[sparrish]

This is good advice. I've got 7 kids and can verify this. To add a bit more to it, teach your babies how to fall asleep without you rocking them for hours. It's a skill and one few of them learn on their own. Your life will get incredibly easier once they're sleeping through the night and mom and dad can sleep through the night as well. A recommended book is 'On Becoming Baby Wise'. Worked for our 7 - all them were sleeping 8+ hours at night before 12 weeks old.

[kazinator]

Some nicely sleep 8+ hours a night before they're 12 weeks old, and then decide to kick this nice habit after 6 months.

[znpy]

Holy shit dude, seven kids?

On a more serious note: how do you teach them to fall asleep without rocking then for hours?

[codingdave]

In short, ignore them... for actual details, you can google "Cry it out". There are a variety of techniques, varying from letting them cry for 5 minutes, to just letting them cry. Most modern ideas lean towards the 5 minute route, starting when they are close to 6 months old, as then they are old enough to not need feeding overnight.

It does work. Kids do learn that crying doesn't bring any attention, so they stop, and learn a sleeping routine. And with 7 kids, I can understand the appeal. With less kids, we went another route. When my kids were little, there was research saying these techniques were not healthy, but in the last 10 years newer studies have said they are OK. But it is a heated debate among parents.

Ultimately, every parent needs to make their own choice.