What You Can Do to Ensure Good Nights' Sleep









Infant Sleep Patterns & Needs
For most babies, a sleep pattern settles into a routine at about 3 months of age. At this point, the majority of sleep is at night. Daytime sleeping becomes more predictable, with increasingly longer periods of wakefulness. Naps and eating begin following a schedule, too.


Longer periods of sleep at night gradually increase as the baby matures. At 3 months, most babies are capable of sleeping at least five to six hours straight. By 5 to 6 months, they should sleep about nine hours at night and are mature enough so that there is no nutritional need to feed them during that time.


Falling Asleep Independently
Developing a bedtime routine is the best way to help your baby learn to fall asleep independently at bedtime and during the night if he awakens.


It’s normal for children (and adults) to wake up briefly during the night for a few minutes. But they should be able to get back to sleep easily on their own – the bedtime routine should not require you to help the child fall asleep. If you hold your child until she falls asleep at bedtime, she will expect the same if she wakes in the middle of the night.


• Begin introducing a bedtime routine when your baby is 3 to 6 months old. It can be as simple as reading a story and singing a lullaby – something that communicates that the day is over and it’s time to sleep.

• At night, try not to let your baby fall asleep anywhere but in the crib. That way he’ll associate the crib with sleep and get used to falling asleep on his own.

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