Young parents are often worried about any reason, worrying about the health of the baby. They still do not understand how to establish a regimen and properly feed, they do not know how much a newborn should sleep. There are so many questions to be answered in the first months of a child's life. For each age, there are sleep norms that can be guided by. It is imperative to monitor the condition and mood of the baby, remembering that all children are different, which means that their daily routine will be different.
Newborn
Sleep features of newborns
Newborn babies sleep almost all the time. They wake up only to eat and continue to rest further.
Note! Dr. Komarovsky explains that it is not normal for a newborn to be awake for about two hours. It means that something is bothering him, and it is necessary to find out the reason. Until it is eliminated, sleep will not improve. It's good when the child wakes up, behaves actively for about 20 minutes and goes to rest again.
Babies have mostly shallow sleep, which they fall into as soon as they close their eyes. Within an hour, the full cycle ends, which in an adult is 3-4 times longer. If an irritant appears during a short sleep, then the child will immediately open his eyes. The exception is newborns in the first 12-14 days of life. They practically do not react to what is happening around them, before they even believed that children are born deaf. The baby is protected from noise, loud voices by sleep, which he needs along with food.
Outwardly, it is easy to distinguish when the baby is in the phase of superficial, or short, sleep:
- Hands and feet may twitch;
- It is noticeable how the eyeballs move, or the child blinks;
- The kid smacks his lips, sometimes sobs or screams.
During the transition to deep sleep, the baby can open his eyes to assess the situation around him, whether everything is in order, whether he is safe. If at this moment he feels hunger or discomfort, he will finally wake up. When he is satisfied, he will calmly plunge into a deep sleep, which is stronger and longer.
Why does a newborn sleep a lot
During sleep, newborns grow and develop. That is why it is so valuable, you need to create comfort for the baby to ensure a long rest. If the baby is not enough and does not sleep well, he will most likely begin to lag behind in development from his peers.
How much does a newborn sleep up to a month
A newborn baby sleeps up to a month as much as he needs. He is unaware of the existence of norms and regimes and only gets up to meet basic needs. He needs to eat, change his diaper, wash, change clothes and fall asleep again. Usually the active period takes about 20-30 minutes. This regime lasts 3-4 weeks. Then the child begins to show interest in the world, requires communication, the rest time is gradually reduced.
Interested kid
There are norms about how much a child should sleep from birth to one year. But don't stick to the average schedule completely. The main thing is to focus on the well-being of the baby.
The guidelines for assessing the condition of the baby are:
- Mood while awake. The child does not cry, tries to look around, two or three weeks after birth begins to pronounce the first sounds, actively moves his legs and arms;
- Appetite. To understand that the baby is eating up, it is enough to count how many times a day he pees. It's hard to do this with a diaper, it's easier to put the baby on the diaper. In addition, air baths are extremely beneficial for the baby, especially in the summer. If the number of pees is more than 10, the baby receives the amount of food he needs, do not worry;
- Chair without deviation. There are no blood impurities in it, there is no unpleasant smell;
- Weight gain. It is believed that a newborn's weight should increase every day. In fact, this is not always the case. Perhaps the baby was worried about something, and he ate poorly, but on the next day he demanded milk constantly. It is better to measure the weight of the baby once a month, so as not to injure the child again and not to make the mother nervous. The minimum increase is 500 grams, that is, the toddler gains about 125 grams per week.
If everything is in order with this, and the baby is healthy, then you just need to help him build the right regime. It is recommended to be careful not to confuse the infant with day and night. It is believed that the most beneficial sleep occurs between 7 pm and 1 am. It is during this period that the baby develops, his nervous system is formed. Resting at this time is also useful for adults in order to restore strength and replenish energy to the maximum.
In the early days of life
After birth, babies sleep most of the time. On the first day, they may not even wake up to feed. Therefore, you need to wake up the baby and offer him a breast or a mixture. Nutrition is as important for a child as sleep.
Baby feeding
By week
In the first two weeks, babies sleep 19-20 hours. They often wake up saying they are hungry or need to change their diaper. There is nothing to worry about, the stomach of the newborn is very small, and the baby is satisfied with a small portion of food. Because of this, he has to eat much more often.
Note! You should not torment the child and feed him on a schedule, adhering to an interval of three hours. You need to do this at the request of the baby.
In the third week of life, the duration of the waking period will begin to increase. Nighttime and daytime sleep is gradually decreasing, and by one month children are resting 16-18 hours a day.
Duration of daytime and nighttime sleep
A newborn does not distinguish day from night, the main thing for him is rest, as he quickly gets tired, and food. He wakes up regardless of the time of day, seeking to satisfy basic needs. Severe fatigue negatively affects the work of the baby's nervous system, the development of physical skills. It is impossible to say for sure which sleep is more important: daytime or nighttime. They are necessary for the growth, development of the baby and recovery from short-term activity:
- At night, the brain mainly develops, the nervous system is formed;
- During the day, the supply of vital energy spent on emotional experiences and physical activity is replenished.
The age of the child depends on how much he should sleep: the baby is awake only 4 hours a month, by the year - more than 10. So a newborn rests 10.5-11 hours at night, and 9.5-10 hours during the day. By a month, the time for night and day rest is reduced by about 2 hours.
