11/07/2025
Last week, I hosted a 'Sleep after the 4th Trimester' workshop online which was so engaging - watch this space for the next one!
But a common question asked by those attending was "When will my baby sleep through the night?" The burning question everyone needed the answer for. Let's breakdown what's actually going on during the night and why this can be misleading - especially what we see online/ social media.
✨Everyone has a different definition of 'sleeping through the night'. For some that's 7-7, others 11-3/4/5. As ever, try not to compare and just focus on you and your baby.
✨Waking during the night is biologically normal for babies (and adults) and it doesn’t mean your baby is broken - or that you’ve done something wrong. Once we have developed our sleep cycles which is around the 4 month mark, every baby, child and adult will wake a number of times in the night as they transition between sleep cycles.
✨Many infants continue to wake for feeding, comfort or connection well into the first year, so even if they are able to link sleep cycles, it doesn't mean that's it! There will be no more night wakes. They may need support.
If you're experiencing multiple night wakes I would think about these 3 areas to focus on:
😴Sleep needs: how old are they? what might their 24 hour sleep requirements look like? Low/high sleep needs? How is it split over the day & night?
😴Sleep environment: is something waking them eg. noise, temperature, light?
😴Settling method: how are they getting to sleep? For night wakes where they are unable to self settle, they will need the same method of settling to get them off to sleep eg feeding, rocking or another parent led association.
If what you are doing is working for you, you don't need to change anything. 😍
If it feels unsustainable, I can give you the tips and tools to improve your baby's sleep so they are calm and contented, settling to sleep independently and 'sleeping through the night'....
Book a free sleep chat to find out more
Libby x