We asked the experts to debunk the thirteen most persistent baby sleep myths that exhaust new parents

You stumble into Baby Rhyme Time class, bleary-eyed and sustained by multiple lattes after another sleepless night courtesy of your constantly feeding infant. Then you overhear another mother cheerfully announce, “Emma’s already sleeping through the night!” Resentment simmers. Later, when you complain to your own mother, she suggests, “Well, you kids slept beautifully, but I wasn’t breastfeeding.” Resist the impulse to strangle them both.

Infant sleep discussions are highly susceptible to revisionist history and half-truths—otherwise people might reconsider having children altogether! Let’s focus on facts instead: “Babies typically wake about three times per night during their first year,” explains Dr. Shelly K. Weiss, a pediatric neurologist at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and author of Better Sleep for Your Baby & Child (Robert Rose).

Sleep is something we completely take for granted until a baby enters the picture. The relationship between babies and sleep can be perplexing, and as parents who’ve experienced this journey, we wanted to debunk the most prevalent sleep myths. (The fourteenth myth—”you’ll never sleep again”—we can definitively bust: we promise it will happen eventually.)

Myth #1: You Can Establish a Schedule from Day One

“Until three months of age, babies eat and sleep around the clock,” states Dr. Weiss. They’re physically incapable of following a schedule. Even babies who become excellent sleepers may experience wakeful nights later due to teething, illness, or major physical developmental milestones. (Don’t worry—that chirpy mom from Rhyme Time will get her turn eventually.)

Dr. Valerie Kirk, a pediatric respirologist and medical director of the pediatric sleep service at Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary, adds: “The only thing parents can and need to do as early as possible is put their baby down sleepy but not asleep.” Teaching your baby to self-soothe and fall asleep independently will result in more peaceful nights as they grow.

Myth #2: Bigger Babies Sleep Better

“There is no scientific study comparing the sleep duration of larger babies to smaller babies,” notes Dr. Weiss. “However, larger babies have larger stomachs and can consume more milk during feedings. This may help them sleep for longer periods without waking due to hunger.”

Elizabeth Pantley, author of The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night (McGraw-Hill), confirms this myth was debunked early in her parenting experience. “My worst sleeper—waking every hour—weighed 8.5 pounds at birth, while my champion sleeper—sleeping 10 hours straight by six weeks—weighed only six pounds. I can confirm from personal experience that birth weight doesn’t determine sleep patterns.”

Myth #3: All Babies Sleep Through the Night by Three Months

This is false, according to Dr. Weiss. “It’s important to understand that no one—babies or adults—truly sleeps through the night. We all experience brief arousals during the night and return to sleep without remembering them,” she explains.

While some babies develop better self-soothing skills than others and can return to sleep independently, most cannot sustain a six-to-eight-hour sleep period until approximately six months of age, adds Dr. Wendy Hall, a professor at the University of British Columbia School of Nursing.

Myth #4: Babies Simply Don’t Sleep Well on Their Backs

Babies sleep lighter—but still adequately—in this position, says Dr. Kirk. The truth behind this myth: Babies are more likely to rouse from back-sleeping if they’re in danger, which is precisely why this position has been associated with lowered sudden infant death syndrome risk.

Myth #5: Never Wake a Sleeping Baby

You’ve probably heard this directive countless times—perhaps even from hospital nurses. We’ve even used it when in-laws dropped by unexpectedly and we desperately needed a nap. Don’t believe it unconditionally.

During the first few weeks, your baby needs to eat frequently—actually every two to three hours. Consequently, there may be occasions when you’ll need to gently rouse them to at least a semi-awake state for feeding.

Myth #6: Always Sleep When the Baby Sleeps

Many women find it difficult to sleep when uncertain whether their infant will wake crying in five minutes or two hours. “One day my daughter Claire would sleep 2.5 hours, the next just half an hour, so I found showering a better use of my time!” says Jenniffer of Regina.

