Why doesn't a child sleep? A newborn does not sleep well: causes of sleep disturbances during the day and at night. Emotional and psychological reasons that a newborn does not sleep well during the day

Many parents mistakenly believe that all newborn babies sleep at least 20 hours a day, that is, almost all the time free from feeding. Indeed, such sleepyheads do exist. Often their parents do not even realize their luck and are sincerely surprised how they can not have time to prepare dinner and why iron diapers at 4 o’clock in the morning. Therefore, we will dedicate this article to mothers and fathers who dream of getting enough sleep every day. So, if your child doesn't sleep enough, what can you do to improve sleep? child mode back to normal? But first things first.

How long should a child sleep?

Strictly adjust children's sleep impossible under a strict schedule. Everyone, even the smallest person, has their own The biological clock, according to which he sleeps, eats and plays. It’s not for nothing that the division into “night owls” and “larks” was invented. But, despite this, there are average indicators that help to navigate the issue.

Therefore, before sounding the alarm, determine whether the child really sleeps little. Some babies sleep for short periods, but on average they gain required number"sleepy" hours. Calculate the total duration of your child's sleep during the day and compare it with the child's sleep chart. Your baby may not be sleep deprived. If the result obtained makes you think that the baby is not sleeping enough, first of all determine the reason for this state of affairs.

Causes of lack of sleep

Why the baby may not sleep:

Hunger.

A hungry child, of course, will not fall asleep. If he doesn't have enough food, you should increase the frequency of feedings.

Tummy problems.

Intestinal colic and gas cause pain and interfere with rest. To alleviate the condition, give a light tummy massage, then apply a diaper or heating pad heated with an iron (measures to help with childhood constipation: constipation in infants). Dill water helps many children.

Teeth are being cut.

Special gels and other products will help ease the discomfort from teething, see Teeth cutting: how to help your child.

The children's room is too bright.

Bright light can interfere with daytime sleep. To darken a room, close curtains or blinds.

Overexcitement.

When babies get overexcited, they can’t sleep for a long time. Before going to bed, exclude active games, and use calm music, lullabies and rocking to calm down.

Stuffiness in the room.

Control the temperature in the bedroom. Stale air, heat, unpleasant odors do not promote sound sleep. Ventilate regularly and make sure that the room with the baby is not too hot.

Feeling of discomfort.

Wet diapers and stale diapers are the most common causes of concern. Folds in diapers, crumpled pajamas, toys or other foreign objects caught under the body of a baby trying to sleep will also cause discomfort. Some babies are patient, but most will be very uncomfortable and will communicate this by crying.

Mode is important

You need to organize your baby’s daily routine in such a way that most of her sleep occurs at night.

Create an appropriate atmosphere during sleep. At night, organize complete silence and maximum darkness. During the day, simply curtain the windows and leave some household noises (working washing machine, quiet conversations, TV in the next room).
Create rituals that accompany going to bed. During the day - reading a book, in the evening - swimming and telling fairy tales. Or, for example, mom puts the baby to bed for a nap, and dad is responsible for this at night.

Don't panic if your child doesn't sleep enough. Having found the cause of wakefulness, you can try to eliminate it. It is the parents who are responsible for organizing the baby’s routine.

With the birth of a child, young parents face a difficult task: learning to understand the child while he himself cannot explain his needs. The child spends most of the day sleeping, so parents are alarmed if the newborn sleeps little. This behavior may be due to both malnutrition and health problems. Therefore, it is important to understand the cause of your baby’s restless sleep in order to avoid possible consequences.

What reasons interfere with a baby's sleep duration?

The fact that a child is not sleeping enough can be indicated by his behavior. Firstly, he wakes up within 15 minutes of falling asleep. Secondly, the child becomes capricious, begins to cry and, as a rule, the next meal and active rocking do not calm him down. For five hours the baby is awake, which is not typical for children in the first months of life.

The problem must be found and eliminated on your own or with the help of a pediatrician.

A child’s sleep disturbances should not be ignored, as this can have a detrimental effect on his or her development.

