What Prevents Babies From Sleeping Through the Night?

When babies are able to sleep through the night between 3 to 6 months of age, there might be some things that prevent them from doing so.

It is important to keep in mind that this is different from baby to baby, and it may take some time for your baby to sleep through the night.

Baby is Going Through a Sleep Regression

Babies between the ages of 3 to 4 months go through a sleep regression, and it is when their sleep cycles become similar to adults. When they drift between deep sleep to light sleep, similar to how we do, they might get startled and wake up.

It will take them some time to get used, but it is a phase they will outgrow.

Baby is Dependant on You to Fall Asleep

When baby is dependent on a sleep association that involves you, they may have trouble sleeping through the night because they will want you to soothe them back to sleep.

This is where sleep training comes in, where you teach baby to self soothe and put themselves back to sleep.

Baby’s Feeding Schedule May Need to be Changed

If baby is overfed right before sleeping, it might cause them discomfort. Make sure baby is well-burped before you put them to sleep. 

Also, if you overfeed baby, they might have a dirty diaper at night which would also make them uncomfortable.  

So you might want to adjust the feeding schedule accordingly if you feel like it is the culprit. 

Baby’s Environment is not Sleep Inducive 

There might be something in the room that may prevent baby from going back to sleep in case they wake up in the middle of the night. 

This could be a light, some sounds, and even the temperature of the room that is not helping them with their sleep.