Ruth Watts, who has been a health visitor for 11 years, revealed the truth about baby sleep and when you should really worry about their wakings in the night...07:51, 30 May 2026Parents know the struggle when it comes to baby sleep. At the beginning, it's all one fight for survival with your newborn waking every hour or so for a feed.‌Whatever the sequence might be, it's normal and all part of the process which doesn't last very long. But when your baby gets a little older, some might start to sleep through the night, while others still need a feed and cuddle. So how often should your baby be waking in the night? A health visitor has settled the all-important debate for parents – and there's light at the end of the tunnel.‌Ruth Watts has worked in the industry for 11 years and recently shared advice with her 175,000 Instagram followers.‌Content cannot be displayed without consentHow often should babies wake in the night?It's important to remember how often a baby wakes depends heavily on their age. Newborns need to wake up every 2 to 3 hours for a feed, while it might just be a couple of times for older infants. Or some babies sleep through the night and have done so for a while.By 6 to 12 months, many are capable of sleeping for longer stretches. However, this might not be the case for every baby and it's important to remember that it's all normal.‌In the video, Ruth began: "Is it normal for babies to wake this month through the night?"Normal infant sleep looks like frequent night wakings. Okay and then normal infant sleep also doesn't look linear. I have met hundreds of families in my 11 years of health visiting and I've seen all of it."Ruth has seen babies sleeping through the night days after coming home from the hospital, while some breastfed take a few months to settle in the night.‌She also claimed some formula-fed babies wake hourly at the beginning too, despite the common myth it helps them sleep longer stretches, although there is no evidence to suggest this.The health visitor continued: "And then I see babies at 4 months who have always slept really well from the first month and now they're waking every half an hour to an hour."All of which is normal. Okay. Normal infant sleep changes and normal infant sleep is expected that baby will wake through the night.‌"Also normal infant sleep includes feeding in the night, feeding back to sleep, rocking your baby, giving your baby comfort. Babies require those things from us."She then urged parents to ignore what others may tell you. Ruth added: "Society loves to convince you otherwise. You should be putting that baby down. You shouldn't be rocking your baby, baby should be sleeping in their own sleep space by now."None of which is true, it's only ever a problem if it's a problem for you. And instead of worrying how am I ever going to get my baby out of my bed, when it is the right time for you, that's when you'll tackle it."Article continues belowRuth also reminded parents normal infant sleep includes frequent night wakings, and then of course, there are obstacles along the way – like teething, illness and development milestones.She concluded: "It's hard but you're doing nothing wrong. Ignore the society background noise, babies wake up in the night, it's normal."Since the video was shared, many rushed to comment and thank Ruth for the reassurance. One said: "I needed this today. My six-month-old still wakes hourly some nights and I'm made to feel like I'm going something wrong?"