Among the reasons that contribute to sleep disorders are the following:

External stimuli such as noise and too bright light.
Uncomfortable conditions.
Hunger or thirst.
Inappropriate clothing.
Need to change diaper.
Disturbed regime.
Overexcitability.
Pathologies.

The importance of healthy and sound sleep for a baby

After the birth of a child, his central nervous system continues to form and strengthen. Its development occurs during sleep, so its deficiency leads to disorders of the central nervous system and also inhibits the growth of the baby. Despite the fact that the infant most He sleeps during the day, active knowledge of the world takes place in his life. This requires a lot of strength and energy, which must be constantly replenished with sleep.

In the first months of life, a newborn does not feel the difference between day and night, but the majority of sleep occurs at night. His calmness is influenced by the presence of his mother. It is very important for him to feel her warmth, smell, and heartbeat, to which he is so accustomed while in the womb.

The baby needs more time for proper rest. It is worth paying close attention to the problem, identifying and eliminating the cause if he sleeps little.

How long do babies sleep normally?

There is no daily routine for newborn babies. If they feed breast milk mother, then feeding occurs according to need. As a rule, after the child eats, he falls asleep sweetly. Therefore, it is difficult to talk about how much time should normally be spent sleeping during the day, and how much time should be allocated for night rest.

It is believed that a baby's sleep should normally last about 18-20 hours. However Lately there is a downward trend total number hours of rest. So shifting sleep time by a couple of hours in one direction or another should not frighten parents. It is necessary to pay attention to the problem if the baby consistently sleeps less than 15 hours, and his continuous wakefulness is more than 5 hours.

During the day

For a newborn, daytime sleep is just as important as nighttime rest. In the first month of life, the baby sleeps all the time, interrupting for food. The ratio of daytime and night sleep is approximately the same. As the child gets older, the number of hours of sleep decreases. So at two months he already sleeps on average 8 hours during daylight hours, wakes up about three times, and the intervals of wakefulness increase. By six months, daytime sleep is reduced to 4 hours, and by one year, 3 hours.

At night

It is difficult to talk about any daily routine in the first month of a baby’s life. From the second month to night sleep The child is given 9-10 hours. When the daily routine becomes relatively stable, that is, starting from the third month, on average, the child should sleep peacefully 10 hours per night. The older he gets, the less often he wakes up to eat.

Noises and bright lights

IN one month old the baby does not particularly react to noise and light. However, sharp loud sounds may wake him up and scare him. There is no need to talk loudly, make noise, or turn on music or TV next to the children's room. Do not turn on the lights abruptly at night. During nap You can close the curtains, but you should not achieve complete darkness. When waking up, the child must learn to navigate the time of day.

Unsuitable climatic conditions

Being in a hot, stuffy room has a very negative effect on sleep. Thermoregulation in infants has not yet been formed, so they feel severe discomfort in such conditions. In addition, the nasal mucosa dries out, cracks, and it becomes more difficult for the child to breathe. The optimal temperature is 20-22 degrees, air humidity 60%. The room should be well ventilated, but drafts should be avoided. A special humidifier or regular wet cleaning will help increase humidity.

Thirst and Hunger

If the baby has not received his portion of food, his sleep will not be restful and deep. Small man will definitely wake up and demand food from mom. But it may be that in the first month of life the child will not wake up regularly to eat. In this case, he needs to be woken up and fed, otherwise he will not gain weight properly and developmental problems may occur.

Uncomfortable clothes

Like any person, a child is uncomfortable in clothes that restrict movement or prevent the body from breathing. A child, especially for sleeping, needs a loose vest and rompers so that he can comfortably take the required position. It happens that a child scares himself with his own movements and wakes up. In this case, you can use light swaddling. Tight diapers that restrict movement are a thing of the past. Today the baby has more freedom even in sleep.

Wet diapers

Some babies sleep comfortably in wet diapers, but most still require clean and dry conditions underneath. To do this, many mothers, even when they are trying to move away from special products, still put a diaper on their baby at night for the sake of a restful, healthy sleep.

