Stages

• A three-month-old baby is only able to sleep about five hours at a time, before he needs to feed again. It is possible, however, to have your baby sleeping between 9 and 12 hours at a time by the age of six months. According to the National Sleep Foundation, 70 percent of babies are able to sleep through the night by the time they are nine months old.
  
  

Problems

• Babies sometimes have a hard time settling down in the evening. It may take a while for a baby to fall asleep, and he may fuss or cry before finally falling asleep. In addition, throughout the night babies tend to move around a lot in their sleep, squirming and twitching. Sometimes they may even cry or whimper a little bit during the night. While these things may wake a concerned parent up, they do not necessarily mean your baby isn't sleeping through the night.
  
  

Solutions

• If your baby has a tendency to fuss while finding a comfortable position to sleep in, speak quietly to him while rubbing his back. You may also consider using a pacifier to help your baby fall asleep, which can also reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome. During the night, if you hear your baby stir, don't immediately rush to the crib. Your presence may wake him up more, and is counter-productive to helping your baby sleep through the night. Instead, give your baby a few minutes to see what happens.
  
  

Misconceptions

• In general, sleeping through the night is defined as sleeping from midnight until 5 am, which may mean you don't get an uninterrupted night of sleep. Sleeping through the night is not dependent on a baby's diet or size, but rather mostly dependent on her age. Parents can also slow progress by always rocking a baby to sleep, which makes her dependent on you to fall asleep. Put your little one to bed tired, and chances are that pretty soon he'll be sleeping through the night.
  
  

Expert Advice

• Make your day a busy one! When your baby is awake play, talk and sing with him. Make sure that naps are monitored; don't let him sleep for hours on end. Set up a bedtime routine that is relaxing, such as taking a bath or reading. This will help your baby to associate these activities with sleep. Consistency is key in setting a bedtime routine.