When do babies sleep through the night?

First and foremost, remember that you know your baby better than any book, well-meaning friend or website. Your baby is unique, with a temperament that will more or less dictate how easily they will eventually sleep through the night. Read this post for more information on how to determine your baby’s temperament, and what each personality type means when it comes to sleep.

Your baby is unique

If you’ve read previous articles, or you follow me on social (Facebook, Instagram) then you’ll know already my thoughts on babies and sleeping through the night. For the record, sleeping through can be subjective and there are many different factors that contribute towards whether or not your baby is going to last longer than three hours tonight. That said, I am often asked when babies typically start to sleep through the night, so I thought I’d address that in this week’s post. Read on to find out my thoughts…

Basically what I want to explain before we get started is that there is no real ‘one rule for all’ when it comes to baby sleep and sleeping through the night. Don’t compare your child to anyone else’s and don’t fret about whether or not your baby is ‘doing it right’. They are!

When CAN a baby sleep through the night?

When a baby is able to sleep through the night, and when they actually do it are two completely different things in the majority of cases. From around the age of three months, babies can technically sleep for longer and longer stretches, and depending on your definition of ‘through the night’ some parents feel they’re able to tick that elusive box. But just because some babies can sleep through at the age of three months, doesn’t mean that they will!

Most babies will continue to wake up for feeds up to the age of twelve months, and some beyond that. Generally speaking, there isn’t much difference between bottle and breastfed babies, although some breastfed babies do tend to wake more frequently as breastmilk is digested more efficiently in the body. That said, as already mentioned, all babies are different- so this is only guidance and not a set rule.

According to a study carried out in New Zealand, 60% of babies over the age of 5 months were sleeping for stretches of 8 hours or more, and by the age of 12 months that figure rose to 70%. So again, not all babies over the age of 12 months were sleeping through.

When WILL my baby sleep through?

So, on to the question we all want the answer to: when will my baby sleep through? The answer? It depends. Sorry! There really are many variables that come in to play here, but as a general guide, the following observations can be made:

• Babies who are breastfed may take a little longer to sleep through the night.
• Babies with ongoing health issues may take longer to sleep through the night.
• Babies who were born early may take longer to sleep through the night.
• Your baby’s temperament plays a huge role in when they will sleep through the night. Easy going babies generally tend to sleep through a lot sooner than more intense babies, but remember that your baby may display more than one personality trait and so this should also be a consideration.
• Babies who rely on sleep props or associations may take longer to sleep through the night.

Be patient

As difficult as it may be, there is only so much that you can do to help your baby sleep through the night. Make sure that naps are on track, your daytime and bedtime routines are solid, and the sleeping environment is spot on for sleep. Keep in mind your baby’s age, personality and illnesses (as well as teething) can all affect sleep too. Get in touch if you’d like more help and guidance.