Wrong daily routine

From the second month of life, the child should be accustomed to the regime. To do this, it is advisable to move away from intuitive feeding and falling asleep and begin to carry out the most important procedures at the same time. Towards the evening, the baby should be awake; by night, he should be tired enough (but not overtired) to fall asleep soundly. It is also very useful to perform certain ritual procedures before going to bed at night: bathing, having a massage, telling fairy tales, reading books. These actions will help the child tune in to the upcoming fall asleep.

Disrupted sleep and wakefulness will cause a lot of trouble for the mother and increase the child's excitability. The more time he sleeps during the day, the less he will sleep at night. You can't get used to this.

Emotional overload

The cause of restless sleep may be excessive excitability. Activity in daytime days - a sign healthy child, but closer to bedtime this activity should be weakened or at least try not to intensify. Before going to bed, you need to calm down as much as possible and tune in to the upcoming fall asleep. To do this, it is necessary to exclude active games, loud music, and turn off the TV, which excites the nervous system with sounds and bright flickering.

Child's diseases

Most dangerous cause Restless sleep can be caused by various diseases.

Often in the first months, due to the immature intestinal microflora, the baby suffers from colic. An indicator is restless behavior and bloating, which can be felt with your hand. To do this, after eating, it is better to hold the child in an upright position for 15-20 minutes so that he burps out excess air. It is best to place the baby on your stomach and it will feel easier.
Colds can cause anxiety. With a runny nose, a baby cannot breathe through his mouth, so he constantly wakes up and cries. It is necessary to clean the nose so that the child can breathe normally.
Otitis also causes pain and suffering for children. If the baby starts crying when you touch the ear, most likely the cause is an ear infection. In this case, you need to consult a doctor.
Increased pressure inside the skull is accompanied by severe headaches. You should also consult a doctor with this problem.

If your baby's restless and insufficient sleep is associated with any health problems, you should immediately seek the help of a specialist. Timely medical intervention will help avoid many complications.

What symptoms can you use to determine that a child is not getting enough sleep?

Sometimes parents panic too much, and due to the fact that the baby wakes up often in the first months of life, they consider the baby’s sleep to be incomplete. However, you should worry if:

In total, sleep is less than 15 hours a day.
He stays awake for 5 hours without a break.
Often cries, is capricious and is in a state of excitement.
10-15 minutes after falling asleep he begins to whine, after which he starts screaming.
After long wakefulness cannot sleep even when breastfeeding.

These signs will force parents to check how comfortable the child’s sleeping conditions are, whether his stomach hurts, or whether there are other health problems.

Consequences of lack of sleep

The fatigue that comes from sleep deprivation tends to accumulate. If a baby does not sleep well in the first months of life, accordingly, during the period of active development of the body and the formation of the central nervous system, this negatively affects its future mental state.

As a rule, such children adolescence too impulsive, prone to depression, passive and prone to sudden mood swings. In addition, they are more likely than others to be obese and distracted attention. If a baby does not get enough sleep due to any disease, it can become chronic.

Methods for normalizing sleep

To help your child fall asleep soundly and sweetly, you should adhere to the following recommendations:

Regularly wet clean the room and ventilate the room, especially before going to bed.
IN summer time the child should be given water clean water so that he feels less thirsty.
Provide him with comfortable clothes.
Don't let the child for a long time lay in wet diapers to avoid skin irritation.
Accustom your baby to a daily routine as early as possible.
Before bedtime, avoid active games, bright lights, and loud sounds to calm the baby.
Give him a relaxing massage, spend the evening in relative silence.

If restless sleep is associated with any disease, you should immediately consult a doctor. This will help not only normalize proper rest, but also prevent the development of chronic pathologies.

