Help your child get a good night's sleep

Ask any new parents how they're doing, and you can guarantee that within 30 seconds, the conversation will turn to broken nights. So just how much sleep should you be able to expect?

Birth to 6 months

Newborns don't know the difference between night and day, and often baffle their parents by sleeping for long periods during the day, only to be awake for hours at night. Also, new babies often wake because they need a feed, as they only have little tummies.

In her book, The Complete Sleep Guide for Contented Babies and Toddlers (Vermilion, £9.99), Gina Ford suggests that babies who weigh over 10lb are putting on enough weight each week and following her routine, may sleep through the 'core night' (11pm to 5am) from 6 weeks. By 10 weeks, her plan is that babies start to sleep from 11pm to 7am.

Certainly by 3 to 6 months, your little one will hopefully sleep for reasonably long periods through the night. But if she's determined to keep you both awake, how do you reclaim your nights?

Chireal Shallow, of Naturally Nurturing sleep clinic (www.naturallynurturing.co.uk), says: 'To help your baby feel secure, recreate the conditions of the womb. Swaddle him, just like he was snug inside you, and make sure his Moses basket is cosy. If he's warm and sleepy in your arms, being moved to a cool mattress can be a shock.'

'To settle him, put a hand on his chest, lean down and put your cheek next to his, then make a 'shh, shh' sound. When he stops crying, stop all of these. He'll learn you're there for him when he's upset, but that he can go to sleep on his own when he's calm.'

6 to 12 months

By now your baby's tummy is big enough to enable him to sleep for around 11 hours at night without waking to feed. If he's still waking frequently for food, it's time to re-think your feeding patterns. It may also be that he can't settle himself, and needs your help to doze off again.

Your baby's old enough now for you to be able to introduce sleep training to get him into better habits. The aim is to teach him how to get back to sleep on his own. Methods include gradual withdrawal (slowly moving further away in the room as he drifts off to sleep) and controlled crying (leaving him for gradually increased periods of time before going in to reassure him).

An expert's view

Caroline Deacon, author of Babycalming: Simple Solutions for a Happy Baby (HarperCollins, £8.99), says: 'It's important to remember that, at this age, your baby isn't waking to be naughty, it's just that he can't help it, for whatever reason.'

'The strategy you decide on for settling your baby will depend on the reason for waking. So play detective and look at what's going on during his days and nights that make it difficult for him to sleep well at night. Common problems at this age include: a baby not getting enough to eat during the day; a sensitivity to new food; pain from teething; too much sleep during the day or a nap too late in the day; and bedrooms being too light or too stimulating.'

'Keep a diary, and read through it with someone else - a GP, health visitor or another mum. If you're very tired, it's hard to see things clearly, and an outside perspective may pinpoint the problem.'

By Siobhan O'Reilly