When Do Babies Sleep Through The Night?

“When do babies start sleeping through the night?”

I think this might be the most asked question among new mums.

Well, most of them anyway.

Believe it or not, there are mums (and I’ve had the privilege to meet them) whose babies slept through the night from day one.

But for the sake of my mental well-being, I won’t focus on those mums. 😂

Instead, I’ll focus on you – the ones in the thick of it.

The mums who are sleep deprived.

The mums whose babies cry… a lot.

Although, let’s be real – “crying” doesn’t quite cut it.

It feels like a drill to the brain.

It’s torture.

You can’t escape it. You often can’t resolve it.

And when you add sleep deprivation into the mix, you soon feel like you’re on the edge.

So it’s really no wonder you’re asking: When do babies start sleeping through the night?

And don’t worry – I’m not going to tell you that “no one can give you the answer” (even though, technically, that’s true).

Because there ARE things you can do to help them sleep.

In this blog post, I’ll share what helped us.

Actually, what SAVED us when we were at the breaking point.

When Your Baby Cries At Night

I’m not a parenting expert, but here’s one thing I know for sure:

When your baby cries at night (or anytime, really), it doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong.

Sometimes, crying is just… part of it.

Sometimes, it’s their way of letting it out.

Sometimes, you won’t be able to stop it – no matter what you do.

I remember when I was a brand new mum, I thought every cry was a reflection of my failure.

But hear this loud and clear:

Crying doesn’t mean you’re a bad mum.
Crying doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong.

It just means your baby has a need – or an emotion they’re working through.

So please, don’t ever take your baby’s crying as a sign that you’re failing.

Babies cry.

It’s how they communicate.

But the good news is they won’t communicate like this forever!

(And that’s a promise.)

When Your Baby Can’t Settle At Night

Now, if your baby isn’t crying but just can’t settle – that’s its own kind of hell.

Especially when you’ve done everything “right.”

You’ve tired them out. You’ve kept things calm. You’ve done the routine.

And they’re still wide awake while you’re barely functioning.

I’ve been there.

And I had twins – one cried, the other wouldn’t settle. Or both would cry. Every. Single. Night.

They were colicky for months.

It was relentless.

And at the same time, I was struggling with severe postnatal depression at the time.

My husband and I were broken.

I knew that if something didn’t change soon, a tragedy could happen.

We were desperate.

Nothing we tried helped – or it was too expensive to keep up.

In the end, we decided to try controlled crying.

It was another layer of emotional torture for me, but at that point, it felt like the only option.

(Bear with me, this is just the beginning.)

Long story short, after a couple of days, they slept through the night.

And I finally started to feel like a human being again.

The Secret That Changed Everything

When the boys were about three, they started going to a childminder called Andrea two mornings a week.

Turns out, Andrea was a qualified children’s behaviour expert — and oh my goodness, the things I learned from her!

One of the biggest lessons I learned from her was the power of ROUTINE.

I’d heard of it before, but never realised how transformational it could be.

She taught me that you can start establishing a routine as early as three months.

So when I fell pregnant with our third son a few years later, I KNEW I was going to implement a routine from the start.

He slept through the night from three months old.

He only cried when he was hungry or tired during the day.

I was shocked it worked so well.

And honestly? Shocked that no one had told me about it sooner.

Why isn’t routine part of basic antenatal education?

It could save so many families months and years of struggling.

That’s why I’m here now, sharing this wisdom now.

With you.

A Little Warning…

A quick word of warning: Establishing a baby routine isn’t easy.

It isn’t just any routine that works wonders.

Most parents give up before it works because it feels hard at the start.

But after going through the hell we did with our twins, I was all in.

I just knew I’d never go through that again.

So I stuck with it. And it worked.

Routine changed everything.

Not just for babies. It works with toddlers, big kids, and even teens.

So if you’re at the end of your rope, consider working with a baby routine expert.

Just make sure they’re experienced and come recommended.

It might feel like a stretch at first – but it could change your whole life.