Sleeping through the night

My friend is 37 weeks pregnant with her first baby. It's so great to get questions from her because it reminds me of things I want to write down.

 She asked me "at what age do babies start sleeping through the night?"

Here is my answer...
As far as waking them to feed them, the general rule is you have to wake them at least every three hours until they are one month old. When they are two months old you can let them go six hours.

But as far as when they start sleeping long stretches – and a long stretch means something different to every parent – every baby Is different.

My first started sleeping 10 hours at a stretch at just seven weeks old. That is an anomaly. Some babies don't sleep through the night till they are five years old. Every baby is different, and the range of normal is wide.

Sleeping through the night for a baby is technically defined as five hours straight.

Also, be patient. Because breastmilk is digested more quickly breast-fed babies usually wake up more often, at least in the beginning.

EDIT:  See my post on taking baby to the chiropractor!!!!!!!!!