Help, my infant won’t sleep through the night!
A newborn is not yet able to sleep through the night. The medical definition of sleeping through the night is that a baby sleeps five to six hours in a row. A three-month-old baby may sleep this long, but most babies do not do this until older. But for you as a parent, this may not feel like sleeping through the night because you often need eight hours of sleep in a row. From the age of six months, babies are often able to sleep eight hours in a row. But remember that every baby is different and if your baby still wakes up a few times each night at six months, this is completely normal.
Babies can go through episodes of separation anxiety. This can also be an issue during the night. Separation anxiety usually starts when a baby is around nine months old, but can start as early as six months. If your baby wakes up at night and notices that he or she is all alone, your child may feel abandoned. If your infant usually sleeps through the night, he or she may suddenly start waking up more often at night.
No infant sleeps through the entire night
Remember, no one sleeps through the entire night – including you. At the end of a sleep cycle, you transition into the twilight zone between sleeping and waking and then start the next cycle. But your infant is not able to sleep through the entire night. Some infants start a new sleep cycle right away, but this does not mean that these babies sleep through the entire night. After all, no one does!