a bit more as well, and is relatively normal.

But not all babies will sleep through the night. On the contrary, many babies will continue sleeping the way they did before, well beyond this time frame.

There are two reasons for this, namely, environmental and biological:

ENVIRONMENTAL – The term ‘environmental’ here refers to the environment that the baby sleeps in. If the surroundings are not conducive for sleep, babies will find it harder to settle down into a stable sleep cycle.

There are several environmental factors that are to be considered here. Some of them include, but are not limited to:

• The lack of a suitable sleeping environment.
• A bad reinforcement cycle on part of the parent(s).
• A combination of both the above points.

 

BIOLOGICAL – The term ‘biological’ here refers to the baby’s physical development. Not all babies grow up in a healthy way.

On the contrary, there are babies with developmental issues, which may adversely affect among other things, its sleep cycle.

Until the baby reaches the six to twelve months mark, there isn’t much that can be done, as the symptoms don’t show up. It is only after this time that their sleep cycle begins to stabilize.

Once this period has passed, you should be able to notice any changes that might be taking place in their sleep cycle. Should anything be out of place, ensure that you take your child to a childcare specialist.

The way to deal with this is to first fix your child’s sleep environment, preferably from the beginning.

Given a sound environment, most babies tend to sleep through the night sooner or later. But then there will be those who don’t. It is these children who are to be given special attention.

Quite often, babies who don’t fall into a stable sleep cycle despite a sound environment, often have developmental issues. They either develop late or may have other problems to deal with.

Should that be the case, where the baby refuses to sleep through the night after about a year or so, it is a good idea to go see a child care specialist.

MONITORING YOUR BABY

Catching developmental problems is not an easy task. This is especially true for those who have become parents for the first time.

In such a situation, it is a good idea for one to keep a watch on any changes. As a general rule, babies that don’t start sleeping steadily after about a year should raise an alarm in parents everywhere. It might be nothing more than a bad sleeping environment, but something that is in need of attention. 

There are many things to look out for. One of the best ways to notice changes is to observe continuous changes in your baby’s behavior. In simple language, there should be a continuous change with regard to their sleep cycle.

The changes to look out for are for the most part a steady decline in the sleep duration as well as frequency. The total number of hours spent sleeping will fall from 16 hours to around 8 hours, while the frequency will fall to about one or two. Also, these changes will take place gradually over a six to twelve month period.

In addition to this, it is a good idea to make a note of changes taking place. This will help in creating a record for future reference. Among the things to make a note of are,

• Total sleep duration – This is the total number of hours that a baby has slept each day.
• Total sleep frequency – This is the total number of times a baby has slept each day.
• Timings of sleep – This refers to the time when the baby slept as well as got up.

When this is done over a long period, a change can be observed in the sleep pattern. As long as there is a steady decrease in the number of sleep hours and frequency, you’ll be doing fine.

LEARN TO ENDURE SLEEPLESS NIGHTS

Until your baby starts to sleep through the night, it can be rather difficult for parents to get proper sleep. Being constantly woken up night after night can be frustrating.

The way to deal with this is to simply endure these nights until about the one year mark. After this time period, the baby will learn to sleep at a stretch through the night.

To some extent, you could speed up your baby’s adaptation to this new cycle with certain environmental changes that were mentioned above as well.

As a whole, parents will need to endure these sleepless nights for quite some time. It’s not something parents would like to hear, but that is the truth. Biology cannot be rushed, nor can anything be done about nature while it takes its course.

 

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CONCLUSION

In all, it is no doubt frustrating to be woken up at night by a crying baby.

At the same time, however, it is not really something you can do much about. Given that it’s just part of a baby’s growth cycle, there isn’t much that can be done about the situation.

Just endure the six months or so of sleepless nights, and things will start to settle down. It might sound like a challenge and it certainly is, but that’s just part of the challenge of child raising.

As a whole, everything will fall into place eventually. All that it takes time and nothing more.

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