The newborn sleeps a lot after being discharged from the hospital. This is a concern for some parents. Children aged 1-2 weeks normally sleep 20 hours a day, with breaks for feeding and waking hours. This is normal. If the baby does not wake up for 7-8 hours in a row, then this may indicate the presence of pathology.
Baby sleeping, black and white photo
Sleep features of a newborn baby
A child's sleep is different from an adult's. In babies, the sleep cycle lasts 1.5-2 hours, then they wake up from hunger. It takes a newborn 20 minutes to fall asleep deeply. At this time, children may have their hands twitching, they move, a little tense. In the interval of falling asleep, it is better not to wake children - they will wake up capricious and will cry a lot from fright.
In the deep sleep stage, the baby is relaxed, his mouth opens slightly, his hands lie near his head. At this moment, the baby is difficult to wake up, you should not do this. Usually crumbs wake up every 2 hours for feeding, but some babies can sleep non-stop for 7 hours in a row. Normally, this is rare, so it is worth consulting with your doctor.
Important! If, after a walk on the street, the baby sleeps for 6 hours in a row, then this is normal. The same phenomenon occurs after vaccination.
The cycles of children's and adult sleep do not coincide, so you have to wake up with the baby. In the daytime, the babies, after waking up, stay awake for 2 hours, then fall asleep again. During the night, they wake up only to feed, usually fall asleep right away.
During sleep, the crumbs produce growth hormone, the baby gains strength, becomes stronger every day. When the child is asleep, do not worry about the increased silence in the apartment. At first, babies sleep very soundly, do not pay attention to extraneous noise.
Optimal norms for babies
For each month of life, babies have their own norms. They are formed individually for each newborn. Several factors affect the length of your sleep cycle:
- the weight;
- air humidity;
- lighting;
- noise;
- the amount of milk eaten;
- quality of milk.
For a child aged 1-2 weeks, the duration of sleep is 17 to 20 hours a day. Babies 2-3 months need 15-16 hours, from 4 to 6 months the number of hours of sleep is reduced to 14-16 hours per day. After six months, the child sleeps 12-14 hours. By the age of one year, the need for rest decreases, children are active a lot, sleep 12-13 hours a day.
The boy is sleeping
Sleep time vs. age table
| Age, months | Sleep hours |
|---|---|
| 1 | 17-20 |
| 2-3 | 15-16 |
| 4-6 | 14-16 |
| 6-9 | 12-14 |
| 9-12 | 12-13 |
Each child is individual and can deviate from the norm. The little one sleeps a lot, if he is very tired or sick, this is normal. It's worth worrying if this happens all the time. Sleep disturbances or rapid changes in sleep cycles are possible.
When long sleep is considered normal
A newborn baby is constantly asleep, there is nothing to worry about. If the baby is in a state of sleep for a long time, then it is good, warm and comfortable, and the fat content of mother's milk meets the standards. This phenomenon disappears by 2 months. Further, the baby begins to wake up more often and demand to eat. After all, he is growing, his needs are increasing.
If, after 2-3 months, the newborn sleeps all the time, you should start sounding the alarm. During prolonged sleep, he does not receive the necessary nutrition. Because of this, it develops worse. There are several situations when a long sleep in an infant is considered normal:
- after walking in the street;
- after vaccination;
- first month of life;
- overwork;
- prolonged activity.
The first week of a child's life is visited by a visiting nurse every day. Then the baby is taken to the doctor for the first examination at 1 month. If the length of sleep is worrying for the parents, then it is worth discussing this with your local pediatrician. If pathologies are found, he will prescribe an additional examination by a neurologist and other doctors.
Important! Do not be afraid to ask your doctor questions if something is causing you severe concern. If you wish, you can contact an independent expert.
Kid on a bedspread in white
Dangerous symptoms with long sleep
In some cases, the newborn baby sleeps constantly, because there are some deviations. A doctor will help you figure it out. The child's behavior should be monitored, there are symptoms that indicate a problem.
Eats little
When a newborn sleeps a lot and eats little, it is worth ringing the alarm bell. Children under one year old should wake up to eat at night at least 2-3 times. Newborn babies eat every 2 hours. Their stomachs hold only 10 ml of food in the first month, by the end of 30 days the portion increases to 40 ml.
The baby should receive adequate nutrition. With a lack of breast milk, he will not be able to develop normally. The child will be nutritionally deficient. The problem may be neurological. Any concerns should be discussed with your local pediatrician. Such a long sleep does not always indicate a problem. All babies are individual, perhaps the crumb needs the amount of milk he receives per day.
Baby sleeps in mom's arms
Temperature
A high body temperature in a child indicates that an infection has entered the body. The baby must be shown to the doctor. Under the age of one year, children's immunity is imperfect. The infant receives protective antibodies only from the mother's milk. Up to three months, they help a child's body cope with a cold.
Fever increases drowsiness and decreases appetite. The baby sleeps a lot because she is not feeling well. Adults often face the same condition. The doctor will prescribe the necessary treatment after examination and tests. Children under one year old are often skipped out of line, so it will not be ore to be examined.
Difficulty breathing
Children's breathing should be even, more often than that of an adult, because the lung capacity of children is much less than that of parents. If a newborn sleeps for a long time and breathes heavily, it may have an infection in the lungs. The pediatrician will be able to make an accurate diagnosis after listening to them.
Difficulty breathing indicates a decrease in their volume, which means that there are obstacles in the newborn's body for normal air circulation. Sometimes children get the infection from hospital staff, other children, and in transit after discharge.
