It is much easier to prevent sleep problems, by putting in good sleep routines, than trying to solve them at a later date.

During the early weeks, just start by making day and nights very different.  At night keep the lights low, try not to talk to her and if you have to, do so in a low calm voice and keep it to a minimum.  When feeding at night, as soon as she has finished, put her down while she’s still awake and don’t even change her nappy  unless she has passed a stool or is very wet.  The opposite of course is true in the day.  Make daytime feeds and alert periods full of singing and chatter, and lots of eye contact and stimulation.

A bedtime routing is very important, as your baby will learn that this is the run up to bedtime.  At a similar time each evening, bath/wash your baby, change her into her night clothes, give her last feed in the bedroom with the lights low.  Put her into her crib awake and let her fall asleep by herself.  If she does cry, wait a short while before going back to her as she may settle herself.  If you need to go back, settle her with as little fuss as possible and then leave again.  Repeat this as many times as necessary.
In the early weeks, this routine may be as you’re going to bed, as newborns can be very wakeful during the evening, but you can bring it earlier as your baby is more wakeful during the day and ready to sleep during the evening.

Hopefully by following the above advice you can prevent sleep problems.  If your baby does have sleep problems then read the sections below.

When babies/children go through the light sleep stage of sleep, they can easily wake. This is quite common, but your child needs to learn to go back to sleep by herself.

First try to find out if there is a problem, which is causing your baby to wake.  A baby over the age of 6 months should not need a feed during the night, so if she appears hungry, it could be because she is not getting enough food during the day.  If this is so, then maybe introduce a supper e.g. cereal.  Or, is she just asking for a feed because she doesn’t know how to go back to sleep without a feed?  Check for other reasons for waking, for example, too hot or cold, or in older children, afraid of the dark- sometimes a night light can do the trick. 

Follow the tips below to help nighttime waking.

• Don’t go to her immediately.  Wait a few minutes to see if she will settle herself.
• Do not offer her a milk feed (unless she is under 6 months) this will only encourage her to wake up and she’s not learning to go to sleep by herself.
• Don’t take her into your bed or downstairs – you’re rewarding her for waking up if you do this.
• Settle her down, give her the attachment toy and then leave the room.
• If she cries, leave her for a short period to see if she settles herself, and then go back to her, settle her and then leave the room again.
• Continue doing this until she eventually settles. 

To start with, you may be getting less sleep and it’s very tempting to give in and let her a feed or take her into your bed, as you know this will make her sleep.  However, whilst nice things continue to happen at night e.g. a feed, then your child will continue waking.  Stick to your guns.  It will be tough, but eventually your child will learn to go back to sleep without disturbing you.