How to Help a 9-Month-Old Sleep All Night

Different babies have different sleep patterns. While a friend or relative may claim that her baby has slept through the night since he was born, your child may sleep for a few hours and then wake up crying. Infants are like adults in that they have sleep cycles of deeper and lighter sleep. Just like adults, infants will wake during the night. The key is to teach your child to soothe herself back to sleep without crying out for your assistance. While there is no foolproof method to help a 9-month-old sleep through the night, there are some things you can do to help your child develop a more predictable and lengthy sleep schedule that includes self-soothing.

Instructions

    • 1

      Establish a bedtime routine. At roughly the same time each night, start getting your child ready for bed. Do at least one or two soothing activities to help settle her down for the night such as a warm bath and then bottle feeding or breastfeeding her.

    • 2

      Put your baby in his bed with a security object such as a pacifier or blanket before he closes his eyes and begins to drift off to sleep. Make him aware that you are putting him to bed where he can go to sleep. This works much better than if you allow him to fully go to sleep in your arms and then place him in his crib unaware. If he wakes later, he may be alarmed and irritated if the last thing he remembers was being comforted in your arms.

    • 3

      Wait to see if she is truly awake. Sometimes babies make noises but then settle back into sleep. Check to make sure she is OK. Feel her diaper and her forehead. Take note of the temperature in the room to make sure it's not too warm or too cool. Offer her the pacifier or blanket you put in the crib earlier. Try not to pick her up. This can teach her that when she cries, you will pick her up.

    • 4

      Pat or rub your child's back gently for a couple of minutes and then quietly leave the room. If he cries out for you, go back to his bedside and pat or rub his back. Do not talk and don't pick him up. Continue to offer him the pacifier or blanket.

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