A baby over the age of 6 months should be sleeping around 10 to 12 hours per night, according to the University of Michigan Health System, but that may not mean your baby is sleeping all night long. Around 9 months many babes go through a sleep regression. Even babies who have been sleeping through the night may start waking up between 9 and 10 months, making you feel confused and exasperated, and looking for more sleep. Tailor your sleep schedule to your 10 month old baby's needs to help you all get a better night's rest.
Adopt Realistic Expectation
It can be discouraging to you as a parent when it seems as though everyone else's babies are sleeping peacefully through the night. You may wonder what is "wrong" with your baby and feel desperate to find a way to fix his sleep problems. At 10 months old, your baby is beginning to learn a bevy of new skills. Crawling, rolling and eating solids can disrupt her sleeping patterns and make her seem fussy at night time, says the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It's a completely normal reaction to new skills and more activity.
Establish a Routine
A bedtime routine can help your 10 month old baby effectively "wind down" from a busy day. Through a bedtime routine, your baby can relax and prepare both body and mind for bedtime. A bedtime routine can consist of any number of calming activities, like a warm bath, stories, a song, a snuggle with the same blanket or a baby massage. These help prepare him to go to sleep. Simply placing him in his crib when he's focused on crawling or playing can make him upset and difficult to soothe.
Adjust Your Schedule
Where previously your baby's nap schedule worked well, as she ages it may become less likely that her nap and sleep schedule are working well. Your baby needs less sleep throughout the day as she ages. Parenting magazine notes that a 9 to 10 month old baby needs roughly three hours of sleep through naps and 11 hours of sleep at night. If you've been putting your baby down in the daytime for longer periods of time, or only a few hours from bedtime, consider adjusting your schedule so your baby takes less naps, or takes her naps early so as not to interfere with her nighttime sleep.
Try Sleep Training
At 10 months old, your baby is old enough to begin gentle sleep training, says BabyCenter.com. Sleep training seeks to change your baby's sleep schedule and give him the ability to self-soothe. Two popular sleep methods include pediatrician Dr. Richard Ferber's system of teaching your baby to self soothe, and parenting expert Elizabeth Pantley's "No Cry Sleep Solution." Through Ferber's method, you avoid going to your child when he cries in the night, or use minimal contact so that he can "cry it out" and learn to sooth himself. In Pantley's method, you watch your child's natural rhythm and schedule, and adapt a sleep routine that fits his already-established patterns.
Only you can choose which method of sleep training is the most cohesive with your parenting methods and what your baby is comfortable with. Consistent sleep training can foster good habits that help your baby to sleep better.
