No one sleeps through the night entirely. We all wake up several times, but you and I have gotten so good at putting ourselves back to sleep that we usually aren’t awake long enough to form any memories. It’s that quick. So the trick isn’t to get your baby to sleep for ten hours straight, but to teach him/her to fall back asleep easily. Here are some tricks that might help.

1. Get rid of the pacifier

Even though your child probably has the motor control to put a pacifier back in their mouth by around six months, that doesn’t mean they are so easily able to find it in the dark. After a brief few seconds of searching, he or she will start to cry for it and just stop looking. If you want to help your baby sleep through the night, wean him or her off the pacifier so they don’t need it to fall back asleep. This way you want to be rushing in to the room every few hours to put it back in place.

2. Play white noise

Many of us find soft, constant noise soothing. You may fall asleep to the sound of a fan or soft music. If you keep a constant sound playing in your baby’s room while they fall asleep, they will begin to associate that sound with sleep. When they wake up in the middle of the night, they’ll immediately hear the noise and be soothed to sleep.

3. Don’t soothe too much

I know it’s every parent’s instinct to run into the room when your child cries, but as long as he or she is safe, clean, and fed/hydrated, those cries are frustration, not pain. Your baby is awake so he/she thinks it’s play time. Be firm that it’s still time to sleep and you expect them to lay down. Checking to make sure everything is safe is OK, but don’t make it an elaborate routine.

4. End night time feedings

If your baby expects a meal in the middle of the night, no amount of coaching or tough love on your part is going to put them back to sleep. You’ll have to wean him or her off the night feedings first. The best way to do this is to do it gradually. Eliminate a single feeding at a time until you have just one. Practice with just one for a week, and then eliminate it by giving a nice big feeding just before bed and being firm about no bottle or nursing at night. Some parents have success by reducing the amount eaten at night over time until they except that they have to eat more during the day.

Getting your kids to sleep and keeping them asleep all night is a challenge every parent faces. How did you get your kids to sleep all night?

Written by Alicia Overby - Founder & President of Baby Elephant Ears

Alicia is wife, mother, and creator of Baby Elephant Ears. Baby Elephant Ears was created out of parental concern, not financial desire. In 2005, when their second child was an infant, he cried all the time and just couldn't seem to get comfortable.

After seeking advice and suggestion from the medical community and alternative medicine, they eventually ended up in the chiropractors office where their baby was successfully treated for asubluxation, discomfort most likely the result of the strain during labor, which was now being exacerbated by the normal lack of infant neck strength. Only proper neck, head, and back alignment would offer him relief. When they couldn't find a product to give their baby the necessary support, Alicia took matters into her own hands and crafted her own infant support pillow. The first Baby Elephant Ears was born!

For more information, visit www.babyelephantears.com.

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