當馬克遇上莎莉

Babies this age need about 14 hours of sleep per day and are capable of sleeping for as long as seven hours at a time. If your baby sleeps for longer than that, she's probably waking up briefly but has figured out how to settle herself back to sleep - a sign that she's becoming a good sleeper. She's probably having a couple of hour-and-a-half to two-hour naps each day by now, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Keeping consistent times for bed and naps will help to regulate her sleep patterns. 

How you can help your child to settle and sleep 

At this age, these are some of the best things you can do to help your baby settle and sleep at night:

Establish and follow a bedtime routine.
While you've probably already set up some sort of bedtime routine, at this age your child will really begin to participate in it. Whether your routine includes giving your baby a bath, playing a quiet game, getting your child ready for bed, reading a bedtime story or two, or singing a lullaby, make sure you do it in the same order and at the same time every night. Your child will appreciate the consistency (babies like having routines and schedules that they can count on), and your bedtime routine will also signal that it's time to wind down and get ready for sleep.

Keep your child's daily routine - including bedtimes and naptimes - consistent.
You'll both benefit from having a daily routine which includes set times for bed and naps. That doesn't mean your baby has to eat lunch at exactly 12:15 every afternoon, but it does mean that you should generally try to stick to a predictable schedule. When your baby naps, eats, plays, and gets ready for bed at about the same time every day, she'll be much more likely to fall asleep easily.

Make sure your child has plenty of opportunities to fall asleep on her own.
If you want your baby to sleep through the night without calling for you, she needs to learn to fall asleep by herself. Put her down before she nods off, and try not to let her become dependent on rocking or breastfeeding to fall asleep. If she cries, the next move is up to you; most experts advise waiting at least a few minutes to see if she's really upset. Some other approaches are shown below in our Approaches to sleep problems section below. 

Potential pitfalls

Babies who have never had sleep problems may suddenly start waking up at night or have difficulty falling asleep at this age. Why? Sleep disturbances often come hand-in-hand with separation anxiety, when she wakes in the night, misses you, and worries you won't return.

They may also be linked with your baby reaching major milestones in cognitive and motor development. Around now, she is learning to sit up, roll over, crawl, and possibly even pull herself up to a standing position - quite a list of achievements! Not surprisingly, she probably won't want to stop practising her new skills at bedtime and may get so excited that she'll wake up to try sitting up just one more time.

However, if she gets too energetic - or worse, if she sits or stands up and can't get back down - she won't be able to go back to sleep right away. If that's the case, she'll soon start crying for you. You will need to teach her how to lie down if she's stuck in an upright position, but how you help her soothe herself back to sleep is up to you. Most experts say it's fine to go in and check on her, but after that the advice varies. See our Approaches to sleep problems below.

A quick note: This burst in development isn't the same as a growth spurt, so feeding your baby during the night won't help her sleep better; in fact, it may prolong the problem and make it worse.

You may also want to try this tip from a sleep expert: "If your baby is going to bed after 8:30 p.m. and all of a sudden she begins to wake during the night, you'll find that, surprisingly, she's much more likely to sleep through the night if you move her bedtime earlier by a half hour. It really works. Try it." 

Approaches to sleep problems

What do you do when your child keeps waking up at night - and you know she's old enough to sleep all the way through? If you want her to sleep through the night without calling for you, the main thing is to make sure she learns how to settle herself back down - by finding her thumb, cuddling a transitional object, or some other way. At this age, your child will probably be able to soothe herself, but you may still need to help her develop self-comforting techniques. Most of the experts agree that you should try to avoid letting your child become dependent on external conditions such as music, lighting, and feeding to fall asleep; if she does, she'll need the same things every time she wakes up at night before she can drop off again.

When it comes to getting your six to nine-month old baby to sleep through the night, there is no one right approach. Look through the suggestions below from a variety of experts and choose a strategy which you feel could work for you.

Approach 1
As long as you're putting your baby to sleep on her own at bedtime, it's all right to do what you think will help her go back to sleep, such as rocking her or pacing the floor until she falls asleep. If her bedtime routine is consistent, night waking should diminish in a few weeks. If this doesn't work, try a checking routine: if your child is crying, go back into her room. Pat her on the back and tell her that everything is okay, but that it's time to go to sleep. Don't pick her up or cuddle her; be gentle but firm. Leave. Wait about five minutes, then check again. Do this repeatedly until she falls asleep, gradually increasing the time you're gone.

Approach 2
It's important to put your baby down when she's awake so she'll learn to settle herself to sleep, both when you first put her down and if she wakes up during the night. If you're not doing this, consider changing your nighttime routine. If your baby won't stay asleep, try letting her cry for progressively longer intervals of time before you go to her. Start at five minutes, increase to 10, and so on. Between intervals, you can spend about two to three minutes with your baby, reassuring her by talking to her and possibly patting her on the back. Don't pick her up or rock her or give her a dummy or a bottle to help calm her down - she'll only learn to depend on these conditions to fall asleep and won't be able to do it on her own.

Approach 3
Your baby should be sleeping eight hours at a stretch by now. If she wakes up at night, give her a few minutes to settle herself before going to her. If she keeps crying, talk to and comfort her, but don't pick her up, take her to your bed, or feed her (unless you're positive she's really hungry and not just seeking solace).

Approach 4
With developmental milestones coming on fast and furious, many babies this age wake at night because they're just too excited to sleep. If your baby wakes up after only a few hours, let her find her own way back to sleep using self-comforting techniques such as thumb sucking. Once she's a little older and the risk of cot death is lower, you can give her a transitional object such as a teddy, too. When she wakes up, don't feed her or jump up and go to her at her first cry.

Approach 5
Be flexible. Don't let your baby cry it out. Instead, try to find the source of her wakefulness (such as a full nappy, hunger, upset routines during the day, a stuffy nose, or even irritating pyjamas). Increase her daytime attachment to you (breastfeeding, carrying her in a sling and so on) and let dad play the role of nighttime co-comforter so both parents can help their child fall back to sleep.

There is no "right" way to encourage your child to settle and sleep through the night. You need to choose an approach that will work for you and your family.