After the birth of a child, parents face numerous challenges. They, like the child, need to get used to the new way of life, provide the baby with optimal conditions and guess from the behavior about the discomfort and problems of the baby. Very often the baby does not sleep at night and is naughty. To help the baby, you need to try to understand the cause of the restless behavior as quickly as possible in order to correct the situation.
The reasons why the baby does not sleep well are various
Sleep rate for babies
In the first weeks of life, the baby does not have a clear daily routine - he just eats and eats. He needs to get used to the new world. In the first month, the baby sleeps for about 17-20 hours.
He needs this time to restore strength and energy, which are required for knowledge of the world around him and the development of organs and systems of the body. As the baby grows, the wakefulness intervals increase, the sleep decreases. Each month has its own average sleep rates.
Sleep rates set by pediatricians are conditional parameters. The baby can sleep longer or less, but approximately the real amount of sleep should coincide with the established indicators.
Sleep rates of a baby of the 1st year of life
| Age | Approximate amount of sleep, hours |
|---|---|
| First month of life | 19-20 |
| Second month of life | 16-18 |
| 2 to 4 months | 15-17 |
| From 4 to 6 months | 13-16 |
| 6 to 12 months | 12-14 |
If the baby sleeps more or less than the established norms, but at the same time feels great, is not capricious, develops, then there is no reason for panic.
Why does the baby sleep little and poorly?
Sometimes babies develop their own sleep and wake patterns. If a child sleeps a little, wakes up often, but at the same time looks healthy, active, eats well, then there is no cause for concern. The kid just determined his sleep rate. If the baby does not sleep well, is lethargic, constantly capricious, then he does not get enough sleep. You need to look for the cause and solve the problem.
Heat indoors
Metabolism in a small organism is much faster. A kid is always hotter than an adult. If an adult is slightly cool, then a child is quite normal. In the room where the baby sleeps, the temperature should always be + 18-20 ° C.
On a note. If the child's sleep is poor, then there is a high probability that the room temperature is above +23 ° C.
Kid confused day with night
Sometimes the answer to the question of why a newborn sleeps during the day and is naughty at night and requires attention is simple. The child simply confused day with night. In the daytime, the crumb gets enough sleep, while the mother calmly decides all her affairs.
If the kid confused day and night, then he wants to play and have fun when everyone is asleep.
Naturally, the child slept in the daytime, but at night he needs attention and wants to be entertained. If you correctly approach the normalization of the daily routine, then in a few days you can correct the situation.
A newborn does not sleep well at night if he is hungry
After birth, babies require feeding by the hour, it does not matter for them whether it is day or night. If the mother slept through the feeding time, then the baby will notify of his hunger with a loud cry.
Council. If the baby wakes up often at night and requires food, then the portion of milk or formula should be revised so that night feedings become more rare.
Noise or too strong room illumination
In the first weeks of life, babies practically do not react to extraneous noises. But harsh annoying sounds can scare the baby, often because of them, the newborn does not fall asleep well. For some children, even a quiet TV is disturbing. Sensitive sleep is their feature that must be taken into account.
Strong lighting can also irritate the child. The room should not be completely dark, the best option is dim light from a night lamp.
Tummy hurts
Colic in a child is a very common cause when a child does not sleep at night. The problem occurs in infancy (3-4 months). Gradually, abdominal pain disappears by six months.
Signs:
- the baby cries day and night for no apparent reason;
- the face of the crumbs turns red;
- the toddler does not calm down, even if he is taken on the pens.
The peculiarity of colic is that they pass as suddenly as they began. Not every baby has a problem. Its appearance is due to the individual characteristics of the child. Sometimes this explains the temporary situation, why a newborn baby does not sleep at night and sleeps during the day when the pain does not bother him.
Individual characteristics of the nervous system and temperament
Sometimes any efforts to improve sleep patterns are ineffective. No matter how parents try to create optimal conditions, the child does not sleep at night, begins to spin, is capricious. In other conditions, for example, in the heat, he sleeps well.
In such situations, restless sleep and capricious behavior are associated with the individual characteristics of the nervous system and the temperament of the baby. There are children - choleric and sanguine who, for any reason, burst into crying, start screaming and being capricious.
