Unless and until you’re one of the blessed few, you can fail to remember about getting anything close to six to eight hours of uninterrupted snoozing for at least the first three months of your baby’s life. Infants have muddled or fragmented sleep. That means that newborns don’t sleep for long periods the way we do (or did), nor do they necessarily do most of their sleeping at night. They also require two or three nighttime feedings, since their tiny stomachs can’t hold enough to keep them full for long periods. Though some babies are capable of sleeping through the night as early as 6 weeks old, for many it won’t happen until age 4 to 6 months. By then most babies should be learning to fall asleep on their own in their own crib, without being rocked, nursed, or otherwise coddled into slumber. By 9 months, most can sleep a full 12 hours. Even if your baby is younger than 5 months, you can start helping her develop healthy sleep habits. A good idea is to minimize stimulation prior to bedtime. A warm bath, a book, or a song can help a child wind down. Other simple approaches are to cut down on your baby’s napping and to move her bedtime to a later hour.

All of us go back and forth between deep sleep and light sleep throughout the night. During light sleep we partially wake up, but usually turn over and put ourselves back to sleep. Some infants have a difficult time learning how to do this. If most of your nights are still being interrupted once your baby reaches 5 or 6 months, if she still isn’t sleeping for six- to eight-hour stretches or can’t get herself back to sleep when she awakens, consider trying one of these techniques. Each method has its proponents and detractors, but there’s a good chance that one could work well for you and your baby.

In order to get a baby to be asleep all night, make sure that there is a lot of action after supper time. Give a baby a bath before bed with suggestion from a career mother in this video.