What affects sleep duration
How long a newborn sleeps depends on his health and the conditions in which he is. When the baby is comfortable, he sleeps well and for a long time, that is, if he is fed, he is warm and dry. It is important to monitor the temperature and humidity in the room where the child lives. If he is actively spending time when he is awake, then he quickly and sweetly falls asleep.
For a newborn, everything around is unfamiliar; it can be interesting or frightening. It is imperative to make the child's leisure time varied, but you should not overdo it, forgetting about the rest.
Note! Too many impressions can negatively affect the psycho-emotional state of the child. Then, before going to bed at night, he may burst into tears, and exhausted, exhausted, he will plunge into sleep. In this case, it is likely that he will be anxious and restless.
If the newborn and the mother have a joint sleep, it will become longer for the baby. He will feel safe, protected. The child hears the beat of his mother's heart, which was familiar to him even before birth, smells milk and continues to sniff sweetly at his side.
Shared sleep
Emotions of parents and family environment also affect the state of the baby. He feels negative and easily adopts the state of his parents. He can mirror their emotions. Therefore, you need to fence the baby from quarrels and scandals, pay more attention to him, hold him in your arms, stroke and kiss. Be sure to talk to the child, smile at him. Then he will be calm during the waking period and easily go to sleep.
Causes of abnormal sleep patterns
If the baby has a normal body temperature, the pediatrician did not find any abnormalities during the examination, but the baby sleeps a little, you should pay attention to the following points:
- Indoor temperature. It is comfortable for babies when the thermometer is no higher than 22 degrees. The minimum recommended limit is 18 degrees;
- The air is too dry. If you protect the baby from drafts by constantly closing the windows, then it will become impossible to be in such a room. It is necessary to periodically ventilate the room, providing fresh air. In order not to catch a cold the child, if there is such a fear, he needs to be dressed warmer for this time. It is imperative to carry out wet cleaning every day and minimize the number of dust collectors in the apartment;
- Clothes are not suitable for temperature conditions. The baby may be cold or, conversely, too hot. In the first case, his legs may turn slightly blue, which means, at least, you need to put on socks. If a newborn suffers from stuffiness, sweat may even appear on his nose. When choosing clothes for a child, adults should be guided by themselves. Maximum - you can add one layer to the baby;
- Uncomfortable clothing that is oversized or made of synthetic materials;
- Too soft or hard mattress. It is important that it is fitted in size, does not slide off the bed or move around it. It is better to choose an orthopedic mattress that will support the spine of the newborn.
The child may need to change the diaper, which is overfilled and therefore uncomfortable.
If a breastfed baby often wakes up, it may be because of the milk:
- It has a low fat content, and the baby does not gorge itself;
- He drinks only the front milk, which is less nutritious, is lazy to get to the back one. To get it, you have to make an effort, and the baby does not want to do this;
- There is not enough milk. Then mom needs to take care of increasing lactation. The main thing that will help with this is good rest, proper nutrition without diets and adherence to the drinking regime.
At 3-4 weeks of age, the baby may have colic. This is a physiological process associated with the fact that the intestinal microflora has not yet formed. Beneficial bacteria have not yet settled, motor skills are not adjusted. As a result, gases accumulate, which are difficult to escape. The baby experiences unpleasant sensations in the afternoon and at night. Therefore, his sleep is disturbed, he cries, it is practically impossible to calm him down. There are ways to alleviate the baby's condition, but the colic will finally go away only after three months. Some babies have them up to six months.
Crying and sleep disturbance due to colic
How to ensure your child has healthy sleep
In order for the baby to have a healthy sleep, you need to remember about simple rules:
- Observe the regime. In the early days, the infant will certainly not obey the rules. But you should think about the routine right away. It is better to go to bed at the same time, performing a series of repetitive actions, observing a kind of ritual. So, after the bath, feed the baby, change clothes and put in the crib. It is better not to rock him in his arms, otherwise, when going into deep sleep, he will notice that he has moved to the crib and will react with crying;
- Ventilate the room before going to bed;
- Carry out wet cleaning daily;
- Check if the bed is in a draft, if the clothes are comfortable;
- Do not overload the baby emotionally in the evening, for example, do not make acquaintances;
- Draw the curtains during the day so that the bright sun does not get into the child's eyes.
The newborn needs feeding at night, so he will wake up and cry. If, after a portion of the mixture or milk, he calmly goes to rest further, you should not worry.
The baby sleeps sweetly
Note! When the child sleeps during the day, you do not need to walk on tiptoe and talk in a whisper. The main thing is to avoid loud and harsh sounds that can really scare the baby.
You need to learn to recognize the signals that the baby gives, ready to sleep. A tired child begins to whimper and whimper. His eyes turn red, and he rubs them with his hands. Some babies suck their thumb. If you skip this time, the child will fall asleep later exhausted, his sleep will be restless.
Young mothers care about how much newborn babies sleep, whether they need to be woken up, and how long they need to stay awake. Children up to a month are active for a very short period of time per day. Sleep for them is the basis of growth and development, strengthening and formation of the nervous system. Parents need to create comfortable conditions for the baby, surrounding him with warmth, care and providing food on demand.
