How to Get Your Infant to Sleep Through The Night

  I don't claim to be any expert, but I know some moms who struggle to get their babies to sleep through the night. I managed to get mine to sleep by paying attention to his needs before my own and by observing his personality and instinctual traits. It was difficult at first, but now going to bed is a breeze as long as we stick to our schedule.
  First of all, there really should be no such thing as an infant sleeping through the whole night. They need to be fed around every 3 hours. It doesn't matter if you're breastfeeding or bottle feeding. It will be hard to adjust your sleep to wake up every three hours at first, especially if you've been accustomed to sleeping all the way through the night for long stretches. It was very hard for me.
  Second, it's different with every baby. You need to take a while to observe your baby and learn their personalities, habits, and instinctual traits. For example, my baby boy doesn't cry for no reason. Ever. He only ever cries if he is hungry, has peed his diaper, or if he has a diaper rash (which has only happened twice). He gets a little fussy when he wants snuggles. That's going to be different with everyone. My technique may not work for everyone because my son does not get upset unless he needs those things.
  Third, babies sleep better at night the more you feed them during the day. For example, my son eats about every two hours during the day. Sometimes he will need to eat an hour after one feeding. At night he eats every 3-4 hours. It may take about a week for this to really become consistent. Especially with new newborns. But what you do is start during the day, and even if your baby isn't giving you hunger signals, offer them your breast or bottle every two hours after diaper changes. Every single time your baby has a dirty diaper, offer them your breast or a bottle. Feed them until they are done. Then burp them and let them play or do whatever you would normally do. Set a timer for two hours later, and repeat the process. It's okay if your baby wants to eat before the timer goes off.
  Fourth (tidbit), it's easier to have a semblance of a schedule when you get into the routine of feeding your baby after every diaper change. It will seem like a lot, and require a lot of work. But it is worth it. Obviously there are some exemptions. For example, if there's a poo explosion, you obviously need to clean that up before feeding baby. Or if you changed their diaper, and you're feeding baby and you hear the nasty poo farts, you will obviously need to change their diaper to prevent diaper rash. (It may be frustrating, but always change as soon as you think they're done because diaper rashes make things more frustrating and complicated). You have two options with that situation: you can stop feeding right then and change their diaper, then go back to feeding. Or you can keep feeding until they are done and then change their diaper. Sometimes it depends on how hungry and sleepy baby is. What I do is if I'm feeding him and he poops while he's drinking, and he's sleepy I change his diaper right away and then keep feeding him until he's done. I do this because nursing helps him sleep better, and diaper changes can be stressful for him. So if I want him to sleep I do that. If he's wide awake, I let him finish nursing completely then change his diaper to keep him awake. Sometimes he'll need a couple more minutes of nursing after the diaper change because he's used to our schedule of feeding right after diaper change. It's really all about learning the signs and personality of your baby.
  Fifth, keep baby awake at least 3 hours before you want to go to bed. There are a couple ways I do this. I put him on his belly for "tummy time" exercise. I will also do skin rolling baby massage (husband is a chinese medicine major. It's a technique he uses on his patients. Keeps them from getting sick.) I'll turn on Disney or Imagine Dragons on Pandora or bring up loud, happy songs that he loves. I also change his diaper more frequently. Or a bath. That's what works for him. But sometimes none of that works and we just have to adjust our schedule. I try to go to bed at 10:30. So I try to keep him awake after 7:30. But if he's really tired at 8:00, I take him to bed then and we work around it. As a stay at home mom, it's easy for me to do this. I took this semester off of school to be able to create these routines and schedules. I'm glad I did.
  During the times in between feedings, if he's awake I turn on happy music and let him play. Sometimes we go on walks or I play with him too. But when it's nap time or sleep time, I let him be. I let him dictate (for the most part) what he needs. That's how I learned his personality and such at the beginning. With new babies, it's best to let them dictate your schedule if you can. This way you can learn about them and develop your own ways of "sleep training" and create a schedule.
  This is what worked for me. It's really helpful because now he only wakes up about two times a night. We usually go to bed between 8:30-10:30 and wake up between 6:30 - 9:00. I get about 6-7 hours of sleep a night, and during the day I take naps when he does.
  I hope this helps someone. It's important to remember that there is no "quick fix". The best thing to do is learn about your baby. It will help with other things and help you love who they are. :)