When my daughter was first born the thought of ever getting a good night's rest again seemed so far away. We were up every two hours nursing, diapering, playing, etc. I was exhausted! I started doing some research on when and how I could get baby to sleep through the night.
One of the things I read consistently was to put baby on a schedule. To be honest, I felt that she was too little to be on a schedule. Plus I personally don't do well with schedules so this strategy wasn't really going to work for us. What I did instead was to establish a routine.
Establishing a routine worked wonders. Our routine is: Bath, Diaper/Pajamas, Story, Nurse, Bed. It took about two weeks for my daughter to get the hang of it. Now it's like she knows what to expect next. The best part of all is mommy gets to sleep all night long - at least 8 hours.
What is the difference between a schedule and a routine? For one, I don't watch the clock. We do our bedtime routine when she is tired. She also feeds on demand. It works for us. If you are trying to get your baby to sleep through the night, try to set up a routine that you do every single night.
How did you get your baby to sleep through the night?
Dree