Children with choleric temperament are capricious for any reason
On a note. Practically nothing can be done in such situations, the parents have to be patient and wait until the child grows up and learns to control his temperament.
The kid is scared and lonely
Immediately after birth, the child experiences stress, when he stops hearing the beat of his mother's heart, he needs to start getting used to the new environment at one point. Every day the baby needs affection and attention.
It is much more comfortable for the baby to sleep in the arms of the mother, which create an approximate atmosphere that was inside the womb. In the crib, the baby feels loneliness and fear, while the baby is sleeping, the mother can go about her business, but the baby should always be closely monitored.
If the mother sleeps separately, then the baby may cry at night from fear and loneliness.
Note. When in a dream the child begins to whimper, toss and turn and groan, then he is simply waiting for confirmation that the mother is nearby. A light stroking and a soothing voice are enough to keep the baby sleeping.
A wet or stained diaper
Many babies are very demanding about the cleanliness of the diaper. If it is slightly damp, it causes anxiety and frustration for the baby.
On a note. For delicate baby skin, contact with urine is a significant irritant.
For these children, it is important to purchase high-quality diapers that are highly absorbent. Before going to bed, the baby is put on a dry diaper. If the skin has diaper rash and areas of irritation, then it is treated with an ointment based on dexpanthenol.
Normal options for when a newborn is awake
There are situations when a child sleeps in short intervals (15-30 minutes each), but often. If you calculate the total amount of sleep, then the value is within the normal range.
If the baby does not sleep for a long time, but the total total amount of sleep time is normal, while the baby is active, not capricious, then there is no reason for concern. Gradually, everything will return to normal, this is an individual physiological feature of a particular child.
What to do if your newborn is awake
First of all, you need to look for the cause that is causing concern. If you exclude it, it is quite possible that sleep will return to normal, and everything will be in order. You can try the following:
- Buy devices (hygrometer and thermometer) that will help control the conditions in the room where the baby sleeps.
- The humidity level should be between 40-60%. If the indicator is higher, then the room is more often ventilated. At lower rates, humidifiers are installed.
- Before going to bed, the room is ventilated for 15-20 minutes. In the fresh air, the child falls asleep faster.
- 2-3 hours before bedtime, do not play active games with the baby. The baby should be in a calm environment, ideally to slightly dim the light.
- Before going to bed, the child should eat tightly.
- It is also important to carry out hygiene procedures. You can buy and put on a clean dry diaper before falling asleep at night.
If the baby does not sleep at night and does not let his mother get enough sleep, as an extreme measure, you can try sleeping together. Sometimes this is the only way to solve the problem. True, then it will take a lot of effort to teach the child to sleep separately.
Useful Tips
Since the problem of poor sleep in babies is very common, it is important for young parents to quickly learn how to calm their child. Tips from experienced moms can help:
- If you place soft warm objects next to the crumb, then they can create for the baby the impression of the presence of a mother nearby.
- Quiet recording of the lullaby is an effective remedy for calming. Scientists have proven that music reminds babies of the sound of amniotic fluid.
- If the baby is naughty at night, then, getting up, you should not immediately turn on a bright light. You should light a night light in the room and talk to the baby in a whisper with soothing intonations.
- In the first months of life, the baby's own arms and legs can interfere with sleep. Therefore, the baby can be swaddled lightly at night.
- If the baby whimpers at night, do not immediately explode and run to him. Children often fall asleep on their own.
Sometimes the presence of a toy helps to feel the warmth of the mother nearby.
On a note. According to Dr. Komarovsky, only a good healthy sleep of a child is the key to a good mood for a mother. If the baby does not sleep, then the mother will not get enough sleep either, which will affect her mood and atmosphere in the family.
In order for the baby to sleep normally and give his mother a rest, first of all, you need to normalize the daily routine of the baby and deal with the reasons for his anxiety.
Baby and mom
In rare situations, a bad short-term sleep of a child may be due to his individual characteristics of the nervous system and temperament. In such cases, parents only need patience. All other reasons can be corrected in a few days with the right approach.
In most cases, a child's poor sleep is caused by minor causes that parents can resolve in a few days. If the reasons for crying are not clear and do not go away after the normalization of the daily regimen, then you should consult a doctor.
