The myth of sleeping through the night

Sleep is necessary for everyone, especially infants who are growing at such a fast rate and there are lots of misconceptions around what baby sleep should look like.

The main thing we hear is babies should sleep through the night as soon as possible. This is often an impossible task for families; both parents and babies alike!

Newborn babies are growing rapidly, then learning to crawl and walk. It is very normal for newborn babies to sleep, feed, sleep, feed for a few months before they start to have wakeful periods.

Newborns have a shorter sleep cycle, compared to adults, that gets longer as they age. There is no way to ‘sleep train’ a baby into sleeping for longer than they are biologically ready for. The fastest way to support a baby to sleep is to do whatever works for you and them; feeding to sleep, rocking to sleep, co-sleeping following the safe seven guidelines. None of these will harm your baby and likely will mean you all get a lot more sleep!

Longer sleep with less waking is not even necessarily better for baby or their development. Studies have found babies who had received sleep interventions to reduce night wakes had no difference in things such as sleeping habits, emotional regulation and quality of life than those who didn’t. Families who did not discourage waking during the night are also able to breastfed more often.

What is sometimes forgotten is that babies are naturally able to sleep; it does not need to be taught. If they aren’t sleeping through the night but take lots of naps during the day then that is what their body wants. All babies are different, some may be great sleepers and some may not be, but their body knows what they need and any pressure you feel to get them to behave and sleep as society says they should is not fair or based on evidence.

Some other reasons they may wake is simply because they are excited! Research suggests babies will wake more when learning a new skills like crawling or walking, a bit like when you have an exciting trip the next day and you can’t sleep as there’s too much to think about and be excited for. Everything for them is a new and exciting experience so no wonder they can’t stay asleep when everyday they learn or see something completely new!

Another reason is learning things like object permanence, this is where baby is learning that if you or any object is out of their sight you haven’t vanished out of existence, you are still around, they just can’t see you. This realisation might mean that they need to call for you to check you’re still there and give them some comfort.

These reasons are also what is potentially the cause of parents feeling their baby has regressed in their sleeping habits if they were having less waking a few months ago compared to now so do not worry if this is how you are feeling.