3 Ways to Help Your Baby Establish Good Sleep Habits

Getting your baby settled in and sleeping right isn’t always an easy task. In fact, sometimes it can be quite a chore. While most babies will start sleeping through the night by the end of their third month, many babies will still wake for as long as six months or a year. A few even have trouble staying asleep through the night into their toddler years.

Here are a few things you can do to help your baby establish some good sleeping habits early on:

  1. Recognize when he’s tired. For the first few weeks, your baby isn’t likely to stay awake for more than a couple of hours at a time. If you don’t put your baby down within a couple of hours, he can become overly tired and have trouble going to sleep. If he’s rubbing his eyes or pulling on his ears, he might be ready to lay down. Eventually, you’ll learn to recognize his cues and his patterns.
  2. Start teaching the difference between day and night. Some babies seem to be night owls, just like some parents. Once your baby hits about two weeks old, however, you can help her to start recognizing the differences between day and night. During the day, interact with him as much as you can. Keep his room bright, and don’t worry about common daytime noises. If he tries to sleep through feeding, wake him. At the same time, don’t play with him when he wakes at night. Keep the lights and noise to a minimum.
  3. Start up your bedtime routine. Whether it’s putting on a fresh onesie, singing some lullabies for a few minutes or simply rubbing your baby’s back for a little while, you can start some bedtime routines that tell your baby it’s time to start falling asleep.