Sleep plays a very important role for a baby. After all, it is in a dream that a toddler grows and gains strength to understand the world. But, like adults, young children have very individual needs for rest. And since young parents are just beginning to get to know their baby, the sleep pattern day and night (not the same as the neighbor’s baby, who sleeps for 12 hours without waking up) raises a lot of questions and concerns. Let's look at the characteristics of sleep in newborns and infants, and also find out what is hidden behind the phrase “the child does not sleep well.”

Sleep standards from birth to 5 years

This is interesting. European somnologists, having observed 10,000 thousand people of different sexes and ages, came to the conclusion that the duration of sleep, in addition to external factors and biological rhythms, influenced by genetics. So, if you have the ABCC9 gene, a person needs to spend an hour more time in the kingdom of Morpheus than someone who does not have this gene.

The number of hours of sleep is individual for each child

A newborn sleeps 16–20 hours a day, interrupting sleep for satisfaction physiological needs and knowledge of the surrounding world. With age, the pauses between visits to Morpheus's possessions become shorter, and by the age of 7, the child sleeps for about 12 hours. As we have already found out, all children have different needs for rest, but average indicators can still be identified.

Amount of daytime sleep according to norms	A child's daily sleep rate in hours	Norms of wakefulness in a child in hours	Norm of a child's night sleep in hours	A child’s daily sleep requirement in hours
Age 1–3 weeks
The baby does not sleep according to a strict schedule and may wake up earlier or later than expected.	8–9 hours	About 4 hours	10–12 hours, wakes up 3–4 times to eat	18–20 hours
Age 1–2 months
4 daytime naps and 1 nighttime nap	About 8 hours (2 times 2–3 hours and 2 times 30–45 minutes)	4 hours	10 hours with 2 breaks	18 hours
Age 3–4 months
4 daytime naps and 1 nighttime nap	6–7 hours (2 times 2–3 hours and 2 shallow sleeps of 30–45 minutes each)	7 o'clock	10 hours	17–18 hours
Age 5–6 months
3–4 day naps	At 5 months - 6 hours (2 times for 2 hours and 1 time for 1–1.5 hours), at 6 months - 5 hours (2 times for 2.5 hours)	8–9 hours	10 hours	15–16 hours
Age 7–9 months
2 naps	2 times for 2.5 hours	9–10 o'clock	10–11 o'clock	15 hours
Age 10–12 months
2 naps	2 times for 2 hours	10 hours	10 hours
Age from 1 year to 1.5 years
2 day	2 times for 1–1.5 hours	11 o'clock	10–11 o'clock	14 hours
Age 1.5–2 years
1 nap	2.5–3 hours	11 o'clock	10–11 o'clock	13 hours
Age 2–3 years
1 nap	2–2.5 hours	11 o'clock	10–11 o'clock	13 hours
Age 3–5 years
1 nap	2 hours	12 hours	10 hours	12 hours

When to worry?

The data given in the table are approximate, but if deviations from the norm are 4–5 hours higher or lower, then this is a reason to consult a neurologist. In other cases, you can look for the cause yourself.

Eats often

It happens that the little one often wakes up to eat. In this case, the problem of malnutrition is evident. If the child is on breastfeeding, you may need to add mixtures to the diet or reconsider the mother’s diet and quality of nutrition. For artificial drinkers, the problem is solved by increasing the portion. In any case, you need to inform your pediatrician about your observations and only then take any action.

Doesn't sleep immediately after feeding

Have you noticed that your baby doesn’t sleep after feeding? Perhaps he overeats, and this interferes with sleep.

Reason bad sleep may be hunger or overeating

Imagine that you are being put to bed after a hearty and plentiful dinner, and how will you be able to fall asleep? In this case, it is better to reduce the dose. True, many pediatricians defend the opinion that a breastfed baby should be left at the breast until he quits. Antagonists convince young mothers not to hold the baby at the breast for more than 20 minutes, they say, he is already full and will simply begin to overeat or play. Whatever point of view you support, reconsider your diet. After all, some foods are difficult to digest even by the body of an adult, let alone a baby. Infants who are on artificial feeding, it’s worth slightly reducing the portion of the mixture and observing its behavior. If sleep patterns are not restored, then there is probably another reason.

