Is your baby sleeping through the night yet?
If not, don't worry - at least 10 percent of babies don't even do it by six months of age.
Still, it's a worthy goal, and one to begin working toward at an early age, usually by three or four months.
The most important thing to remember about sleep is that it's an acquired skill - and one that you can help your baby learn.
How?
One thing that helps is to start, from an early age, to put the baby to bed while he or she is at least partially awake.
If the baby falls asleep during the night-time feeding, wake him and put him in the crib with his eyes open.
This method, however, does not work with all babies, especially those who are breast-feeding.
The problem with putting babies to bed asleep is that they associate sleep with feeding, rocking, sucking on a dummy or other external soothing behaviors.
Then, when they wake up during the night, as everyone does, they think they need those same things to fall back asleep.
They have not learned how to settle themselves down, so they cry for help. Mom or dad answer and provide the sleep props.
Establish bedtime routines
And the cycle continues. Babies never learn to be self-soothers until they go to bed awake and find their own ways to put themselves to sleep.
Another strategy that might help babies develop good sleeping habits is establishing bedtime routines that are different from your daytime routines.
Then do the same things, in the same places, at the same times every night.
One practice that does not help a baby sleep is offering foods, like cereal, too early.
This does not correlate with babies sleeping better; in fact, it makes them more susceptible to frequent illness, including allergies, and is detrimental to the digestive tract.