Weather, health, mood and life circumstances are factors that determine how long a child is awake at 4 months. It is easier for parents to focus on the time of activity before bedtime instead of following a strict daily routine.
Play time with a four month old baby
The shortest period of wakefulness is observed before the first morning sleep, before the evening rest, the baby's activity is longer. If you create too long an interval of wakefulness in the evening, the child's sleep will be restless, morning awakening earlier. If you put the child to bed ahead of time, the baby will fall asleep for a long time; periods of wakefulness are likely at night.
Important! If the baby can be lulled in 15-20 minutes, the baby sleeps well, does not protest against laying down, the sleep time is correctly determined.
Day and night sleep rates for a child at 4 months
By 4 months, most children sleep 15 hours / day: 10 hours fall at night, the remaining interval is divided between three daytime dreams (their number will decrease to two when the child reaches six months of age). There is no need to adjust the baby's sleep to certain standards. Usually, deviations from the norm for more than an hour are extremely rare.
Children's individual need for sleep is determined by a number of parameters:
- Genetic characteristics. People are long-sleeping and short-sleeping. The first ones rest 8-10 hours, the second ones manage to gain strength in 6-7 hours. The feature is hereditary.
- Activity. If the baby is calmly awake, less sleep will be required.
- Health status. Under certain conditions of the body, children sleep longer, restore energy reserves.
- Rest conditions. With a decrease in temperature, saturation of the air with oxygen, in the dark, sleep is better.
Important! If the child regularly sleeps 2-3 hours less than the norm, the baby does not get enough sleep. In the body of the crumbs, in the fourth month of life, the level of the stress hormone cortisol increases, excitability increases, and the inhibition processes in the underdeveloped nervous system are hampered.
Activity and sleep patterns of newborns
How long should a baby be awake at 4 months
The total interval of the baby's vigorous state is 8 hours / day. How much a child should be awake at 4 months before each sleep - 1.2-2.5 hours. An approximate schedule will help to adjust the child's activity mode:
- 7:00 - the baby wakes up, takes water procedures, eats food;
- 7: 30… 9: 00 - is awake;
- 9:00 - eats;
- 9:00 ... 10:00 - massage, gymnastics time;
- 10: 00… 11: 30 - having fun, playing;
- 11: 30… 12: 30 - sleeps in the fresh air while walking;
- 13:00 - takes food;
- 13: 00… 14: 00 - plays with educational toys;
- 14: 00… 15: 00 - walking time;
- 15: 00… 17: 00 - communicates with others;
- 17:00 - eats;
- 17: 00… 19: 00 - listens to fairy tales, calm music;
- 19: 00… 20: 30 - plays with toys;
- 20:30 - swims;
- 21:00 - eats, goes to bed.
You should be ready for your baby to make his own adjustments. If the schedule changes due to adult-dependent circumstances, pediatricians are advised to return the original option or form a new regimen with the doctor. When scheduling a baby's day, you should take into account how much time is recommended for sleep, food, walks, entertainment, communication.
Feeding regimen for a baby at 4 months
For four-month-old babies, mother's milk or formula is the main element of the diet. The baby's diet includes breastfeeding every 3-4 hours. A single volume of consumed milk is about 118-210 ml.
When feeding with an artificial mixture, the volumes of food consumed are determined according to the recommendations of the pediatrician. Usually doctors recommend giving 1/6 of the child's actual body weight. At four months, children eat 800-1000 ml of the mixture during the day, the interval between feedings is 3-4 hours. At night, 2-3 feeds are enough for the baby.
Baby feeding
Note! A four-month-old baby shows more interest in the environment, becomes distracted when feeding, does not eat enough and makes up for the deficit at night. It is advisable to feed your baby in a relaxed environment.
How much do you need to walk with a child at 4 months
During the warm season, most parents put their child to sleep on the balcony, while awake, they walk outside, allowing them to explore the world around them. The mode of walking at four months is determined by the behavior of the baby. An excess of impressions helps some children fall asleep in a stroller on their own, while others are pre-applied to the chest.
Breastfeeding is recommended for babies every hour, always before bedtime. For complementary foods in winter, children have to be taken home; they can be applied to the breast on the street in summer. Some parents walk for 2.5 hours, others - 30-40 minutes. In the second case, you should go for a walk twice.
How to make a daily routine for a 4 month old baby
Providing a personalized regimen for an infant is not easy. Parents need to observe the child. The measure will help determine the daily routine used by the baby. If in the course of observations the adults did not form a schedule, you should find out the reasons that prevent the baby from eating, resting at about the same time.
Pediatricians offer the following guidelines to help parents:
- It is necessary to develop the habit of the child to rest on schedule. Clean air will strengthen the baby's sleep. During the warm period, children are put to sleep on the balcony, outside or with open windows, in winter - in a ventilated room. It is advisable to freshen the air in the room 10 minutes before the baby sleeps.
- Control the lighting in the room. During the day, the light should be natural, in the evening - muted. It is important for a child to learn to distinguish between day and night.
- Apply to the chest more often. The baby will develop the correct daily routine, the nervous system will strengthen.
- Spend time actively. With a four-month-old child, you can visit guests, study the world around you, do massage, gymnastics, play. Finger games ("Ladushki", "Magpie-crow") will also be useful. Soft books, teethers are good choices for infants.
- Follow the routine with the whole family.
Important! Often, parents who introduce the baby to a certain schedule make mistakes: they do not allow them to sleep every 2 hours, they forget to take into account the biorhythms, they teach them to use the night mode when traveling, long journeys.
Approximate daily routine for a four month old baby
If you use the simple advice of pediatricians, it will not be difficult to establish a child's regimen. The main thing is to remember about the individual characteristics of the baby, be prepared for changes in the daily routine.
