The first month of a child's life is the most important. During this period, the child adapts to life in new conditions, learns to breathe on his own, eat, and feel separate from his mother. That is why it is important to create optimal conditions for the newborn in order to facilitate the difficult period of adaptation. Of no small importance is the correct organization of the child's day regimen in 1 month of life, nutrition, bathing, walking. A properly organized daily routine of a newborn child in the first month of life has an impact on his well-being and further development. With a well-functioning regime, the child behaves calmly, shows activity and pleases with a good mood. He is not capricious, gets enough sleep, enjoys contact with his parents. Young mothers, in turn, do not get nervous about the “loss in time and space”, but enjoy the joy of motherhood.
Approximate daily routine in 1 month
The main tasks of the baby in the first month are to sleep, eat, establish contact with parents through gurgling and first smiles (See articles on when a child starts to gurgle and when he begins to smile consciously). The established daily routine will allow the newborn to know in advance what awaits him and prepare for it. In addition, a baby who lives according to a certain regime of the day and food gets used to biological rhythms faster and does not confuse daytime and nighttime.
The observations of psychologists show that children whose daily routine was observed according to all the rules grow up to be more disciplined, collected and self-confident.
Let us dwell in more detail on the main points of the child's day regimen in the first month.
Sleep
In the first 2 weeks of life, the nursing baby sleeps almost all the time (about 18-20 hours a day), waking up only to eat. At 3-4 weeks, the period when the baby does not sleep becomes longer. During wakefulness, the child not only eats, but also begins to learn about the world around him: for a long time he examines bright, large, attention-grabbing objects, reacts to the mother's voice, listens to the surrounding sounds.
Useful video: how much should a child sleep
Nutrition
Several years ago, young mothers listened to the advice of doctors who recommended feeding a newborn strictly on schedule. With this approach, feeding is done every 3 hours. Some experts still adhere to this rule.
However, on-demand feeding is considered the best option. This is especially true for the first months of a baby's life, when food is his main need.
According to statistics, most newborns need 6-8 feeds per day. But it is worth noting that the amount of milk intake (whether it is breast milk or artificial milk formula) depends on individual needs, as well as the amount consumed at a time. Normally, babies at 1 month after birth should drink from 50 to 90 ml of milk or infant formula. Many mothers follow this rule in feeding: offer a breast or a bottle until the baby is full.
It should be borne in mind that a bottle-fed newborn may consume less milk than breastfed babies. This is due to the saturation of milk mixtures with various fatty acids and microelements. Thus, a small amount of the mixture is enough for the "artificial" to satisfy the feeling of hunger. Accordingly, the intervals between feedings should be slightly longer so that the baby's gastrointestinal tract has time to digest and assimilate the milk mixture.
An important point when organizing a diet is to prevent overfeeding... Since in such cases, there may be problems with digestion, colic, frequent regurgitation, constipation.
Bathing
At 1 month of his life, the baby gets acquainted with another important procedure - bathing. The bathing regime should also be organized starting from the first days of life. It is better to bathe the baby in the evening - just before feeding and going to bed.
The newborn should be bathed in a bathtub designated only for this purpose. Mothers should definitely monitor the temperature of the bathing water (the optimal temperature is considered 36-37 degrees). To do this, you can use a special thermometer. After some time, parents will learn how to determine the temperature of the baby's bathing water by their own feelings.
Pediatricians recommend adding herbal teas (celandine, chamomile, string) to the water.
On the topic of swimming:How to bathe a child and How to choose a bath
Walking
Walks for a baby of the first month play an important role. Firstly, it is good for a newborn to breathe fresh air. Secondly, in the spring-summer period, doctors advise briefly exposing the child's face to the sun's rays, which contributes to the production of vitamin D in the body and prevents rickets (on hot days, the child should not be exposed to direct sunlight to avoid burns!). Third, children sleep better in the fresh air.
Nevertheless, you should adhere to some rules before going for a walk with your baby:
- According to the advice of children's doctors, you can start walking when the baby is 10 days old (this applies to healthy children born on time);
- The walking time in winter is about 10 minutes (the air temperature should not be below -10 degrees), in the summer - 20 minutes (the air temperature is no more than 25-30 degrees).
Massage and gymnastics
In those moments when the newborn is awake, mommy needs to find time for massage and gymnastics.
Massage should be understood as gentle and gentle stroking on the back, arms and legs of the child, as well as circular movements in a clockwise direction in the abdomen (for the prevention of colic and constipation).
Gymnastics of a newborn consists in performing the simplest movements: gentle bending of the legs and arms. You can also place your thumb in the baby's palm and lift it up slightly after it has gripped. Newborns, as a rule, love this exercise very much and begin to "pull up" themselves.
Moms need to know that massage and gymnastics preferably 30 minutes before feeding... Exercise and massage are not recommended before bedtime.
On the topic of massage:How to massage a month-old baby and Exercise on a gymnastic ball
Video: Daily massage for babies in 1-3 months
Communication with the baby
Mommies must necessarily include communication and games with him in the daily routine of a month-old child. Do not think that a baby at this age does not need this. For him, this is as important as food and sleep. It is at this time that the child, according to psychologists, forms a basic trust in the world.
The more affectionate the mother is with her baby, the more attention and care she gives him, the more confident and harmonious the baby will develop.
Communication and games with the baby should take place in a relaxed atmosphere when he is full and awake. Mom can talk affectionately with the baby, read nursery rhymes and nursery rhymes to him, sing songs. Rattles are good for games. Let the baby learn to hold them, and the mother should praise and support him.
Recommendations for parents on setting a daily routine
- If the baby can sleep until lunchtime, and at night "set the heat" - this is the first signal that the daily routine needs to be changed. It is not necessary, of course, to deliberately wake the child up in the morning or put him to bed when he does not want to. But you can still adjust the sleep mode a little. And the best way is walking. Everyone knows that babies sleep very well during a walk. Therefore, feel free to go for a walk at a time in which, in your opinion, the newborn should sleep. Gradually, this will help you to establish a child's sleep pattern, especially during the day.
- To make it clear to the baby about the onset of the morning, after waking up, you can gently wipe his face with a cotton pad dipped in warm water. Other hygiene procedures (cleaning the nose and ears, lubricating diaper rash with baby cream), which are regularly repeated at the same time, will also notify the baby about the beginning of a new day.
- To avoid waking hours at night, avoid using bright lights for night feeding. Limit yourself to a dim nightlight. Speak in a low tone. After feeding, gently rock the baby to sleep.
- In the evening, turn off the overhead light, turn on the lamp. This will orient the baby that bedtime is approaching. For this purpose, musical carousels (See the article on crib mobiles). The child will quickly learn the relationship between this “change of scenery” and sleep.
- If your baby does not want to fall asleep, try placing him in the crib and playing a quiet, calm melody. The child will listen to the sounds of nature, under which he can quickly fall asleep. Mom can also sit next to the crib and hum lullabies to the newborn. Such actions, systematically performed every day, after a while will achieve the desired effect: the baby will fall asleep faster and in a timely manner.
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It is not easy for a newborn to get used to a new routine during the first month of life. But parents should still gradually accustom the child to a certain daily routine. Very little time will pass - and the child will wake up and fall asleep strictly at a certain time. This will benefit him, as he will anticipate what will happen next and react accordingly. Parents will be able to rationally allocate their own time.
daily regimen at 2 months →
We read on the topic of the first month:Development of a baby at 1 month and What a baby can do at 1 month of his life
Video: Baby 1 month