Doesn't sleep after swimming

Water procedures can also cause the baby to not go to bed. As a rule, toddlers love water - it reminds them natural environment in the womb. So such negative consequences from bathing are most likely the fault of the parents. So, the reasons could be the following:

too hot/cold water (the optimal temperature is 37 degrees, but for some babies this is too hot, and for some, on the contrary, too cold) - reduce/increase the temperature by 1–1.5 degrees and look at the reaction;
prolonged bathing (many adults like to stay in the water for a long time and a priori transfer this to the baby) - keep in mind that the baby is not yet dirty to be in the bath for a long time - 2-3 minutes in the first weeks is enough, by the year we increase it to 10 minutes;
there are a lot of spectators (caring grandparents, girlfriends and children of girlfriends, of course, with the best intentions, go with you to the bathroom, but the baby does not understand such entertainment) - make the evening bath an intimate procedure.

If you watch TV, you've probably seen a lot of advertisements for baby bath products containing lavender, lemon balm, "healthy sleep extracts" and other marketing gimmicks. It’s up to you to believe them or not, but remember that the baby’s skin is not laboratory material. If you decide to use any special bathing products, consult your pediatrician or dermatologist.

Why does a newborn sleep poorly during the day or at night: causes of sleep disturbances and ways to solve the problem

Sleep mode is one of the most important elements health of the child and his mother. It needs to be developed from the first months of life. And if something interferes with this, then the problem must be solved immediately.

There can be many reasons why a baby may not sleep well.

Factors affecting sleep patterns that do not fit those described in the previous paragraph can be divided into two categories:

caused by physiological reasons;
provoked by external factors.

Let's look at them in more detail, providing instructions for elimination.

Physiological reasons

This is interesting. One of the most common reasons why a baby does not sleep is teething. The task of parents is to alleviate unpleasant manifestations with ointments, creams and... be patient.

Colic

When a toddler screams or eats, he swallows air. Accumulating, it causes painful sensations. You need to know that colic usually appears at 3 weeks of a child’s life and goes away by 3 months. To relieve symptoms, you can give it to your toddler dill water or medications designed to relieve colic. Help can also be provided by

changing the position of the baby’s body;
providing him with warmth;
placing a gas outlet pipe;
having an enema.

To relieve colic, you need to change the position of the baby's body

This is interesting. Remember that colic symptoms do not include vomiting and diarrhea. These manifestations can be caused by serious health problems in the child. Therefore, you should immediately seek medical help.

Hunger

In the first days of life, babies are especially sensitive to hunger. In other words, if a child wants to eat, they will never fall asleep. But immediately after he feels full, in the absence of other irritating factors, he will happily fall asleep.

Discomfort

If the diaper is full, the baby is wet, this no longer sets the mood for sleep. And if diaper rash has also formed, then there’s no time for a pleasant nap. According to Dr. Komarovsky, a good diaper is not a rule, it is a requirement that ensures healthy sleep and excellent condition of the skin of the soft, appetizing parts of the baby’s body. Be sure to change diapers on time and monitor the condition of your skin by using special means: creams, powders. A clean and dry little one will sleep peacefully.

Diseases

Biological rhythm disturbance

Or the child simply confused day with night.

The baby has not yet developed a biological clock, so he may confuse day with night

A fairly common cause of sleep disorder. However, there is nothing wrong with this: the baby just hasn’t developed his biological clock yet. True, the reason could also be parents who stayed too long with guests, played a prank on the little one for the night, or were too tired to watch interesting film. To solve the problem, efforts will have to be made by all family members:

walk with the toddler fresh air(Dr. Komarovsky insists that fresh air for a baby’s healthy sleep cannot be replaced by anything);
play and put the baby to bed in compliance with the correct regime;
follow the “30-minute trick” (if you kindly and gently wake up your child 30 minutes earlier than the time when he should wake up, then he will want to fall asleep these 30 minutes earlier - this way the routine will gradually level out).

