I remember when Bryce was about two months old and I would think to myself: “it is going to be impossible to get this boy to sleep through the night.” At that point, he was waking up every 2-3 hours for feedings and of course, I was EXHAUSTED. The first three months of a baby’s life are probably the toughest of them all. You are learning and navigating a new life and adjusting to the changes.

After the first few months, it got a little easier for me. Bryce was older and it was time to start to incorporate a sleep routine. Establishing a good sleep routine will help the baby sleep through the night. Around four months, Bryce started sleeping ten hours straight at night and now he is up to twelve hours straight!! I am beyond happy and blessed to be able to get a full night’s rest, but honestly, it took a ton of WORK to make this happen.

Here are my top tips for getting your baby to sleep through the night.

1. Let them sleep in their own bed or bassinet.
This is major! Not only does it keep the baby safe, but it also establishes their “sleep home” so that they know when they lay down in their bed, it is time to sleep. This is super helpful for nap time and bedtime. Babies are really smart, so they learn by routine and repetition. So putting the baby down in their own bed for naps and bedtime establishes this normalcy for them.

2. Let the baby learn how to soothe themselves
In the first few months, we used pacifiers heavily, to allow Bryce to soothe himself. Now, he ditched the pacifiers and uses his finger to self soothe (if needed). When babies learn how to self soothe themselves it helps them to sleep longer. Help them learn to self soothe by not rushing to pick them up when they start to cry. You can wait a few minutes to see how they respond.

3. Develop a sleep routine and schedule
Since day one, I developed a sleep routine with Bryce with bath time, baby massage and reading a book. This allowed him to understand when it was night time. After he got a little older, we decided to implement a daily schedule. We developed a schedule where he was up for no more than three hours, then took a nap for 1-2 hours, then he would be up for another three hours. Now, our exact daily schedule is below and we pretty much stick to this routine, and it has allowed him to sleep twelve hours each night!

Overall, I would suggest being patient with yourself and your baby. You guys will learn and work it out together! You got this mama

How I Get My Baby To Sleep 12 Hours- Tips and Daily Schedule