Track Daytime Activities

• Provide stimulation during the day for better nighttime sleep.Jupiterimages/Goodshoot/Getty Images
  
  A baby can take several naps during the day, but parents can find a balance so that a little one won't get into the habit of sleeping too much, resulting in poor nighttime sleep. Parents should wake a baby if he sleeps more than four hours during the day. Wake a sleepy baby by changing his diaper, removing clothes or offering a bottle. Healthy Children also suggests making sure an infant is stimulated during the day by talking, playing and singing with the child.
  
  

Create a Setting for Nighttime Sleep

• Turn off the lights and keep things quiet after putting an infant to bed.Jupiterimages/Creatas/Getty Images
  
  An infant typically has one session of sleep per day that is longer than others. To encourage this longer rest to occur during the night, make the place where the baby sleeps at night conducive to rest. According to Kids Health in "Sleep and Newborns," provide a quiet, dark room with little stimulation to encourage longer periods of sleep. A white noise machine or fan blocks noise from traffic and other family members. In the same way, allowing a baby to rest during the day in an opposite setting where there is light, sound and activity naturally keeps the baby from entering the deep phase of sleep during the day.
  
  

Start a Bedtime Routine

• A bath before bed sends a little one off to dreamland.Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images
  
  One of the best ways to get a little one off to dreamland is by getting into a routine so her body knows it is time to sleep. It is never too early to start a bedtime routine, and even a small baby will soon get used to a repeated routine. In "Baby Sleep Basics," Baby Center suggests including a feeding, bath, light massage with lotion, story or song as part of a bedtime routine.
  
  

Fill the Tank Before Bed

• Squeeze a feeding in before parents go to bed for longer rest.BananaStock/BananaStock/Getty Images
  
  Young babies simply cannot sleep through the night because their stomachs cannot hold enough food to last eight hours. Some babies naturally get sleepy early in the evening and are ready for bed long before mom and dad. Parents can wake their infant about 30 minutes before they are ready to go to bed to squeeze in a feeding before the whole family crashes for the night. If successful, the infant most likely will get her longest sleep during the hours her parents are sleeping, which will make for a happier household.