Ask The Expert
A Good Night's Sleep
It can be terribly exhausting to have a baby that wakes constantly through the night. Our Parenting Team give some much needed advice to ensure sweet dreams aren't too far away...
Hello,
Help! My four-month old daughter hasn't slept for more than two hours per night since she was born. When she wakes we feed her and rock her to sleep, but she always wakes up crying again a short while later. When is this going to stop?
Thanks
Jo
Our Parenting Team reply:
Hi Jo,
Thanks for getting in touch. You must all be exhausted with this constant waking throughout the night. However, don't despair as there are some things you can do to ensure that you all get a better night's sleep.
It sounds like your baby hasn't learnt how to fall asleep by herself without the comfort of a feed and reassurance from you. If the last thing she remembers before falling asleep is being in your arms then, when her sleep lightens, she will feel disorientated when she finds herself alone in her cot.
The key is to try to put your little girl to bed when she is still awake. It is likely that she will cry at first but you can reassure her by patting her or picking her up briefly. You will probably have to repeat this several times but each time try to leave longer gaps between going back to her. This may take some nights of determination as she has been used to being rocked to sleep since birth but the 'controlled crying' technique should produce results. Take a look at Sleep Tight for more information on getting your baby to sleep through the night.
Good luck!
The Parenting Team.
Have you got something to ask? Just get yourself onto our Parenting Message Board and leave your question, dilemma or request for information there. Every month, one of the advisors from our Parenting Team will select some of the best and their answers will be printed here in our Parenting section.
Help! My four-month old daughter hasn't slept for more than two hours per night since she was born. When she wakes we feed her and rock her to sleep, but she always wakes up crying again a short while later. When is this going to stop?
Thanks
Jo
Our Parenting Team reply:
Hi Jo,
Thanks for getting in touch. You must all be exhausted with this constant waking throughout the night. However, don't despair as there are some things you can do to ensure that you all get a better night's sleep.
It sounds like your baby hasn't learnt how to fall asleep by herself without the comfort of a feed and reassurance from you. If the last thing she remembers before falling asleep is being in your arms then, when her sleep lightens, she will feel disorientated when she finds herself alone in her cot.
The key is to try to put your little girl to bed when she is still awake. It is likely that she will cry at first but you can reassure her by patting her or picking her up briefly. You will probably have to repeat this several times but each time try to leave longer gaps between going back to her. This may take some nights of determination as she has been used to being rocked to sleep since birth but the 'controlled crying' technique should produce results. Take a look at Sleep Tight for more information on getting your baby to sleep through the night.
Good luck!
The Parenting Team.
Have you got something to ask? Just get yourself onto our Parenting Message Board and leave your question, dilemma or request for information there. Every month, one of the advisors from our Parenting Team will select some of the best and their answers will be printed here in our Parenting section.
