how to get babies to sleep through the night
First of all let me just say that some babies aren't ready to sleep through the night at 4 months. They usually can go at least 6 hours, but not 12. But by six months almost every baby can and will sleep through the night with help from you. Start wiht feeding them about the same time every day. Usually every 3 or 4 hours. So you would feed them 7,11,3 and 7 then bedtime, or 7,10,1,4, and 7 then bedtime. Wake them up at the same time every morning, if they aren't awake yet, and put them to bed at the same time every night. At night they should go at least 5 hours inbetween feedings. So if they go to sleep and take their last feeding at 7pm, they should be able to go until 12. When your babies get up to eat at night, make sure you keep the lights low, only change them if their diaper is very wet or poopy, and keep the lights off, have a night life with a switch so you can see, feed them and put them back to bed. If they wake up and you know they aren't hungry, try to get them back to sleep without rocking, feeding, etc. Use a pacifier, hugs, kisses, don't let them cry it out or use controlled crying until at least 5 1/2 months b/c it usually won't work b/c they don't understand what you are trying to get them to do. Make sure they have a regular nap schedule too and they aren't going to sleep right after they eat. Stay up at least an hour after their bottle. Have a bedtime routine as well, a bath, quiet time, and then a bottle, so they know it is bed time. We always have the lights off after ours starts eating her last bottle of the night so she knows it is time to sleep. Be sure not to backtrack. If your child eats at 7 and then doesn't eat again until 12, the next night don't feed them until 12. Once they start going until 2am stick with that, or within 30 minutes. And even if they wake up early, say 6:30 instead of 7, try to still feed them as close to 7am as possible. That way they don't wake up early just to eat. If your child is screaming go ahead and feed them, I'm not saying be cruel, just try to get them to wait as close to the goal as possible. Good luck, let me know if you have any questions, your babies will sleep through the night, and if they aren't by 6 months, you have to slowly stop the feedings at night or they will get up forever.
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