How do I get my baby to sleep through the night?
Babies sleep through the night when they can fall asleep on their own at bedtime, their daytime schedule and feeding suit their age, and any night feeds they still need are planned with the pediatrician. Every baby still wakes briefly between sleep cycles; the difference is settling back without help. Before about 4 months, night waking to feed is normal.
Your pediatrician is the authority on your child’s health. Confirm growth, night-feed needs and any medical concerns with them before changing how your baby sleeps.
What “through the night” really means
Every baby wakes briefly between sleep cycles all night long. A baby who “sleeps through” wakes too, and goes back to sleep without help. The AAP’s parent site notes that babies do not have regular sleep cycles until about 4 months, and that babies who are held or rocked to sleep may have trouble falling back asleep when they wake. So the question is rarely “why does my baby wake” and almost always “why does my baby need me to get back to sleep.” See how infant sleep cycles develop.
Why babies keep waking
- How they fall asleep at bedtime. This is the largest factor. Whatever helps your baby fall asleep at 7 p.m. is what they look for at 11 p.m., 1 a.m. and 3 a.m.
- A schedule that does not fit. Bedtime too late, too early, or daytime sleep that leaves your baby overtired or not tired enough.
- Night feeds without a plan. Some feeds are needed. Others have become the way a baby gets back to sleep. Telling them apart is a question of age, growth and pattern, and your pediatrician decides what your baby needs.
- Responses that change from night to night or from one adult to another.
- The room. Early light, noise, or a sleep space that is not set up for sleep.
Most babies have two or three of these at once, which is why fixing one at a time often seems to do nothing.
Actually Sleeping exists for exactly this. Dr. Sam looks at all of it together, writes one plan for your baby, and adjusts it with you every day until nights hold. Night feeds your pediatrician wants kept stay in the plan.
Why generic advice often fails
Most advice is written for an age band. Your baby is not an age band. A bedtime that suits one 7-month-old leaves another overtired. A response that calms one baby winds another up. When a general plan stalls, parents usually change several things at once, and the baby gets a new set of rules every few nights. A plan built from your baby’s age, feeding, temperament, how they fall asleep now and your family’s schedule avoids most of that.
What does not help
- Cereal in the bottle. The AAP advises against it because it can increase the likelihood of gagging or inhaling the thickened mixture into the lungs.
- Inclined sleepers, wedges or positioners. The AAP advises a firm, flat, non-inclined sleep surface.
- Keeping your baby up later or cutting naps in the hope of a longer night. Overtired babies tend to sleep worse, not better.
If your baby used to sleep through and stopped
Illness, a new skill such as rolling or standing, a nap transition, or a regression at 4 months, 8 to 10 months or 12 months can all set sleep back. When new habits creep in during the disruption, they tend to stay after it passes.
When it is not behavioral
Loud snoring, pauses in breathing, persistent mouth breathing, poor weight gain, eczema that itches at night or frequent painful spit-up are reasons to see your pediatrician before any sleep plan.
How Actually Sleeping gets your baby there
Dr. Sam writes the plan personally, you get bootcamp-style coaching before night one, daily 1:1 check-ins, and naps coached until solid. It is not cry it out and not wait it out. The outcome is in writing: We guarantee that your baby will sleep 8–12 hours through the night within 14 days of consistent, correct implementation of your sleep plan. Full refund if not. The 14-day clock starts at your baby’s 10-week birthday. Parents describe what changed on our video reviews page. Book a free consultation and Dr. Sam will tell you what is keeping your baby waking.
Want this fixed for your baby?
Actually Sleeping is 1:1 coaching: a sleep plan written for your baby by Dr. Sam, bootcamp-style coaching before the first night, and daily check-ins until it is working. 700+ families coached, 129 video reviews, and a written guarantee: 8–12 hours through the night within 14 days, or a full refund.
Frequently asked
At what age do babies sleep through the night?
It varies widely. The AAP notes babies do not have regular sleep cycles until about 4 months, and night feeds are normal before then. After that, how a baby falls asleep at bedtime is usually what decides whether they settle back on their own.
Will a dream feed help my baby sleep through the night?
It depends on your baby’s age, feeds and pattern, and for some babies it simply moves the waking. Whether to use one is a decision for your plan and your pediatrician. At Actually Sleeping, Dr. Sam decides it with you as part of the plan.
Why does my baby wake at the same time every night?
Wakings at predictable times usually fall at sleep-cycle transitions. A baby who needs help to fall asleep at bedtime needs the same help at those transitions. Habitual feeds at a fixed time can also set an internal hunger alarm.
Is it normal for a 1 year old not to sleep through the night?
It is common, and it is usually fixable. Waking at this age is often a sleep association or a schedule problem. Confirm feeding needs with your pediatrician; Actually Sleeping works with babies and toddlers from newborn on.