Napping or taking turns sleeping in when your partner is home may help you catch some anxiety-free sleep. Having your partner provide an occasional bottle of breast milk or formula also gives them bonding time while giving you a break, notes Dr. Kirk.

Myth #7: Once She Starts Solids, She’ll Sleep Eight Hours

“There’s no research to prove this,” states Dr. Weiss. Nor is there evidence that heavier babies sleep better.

“I was constantly told that once the baby weighs 10 pounds, they’ll sleep through the night!” says Paula, a Sudbury mother. “Not true!” Cluster breastfeeding before bedtime may help younger babies sleep slightly longer periods. After eight months, they shouldn’t need nighttime feedings for nutritional reasons, says Dr. Kirk.

Myth #8: Some Babies Are Just Poor Sleepers

“There are some babies who are very light sleepers and are awakened easily by environmental noise, and some who have difficulty settling down when exposed to stimulation,” says Dr. Hall.

“The fact is,” adds Pantley, “most babies are perfectly satisfied with their own sleep. It’s the disruption to the parents’ sleep that creates most of the problems.” Hence babies get labeled as poor sleepers when the real issue is parental sleep deprivation.

Myth #9: Formula Helps Babies Sleep Better

Despite what your mother-in-law insists, experts confirm there’s no evidence proving formula helps babies sleep better. This includes breastfed babies who receive formula supplements.

If this were true, Pantley points out, “all formula-fed infants would sleep through the night within a few weeks of life—and we know that’s not the case.”

Myth #10: Early Bedtime = Early Rising; Late Bedtime = Late Rising

“The literature suggests that infants who go to bed late and are consequently overtired sleep more poorly than infants who aren’t overtired,” explains Dr. Hall.

Most babies actually sleep longer with an earlier bedtime, Pantley notes. “Many parents fear putting their child to bed early, thinking they’ll face a 5 a.m. wake-up call. But keeping your little one up too late backfires, and more often, a late night is followed by that early morning awakening.”

Myth #11: Shorter Daytime Naps Equal Longer Night Sleep

Similar to the late bedtime myth, the opposite is actually true. “A well-rested baby will sleep better at night,” says Dr. Weiss. “It’s important to watch the timing of naps,” she adds. “If your baby sleeps past 4 or 5 p.m., bedtime will be delayed.”

Myth #12: Keep the Nursery Completely Quiet

While adults may need complete silence to fall and stay asleep, most newborns actually love background noise with shushing or whooshing sounds, like a fan, because their environment in the womb was quite noisy.

Some babies can sleep through vacuuming, the low hum of a dinner party, or even a movie. These sounds are comforting and familiar to them.

Myth #13: Let Her Cry for 20 Minutes and She’ll Be Golden

Parents often misunderstand or misapply sleep-training techniques, says Dr. Kirk. Occasionally allowing your child to scream for two hours, or abruptly eliminating night feedings without researching proper methods, won’t work.

The truth: A phased-in sleep-training method can help babies six months or older. Talk to your doctor about gradually decreasing night feedings or slowly increasing the time before you respond to soothe baby—from five to 10 to 15 minutes.

“Be persistent and consistent,” says Dr. Weiss. “Habits that developed over nine months won’t be resolved in four days.”

Adjusting Your Attitude

At the end of the day—or night—sometimes you simply need to adjust your perspective. “My wife and I kept getting up angry,” says Roman, a Winnipeg father. “Finally, we accepted that neither of us was going to sleep all night every night and started taking turns.”

By the Numbers

We polled our readers and asked when their baby started sleeping through the night (six straight hours without waking or feeding). Here’s how you responded:

• Under 2 months: 11%
• 3-6 months: 27%
• 6-12 months: 27%
• Still waiting (sigh): 35%

How Much Sleep Does My Child Need?

According to the Canadian Paediatric Society

Age	Sleep (including naps)
0-6 months	16 hours a day (three to four hours at a time)
6-12 months	14 hours
1-3 years	10-13 hours
3-6 years	10-12 hours (by age five, most children have outgrown napping)