• Sleeping is an important issue at this age.
• By four months of age, 50% of infants sleep through the night. The night at this age can be defined as 8:00 to 9:00 P.M. to 5:00 to 6:00 A.M.
• There are many different theories as to why some children sleep through the night and others do not. But most tend to follow the same general idea. Everyone, adults and children alike, go through stages and cycles of sleep and wakefulness throughout the night. The levels of sleep are broken into stages one through four, from light to deep sleep, and Rapid Eye Movement (REM), which is the dream state. People go through stages one through four, REM, and back from stages four to one to wakefulness throughout the night. When people wake up in the middle of the night, they will generally just go back to sleep. Some will get up, get something to eat and have a hard time getting back to sleep. The same is true for children. Some will wake up, roll over and go back to sleep; others will wake and need something such as food or holding to go back to sleep. These children are the night wakers.
• So how do you get a child to sleep all night? This is a hotly debated topic. The two most prevalent theories are basically to let the children cry and learn to console themselves or, to do whatever the child needs to go to sleep and eventually they will learn on their own.
• The first theory has many varieties, from putting the child in the crib slightly awake so that the child falls asleep in the crib and not coming back until the morning. Others suggest letting the baby cry for ten minutes and then going into the room. Then twenty minutes and going into the room until the time is extended to not going into the room at all. Some suggest that the parents sleep in the child's bed and nightly move further away until the parent is out of the room.
• The second theory of doing what the child wants is usually done for children sleeping in the same room or bed as the parent. The idea here is that if the child is awake and alert during the day, growing and thriving, then it doesn't matter if they wake up through the night. They can be fed or held and eventually they will learn to sleep. The night waking may be difficult for the parent but this theory suggests that that's all part of being a parent.
• People feel very strongly about each theory and ultimately, if you have a healthy, thriving child, it doesn't matter which you choose to do. This decision is a family decision; you have to do what is best for the family.
• The one constant in both theories is that for children who are difficult sleepers, a routine should be followed nightly. If the same routine is followed and the child is put into the bed or crib slightly awake, that's the best head start you can make to a good night's sleep.

Introduction | Vaccination | Feeding | Growth & Development | Safety | Sleep

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