Jessica Parenting Journal

  I was sitting on the nursery floor at three in the morning with my daughter finally quiet against my shoulder, and I remember thinking, with total clarity, that I had no idea what I was doing. I typed the exact phrase into my phone that you probably typed to find this post: how to get newborn to sleep through the night. The search results were a mess of contradictions. One site swore by a strict schedule. Another insisted schedules would backfire. A third just told me to be patient, which, at three in the morning, was not the answer I wanted. Years and one more baby later, I can tell you what actually helped, and just as importantly, what "sleeping through the night" really means at each stage. Spoiler: the bar is much lower than the phrase suggests, and knowing that alone might let you breathe a little easier tonight. I also want to say, before we get into the steps, that none of this is a guarantee. Every baby’s temperament and biology are different, and the parent tw...