Why isn’t our baby sleeping through the night?

If you are worndering “Why isn’t our baby sleeping through the night?” you’ve come to the right place.  I had some great sleepers & some not-so-great sleepers.   I’ve learned, by baby #4, that it boils down to a few things that we will talk about today.   Today I am teaming up with BlueSmart mia for this sponsored post to share a few of my favorite tips.

My tips to help baby sleep through the night (6 hours, that is!)… Because, as a mom, sleep is always a good thing… even if a full night it is far & few between!

Our kids all woke up every three hours, except for our third son – he slept all night long (over 9 hours) from the day that he was born.   Our others woke up often, but once they were around 4-6 months old, I was ready to have them sleep the full 6 hours before waking to eat (midnight-6 am was my perfect sleep stretch!)   I even used my BlueSmart mia to be sure that they were eating enough.

I say this because I have four children and I am woken up many times a night- sometimes more than 8-9 times in a night.  I cannot be a well-functioning mama if I don’t get a little bit of sleep (seriously).   Waking every 30 minutes-1 hour between the baby & our other children was not healthy for me.  Plus, waking every 2 hours with the baby used to make me a very sleepy nurser (during a breastfeeding session), which worried me beyond belief.

Plus… I needed our babies to sleep to allow the five others in our family sleep, as well.

Here are a few things that helped us:

1- Feed your baby before bed and know how much you are feeding them.  An easy way to track this is by using the BlueSmart Mia.  It  is a high-tech, WiFi- enabled smart sleeve that tracks and analyzes a baby’s feeding intake. It  also helps alleviate anxieties surrounding baby feeding by precisely measuring the amount of milk consumed by little ones and alerting parents and caregivers in real-time.  


2- Put socks on them.  Silly, I know, but there has been research done that has shown that warm feet lead to better sleep.

3- Soft music – Our first son slept so well when he had his music on (it didn’t have words, just instrumental).  We just kept a cheap CD player in his room with a lullaby CD playing softly.  We did this for a full year before we moved to a sound machine.

4- Dream Feed: I dream fed each of our babies and it helped me to get an extra few hours of sleep.

Dream feeding is when you feed your baby, while they are asleep – just put a bottle or breast to their lips, let them eat until content, gently burp them and lay them back down, without waking them.  The BlueSmart Mia has a motion sensor that can guide parents and caregivers on the proper angle to feed their little one.  This is helpful at night when you want to feed your baby without waking her.  (You also want to be sure that you aren’t letting air bubbles in or that will lead to an upset tummy at night, so getting the angle right is key.)  I also liked to track the time that I fed them before bed.  The BlueSmart mia has a  timer that measures how long it takes baby to feed and an expiration alert to inform parents and caregivers when milk should be discarded.   It fits most bottles.  

5. Once your child is OVER 4 months (many say 6 months now), try rice cereal as a snack before bed.  Every one of our pediatricians recommended this to us once our baby got to four months.

Many people believe that formula also helps a baby sleep longer.   My sister in law has told me that it just seemed to take a little longer to digest, making it stay in their bellies longer.  She also used formula in the evenings.

6. Swaddle them.   I swear by our miracle blanket!   I used it from the day that I brought them home & they slept much better when using it.    It was the only thing to calm our babies!

7- Bananas before bed.   One your baby is old enough to eat food, try a little banana before bed… bananas make people sleepy.

8-  ROUTINE!!  Snack, bath, song, bed- (whatever you choose).  Sticking to a routine is a must if you want your baby to sleep!

What is your best tip to help baby sleep 6 hours straight?   How much sleep do they really need?   Can I help you?   Sign up for my free sleep challenge here. 

The BlueSmart mia is available to order on www.bluesmartmia.com and Amazon.com for $149. For a limited time, you can use the exclusive code NEWMIA30 for $30 off throughout the month of February. For more information, visit www.bluesmartmia.com or the brand’s social media channels including Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/bluesmartmia) and Twitter (https://www.twitter.com/bluesmartmia).