Summarize:

If your child has been waking up in the middle of the night, it is important that you (and your partner) discuss a plan in advance for how you will handle these outbursts when they arise. Your thinking likely won't be at its sharpest in the middle of the night, so having a plan in place can diminish the stress you feel and also ensure that you respond consistently every time if and when your child has trouble sleeping through the night. When their child has trouble sleeping through the night, some parents resort to inviting the child to sleep in their bed. It can appear to be the only (or the easiest) way to soothe them and to help them fall back asleep. However, if you are looking to actually resolve the problem, inviting your child into your bed is not the solution. This will simply promote bad sleeping habits, as your child is actually being rewarded for waking up in the middle of the night. Inviting your child into your bed also fails to teach her the important life skill of learning how to put herself back to sleep, should she awake in the middle of the night. Another coping pattern that parents may resort to is rocking their child back to sleep. This is another counter-productive behavior, as it prevents your child from learning to fall asleep on his own. If your child cries in the middle of the night, ideally you would ignore her and allow her to self-soothe until she falls back to sleep. If you rush to get up at the sound of crying and immediately comfort your little one, you will be inadvertently reinforcing the negative sleep pattern by rewarding awakening in the night.  The exception is if your child is crying more than usual, has an unusual cry, or is currently ill, you may want to check to make sure your child is not uncomfortable or in pain, and does not have a dirty diaper. Even if you only respond to the crying once in awhile, the reinforcement effect is still just as strong (if not stronger). This is because "intermittent reinforcement" (a behavior that is rewarded with attention sometimes but not always) actually registers as the strongest form of reinforcement in the brain. Therefore, if you respond to your child's crying by soothing her, it will develop pathways in your child's brain that this behavior is one to continue (when it happens to be the very behavior that you are trying to cut out). When it comes to a child who cannot sleep through the night, it is easy to become distressed and disillusioned with the challenges of the moment. However, it is key to keep your mind focused on long-term success. What you are aiming to teach your child is the self-soothing skills of learning how to fall asleep, including how to fall back asleep after an awakening during the night.  With dedication and consistency in your approach, your child will learn this; however, it is not something that will change overnight. Remain committed to teaching your child this important life skill, and trust that with time your child will adapt.
Have a plan for middle-of-the-night disturbances. Do not invite your child into your bed. Do not rock your child back to sleep. Avoid reinforcing negative behaviors such as crying. Remain focused on the long-term goal.