In the first 30 days of life, the child is protected from a large crowd of people, outside visits and frequent walks in closed rooms, such as:
- the shops;
- polyclinics;
- hospitals;
- children's centers.
It is advisable to go to sleep on the street more often, to ventilate the room, to monitor the hygiene of the newborn. Additional measures will warn the baby from infection.
Important! The children's room should always be clean and tidy, a large amount of dust leads to diseases.
Sleeps for a long time in one position
If a newborn baby sleeps a lot on one side, it will lead to an abnormal skull formation. Every mother should know that the baby should be turned over on the side every 1.5-2 hours.
With prolonged sleep, this rule should not be forgotten, because the cranium protects the baby's brain from damage. On their own, babies begin to roll over only from 2-3 months. Until this age, parents should monitor this.
Baby with a bear
Others
When a newborn asks for food all the time and does not sleep, this indicates that he is not gorging. When breastfeeding, breast milk is tested immediately. It may not be nutritious. To do this, decant 100 ml of milk into a transparent glass container. Leave overnight and check the serum and sour cream levels. If the first turns out to be a little, it means that the milk is fat, and the reason for the children's cry is something else. If, on the contrary, you will have to leave breastfeeding and feed the baby with a mixture.
Prolonged sleep can be a sign of a neurological disorder. Usually, such phenomena are determined even in the hospital, where the doctor checks the health of the crumbs. Sometimes the symptoms become noticeable only after 2 months, the strange behavior of the baby will only confirm them.
Any colds and infections are accompanied by shortness of breath and fever. The child will lose all desire to eat. He will only want to sleep because of poor health. It is better to avoid visiting the clinic unnecessarily. It is in medical institutions that the largest accumulation of viruses and bacteria, as sick children constantly visit them. Immunity in newborns is weak, it will be difficult for them to overcome the infection, so it is better not to risk it.
Important! If parents are worried about the child's condition, then the pediatrician is called at home by phone.
Newborn sleeping with dad
Should I wake up a child with a long sleep
According to Dr. Komarovsky and other pediatricians, it is not worth waking a baby if he sleeps for a long time for the first time. If this happens systematically, then you need to take action. The baby should eat well.
Currently doctors recommend feeding babies on demand. Although grandmothers and great-grandmothers will not agree with this, because they adhered to the regime. The expression "on demand" does not mean that you need to starve the crumbs if he began to demand to eat before the appointed time. This principle is based on the fact that the child receives food when it is convenient for him.
Over time, babies develop a certain regimen. During the year, he is constantly changing, this is normal - it means that the baby is growing.
There are several recommended methods to wake up your baby. It is impossible to sharply wake up newborns, they are very shy and impressionable, this will lead to a violation of their sleep and psyche. Helpful hints:
- The sleeping baby is taken in his arms and stroked with his hand on his face.
- They moisten the tampon with warm water and wipe the baby's face, the baby will quickly respond to such a gesture.
- The baby is raised in his arms and fixed with a column on the parent's shoulder. A sharp outflow of blood to the brain stimulates awakening.
- They take the baby out of the crib, put it on the diaper of the sofa and remove the diaper. As soon as the baby feels free from the diaper, he wakes up.
- Massage the baby with warm hands. Touch and increased blood circulation lead to wakefulness.
- Mothers put the baby to themselves, the smell of milk makes the baby wake up.
If a child sleeps for a long time during the day, and is awake at night, this means that his cycle of day and night has changed. During the daytime, babies should be woken up, because this behavior will drive parents crazy - during the day, the mother must have time to redo a lot of homework, and entertain the baby at night.
Newborn in white with mom
Until 2 months, children are not able to distinguish between day and night, such failures occur often. If the baby sleeps all night and does not ask for food, then most likely he has enough nutrition that he receives during the day. Dr. Komarovsky says that such mothers can be envied. Indeed, many parents wake up at night until almost 2 years old, although there is no physiological need for this.
Conditions for baby sleep
Not all parents know how to properly create conditions in the child's room so that his sleep is healthy. For a children's room create:
- A separate sleeping place for a child, each family member should have their own corner.
- The room is ventilated daily for at least 20 minutes twice.
- Air humidity for a newborn should be increased.
- The temperature in the room is kept within 220.
- The child himself must be clean and nourished.
- Many parents create a compulsory ritual before laying down. This helps children to tune in the right way.
If you follow the simple rules, the baby will not have problems with sleep. The duration of a newborn's sleep increases if he has a cold, does not feel well. Isolated cases of such a manifestation are considered the norm. Anxiety begins to beat if the child sleeps a lot often. This is most likely a symptom of the disease.
Important! It is necessary to wake up a child with simple and smooth movements; at a young age it is easy to scare him.
Why can a child get 7 hours of sleep without a break? This usually indicates increased fatigue. Vaccinations can also cause long sleep. The first vaccination is carried out in the hospital, 3 days after birth, the second - at the age of one month.
Baby sleeping in a brown blanket
Babies are given vaccines that contain attenuated antigens. This means that the body of the newborn must independently develop antibodies to the disease. An active struggle takes place inside the small body. For this reason, children have fever and drowsiness.
Newborn babies sleep a lot. It is normal if the baby wakes up for feeding and during the waking period. At first, babies sleep 18-20 hours a day. If the baby constantly sleeps for 7-8 hours without a break at such a small age, then you should consult with a specialist. This could be a symptom of a serious medical condition. Doctors will help fix the situation.
