Will my baby ever sleep through the night?!

We get it mom and dad, you're feeling exhausted.

When you bring home your newborn, it's difficult to get a sleep pattern under control. The whole household gets a little disrupted during this new transition and it's normal to be operating on a whole new level of tired.

Most new parents expect the first few weeks with a new baby to be full of interrupted sleep. But you aren't alone if you have been surprised to find your baby's sleep has become more challenging before it gets better throughout the first year. At some point during those first few months, one of the biggest questions new parents find themselves asking is...

Will my baby ever sleep through the night?! Ever?!

The answer of course is different for everyone... but almost all babies and toddlers eventually do sleep independently from bedtime to wake up time.  

Like other motor and cognitive skills babies learn as they grow, sleep is developmental - babies aren't born knowing how to sleep on their own. Most parents are familiar with the developmental milestones and stages your little one will reach as they grow. But infant and toddler sleep science shows us that there are many developmental milestones and phases in this realm as well! Just as every individual baby will reach their cognitive and motor milestones on their own pace, and may have some regressions as they learn new skills, babies also follow a 'two steps forward, one step back' path towards independent sleep. Sleep regression (around 4, 6, 8, 10... whatever month!) is a real struggle parents face and understanding why and when these "regressions" happen can be helpful in getting through them. 

Every baby and every family is unique, and sleep research is of course generalized.

But the research can help new parents understand what's normal, and what's reasonable to expect from their babies at each developmental age and stage.  As postpartum doulas, we are knowledgeable in the science of infant and toddler sleep, and in the many approaches available to families who wish to help their babies sleep better on their own (from Cry It Out or Graduated Extinction to "gentle" sleep training to bed-sharing or co-sleeping and everything in-between). Between development of their circadian rhythm, to the way learning fun new skills like rolling, sitting, crawling, standing, and SO much more can disrupt sleep - there's A LOT going on in those little brains! 

Sometimes, no matter how much information you have, the biggest help for sleepy parents is an extra helping hand during the day or overnight. 

Your postpartum doula will support you around the clock, helping to establish healthy routines and habits that work for your family. Overnight doula care is designed to help you manage difficult periods of sleep regression and patterns of sleeplessness that leave you feeling worn down, stressed, and exhausted.

Your overnight care doula will be on hand to care for your baby overnight, so you can get the sleep you crave. We spend time with you talking through your family's challenges and goals to understand how to tailor our support to meet your needs on your terms. 

While exhausting (and often very frustrating), frequent night wakings throughout the first year are totally normal - especially for breastfed babies.

You don't have to struggle through this alone!

Doulas of Asheville wants to help you get some sleep.

Whatever your needs are, we are on your schedule. Our overnight care is customized to fit your family's needs and parenting styles so you can sleep soundly while your baby is in the skilled and compassionate care of your doula overnight.  

We set out to not only keep families comfortable and rested, but educated about their baby's developmental milestones and how their sleep patterns evolve. 

Consult with us today for sweet dreams with Doulas of Asheville! 

 

 

 

Christine Robinson

Doulas of Asheville is western North Carolina's premier doula agency, providing birth doulas, postpartum doulas, and placenta specialists to Asheville families. We are proud to support any and all birthing choices, parenting styles. Our postpartum doulas are available to support families with new babies around the clock, from a few daytime shifts, to overnight newborn care, to 24-hour live-in support.