External factors

Failure to comply with temperature conditions

If the child is hot or cold, he will not sleep. The optimal temperature in the room should be from 18 to 22 degrees, and the humidity level should not be lower than 60%. It is also useful to ventilate the room well before going to bed to ensure a healthy microclimate.

Overexcitement

It’s difficult to put a child to sleep when he’s playing up, and even Morpheus can’t guarantee that he’ll sleep for the required number of hours.

No active games before bedtime - this rule should apply to a child at any age. You need to put your little one to bed in peace and quiet. At the same time, there should be no one in the room except mother and baby. The only exception is for dad.

Stress

Mom and baby are closely related. Any experience of a woman affects the health of the child. So avoid negative emotions, don’t let yourself get upset, and your little one will sleep much calmer and better.

This is interesting. Dr. Komarovsky advises all mothers and fathers: “More than anything in the world - more food and drink, more sleep and fresh air - the child needs healthy, rested and loving friend friend's mom and dad."

Well-known pediatrician Evgeny Komarovsky claims that a child’s sleep schedule should be convenient for parents. And it doesn’t matter at all whether it will be from 21.00 to 05.00 or from 23.00 to 07.00! It is important that you strictly follow this regimen.

Sleeping in the fresh air is an excellent solution for normalizing your routine

Tip #1

First of all, you need to analyze the feeding regime. The baby should not be hungry.

Tip #2

The dream must become conditioned reflex. And this is facilitated by observing a special, only yours, ritual. For example, walking, eating, bathing, bedtime story and sleep. Moreover, bathing plays an important role in this connection. It should be in cool water, in a large bath. Before hygiene procedures It is useful to give a relaxing massage, and then dress the baby in comfortable warm clothes.

Tip #3

Monitor your child's condition and at the slightest sign of fatigue, put him to bed. If you miss the moment, then, having played out, putting the baby to bed will be a difficult task.

Tip #4

Don't be afraid to wake up! If a child is 6 months old daily norm at 15-16 hours, sleeps for 9 hours during the day, then there will be 6-7 hours left for night rest - and you won’t have to count on a long, sound sleep. So try to stick to your daytime sleep to ensure you get a good night's sleep.

Tip #5

Keep the room clean and temperature conditions in it. Ensure comfort with comfortable clothing that will keep you neither hot nor cold, as well as soft, baby-washed powder and well-rinsed, bed linen. As for the latter, Dr. Komarovsky supplements this requirement as follows: a dense and even mattress (so that the baby’s body does not sag) and a pillow only after 2 years (size 60 by 60 cm, thickness equal to the width of the baby’s shoulder).

Tip #6

The right company. A child under 1 year old should sleep in a crib in the parents' room, from 1 year old - in a crib in the children's room. And staying at night in parent's bed has nothing to do with healthy sleep.

Video. how to improve baby's sleep and parents' sleep - recommendations from Dr. Komarovsky

Higher philological education, 11 years of experience teaching English and Russian, love for children and an objective view of modernity are the key lines of my 31-year-old life. Strengths: responsibility, desire to learn new things and self-improvement.

Each baby's need for rest is individual: one spends most of the day sleeping, while another sleeps very poorly during the day. If the baby feels good, is not capricious, nothing bothers him, parents should have no reason to worry. However, it also happens that the baby does not sleep at all during the day, while crying and not being active. This behavior may signal some problems in the body.

How much sleep should newborns and children in their first year of life sleep?

Adequate sleep is very important for babies. If an adult only needs a night's rest, then the baby should sleep both day and night. According to many psychologists, daytime sleep is necessary, first of all, for the mental health of the baby.

For parents to understand whether their baby is sleeping enough, they need to know average rate sleep time, which depends on age. This should not be overlooked, because what is good, for example, for one month old baby, too much for a six-month-old.

