The answer to this question varies depending on several factors. A few being, your baby’s age and how well sleep fundamentals are being established. Our Client’s goals are our goals and the plan of action will reflect these goals. If a family is happy with one-night feeding until 6 months, that is the goal. If a family would like their baby sleeping through the night as soon as possible, the expectation is we work to facilitate that by 3-4 months of age, if appropriate.
Generally speaking, we are looking for stretches of sleep in the following tiers:
- 3 weeks old - 3 hour stretches at night
- 5 weeks old - (1) 4-5 hour stretch of sleep and several shorter stretches of 3 hours.
- 8 weeks old - (1) 6-8 hour stretch of sleep and several shorter stretches of 3-4 hours.
- 12 weeks old - (1) 8-12 hour stretch of sleep and (1) shorter stretch of sleep.
- 12-16 weeks old - sleeping through the night or one remaining night feed around 2-3 am.
A quick Google search will yield a lot of varying opinions and information about what is considered sleeping through the night. Here is what we, at The Early Weeks, consider “sleeping through the night”:
- Your baby or child will sleep 11-12 hours at night
- Your baby or child will have normal wakings periodically throughout the night, (we all do), and will be able to return to sleep unassisted when these wakings happen.
- Your baby or child will not require any food or feeds during the 11-12 hours at night.
No! We have a very high success rate and are very invested in our Client’s success. Keep in mind that you as parents have to take action, trusting our process and the plan we have laid out for you. If either of these things doesn’t happen, your baby or child will not be as successful during the process.
We believe that every parent and their baby or young child can learn to sleep better and will be successful during the process, if they commit and follow the guidance we provide. There are no “bad sleepers”, “difficult babies” or babies and children that can’t be helped.
We use many different methods, based on the family’s needs and goals, to facilitate better sleep for the entire family. The chosen method will be a joint decision between your Sleep Consultant and you, the parents.
Do you have a question not covered above? We're happy to answer any questions you have regarding sleep training, reflux, colic, newborn, surrogate parents or any other baby issues.