Babies sleeping through the night

By: Ann Douglas

All the other moms in my moms' group seem to have babies who have been sleeping through the night since they were about two months old. I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. My baby is five months old and I can count on being up with him at least once-and maybe even twice-in the night. Am I doing something wrong?

Here's a simple fact that may help you to rest easy. When sleep experts apply the term "sleeping through the night" to young babies, they are talking about any five-hour-long stretch of sleep that occurs at night. So if your baby hits the hay at 9:00 pm, sleeps until 2:00 am, feeds, and then goes back to bed for another couple of hours, he'd be considered an all-star sleeper. (Well, at least for a young baby.)

And as for being the only mom at moms' group who is up in the night with her baby, either the babies in your group are exceptionally good sleepers or some of the moms are whitewashing the truth a bit-perhaps because there's so much pressure to be a "perfect mom" with a baby who sleeps through the night. (Of course, people forget that getting up in the night is perfectly normal for a young baby, and that the mom who responds to her baby's needs for night-time parenting is doing just what moms are programmed to do. How did sleep get so complicated? That's what I want to know!) The U.S.-based National Sleep Foundation did an exhaustive study of children's sleep habits. They discovered that 20% to 30% of babies were still getting up in the night at age nine months. So chances are there's at least one other mom in your group who's up in the night with her baby, whether she's prepared to admit it or not.

Here's something else to mull over in the wee hours of the morning: some babies who slept through the night when they were younger start waking in the night during the second six months of life. (Anything from ear infections to separation anxiety to developmental breakthroughs can throw their sleep schedules out of whack.) So never say never when it comes to sleep. You can find yourself making a few unexpected detours on the road to Dreamland.

About the Author: Ann Douglas is the author of Sleep Solutions for Your Baby, Toddler, and Preschooler, Mealtime Solutions for Your Baby, Toddler, and Preschooler, The Mother of All Pregnancy Books, The Mother of All Baby Books, The Mother of All Toddler Books, The Mother of All Parenting Books, and The Mother of All Pregnancy Organizers. Visit her online at www.motherofallblogs.com.