Duration of sleep for children up to one year:

Age, months	Total daytime sleep time, hours.	Number of nap periods	Duration of night sleep, hours.	Total sleep time, hours.
1–2	4	6–7	8–10	15–17
3–4	3–4	5–6	10–11	15–16
5–6	2–3	3–4	10–11	14–15
7–8	2	3–4	10–11	13–15
9–11	2	2–3	11–12	13–14
12	1–2	2–3	11–12	13

Of course, the indicators given in the table are statistical averages, and in each individual case deviations are possible, both upward and downward. As the famous doctor Komarovsky says, the baby doesn’t owe anyone anything, and he can sleep as much as he wants.

Why doesn't the baby sleep?

The baby's temperament is established in the womb. Perhaps the baby cannot calm down and fall asleep because he does not want to rest; he is much more interested in exploring the surrounding space. In this case, the baby usually sleeps well and soundly at night, but not during the day. However, there are other reasons for this condition that parents should definitely pay attention to.

External reasons

These factors are not determined by the health and condition of the child, they depend on the conditions environment, which are often unfavorable for the baby. As a rule, they do not threaten the baby’s health, but they can negatively affect his well-being and mental state. Parents have the power to change the situation for the better, they just need to accurately identify the cause.

Temperature and humidity in the room

If the microclimate in the child’s room does not meet the standards, then measures must be taken to correct the situation. Dry air, dampness, too hot or cold - the baby cannot fall asleep when he is uncomfortable.

Active movements of the arms and legs, as well as sneezing, will indicate that the baby is cold. Pink cheeks and elevated temperature body - signs indicating that the baby is hot. In the children's bedroom it is necessary to support optimal mode: the air temperature should be in the range from +17 to +23 degrees, and the humidity level should be 50–70%.

Bright lights or loud noises

For a calm and good sleep The baby needs a comfortable environment. Blinding rays of the sun coming through a window or bright artificial lighting interfere good rest. Also, TV running at full volume, music, loud conversations or screams, barking dogs, cars passing outside the window and other harsh sounds do not contribute to good sleep.

Wet diaper, uncomfortable clothes

Skin Newborns are very tender and sensitive, and therefore even the slightest inconvenience causes a lot of problems for the baby. Tight clothes, tight elastic bands, tight seams, chafing laces will not allow the child to relax and fall asleep peacefully. Parents should pay attention to lightweight clothing made from breathable natural materials, as well as a spacious cut and a minimal number of seams.

Wet diapers and diapers will not allow the baby to sleep peacefully. There are patient kids, but most, if they feel discomfort, will definitely let adults know about it.

Baby problems

Often, a baby's restless behavior and reluctance to fall asleep are caused by physical or emotional disorders. The body of one-month-old babies is especially vulnerable, since after birth it is subjected to significant tests and overloads. Many physiological systems undergo changes and adapt to new conditions. The child's psyche is also not yet stable enough.

Colic torments

Intestinal colic is the most common cause of sleep disturbance in infants. In a small body digestive system and the microflora are not yet fully formed; this process lasts for two years from the moment the baby is born. Until the intestines are populated beneficial bacteria, digestion of food will be inadequate, so gases will form in the baby’s stomach.

Colic not only causes discomfort, but is often accompanied by severe pain, because of which the baby cannot sleep all day. You can help him with with the help of the lung massage, as well as placing a heating pad or a warm diaper on the tummy. An excellent way to prevent the problem is to hold the baby in an upright position (in a column) for 10 minutes after feeding - this will remove all the air from the esophagus. In addition, a nursing mother should reconsider her diet, eliminating from it all foods that cause increased gas formation.

I want to eat or drink

Mother's milk that is too fatty or too sweet can make the baby thirsty. Not all parents give their babies a drink, but if the newborn has already been given water, then it is worth doing this regularly, otherwise thirst and dry mouth will become causes for anxiety and lack of sleep.

Similarly on children's body hunger acts. It can be caused by several reasons:

I want it in my arms

After birth, the baby experiences the first strong emotional shock, because there are so many new and unknown things around him, completely different conditions. During this period, the baby especially urgently needs care and love. It is the need for closeness with mom that becomes the reason why one month old baby does not sleep all day, cries and is capricious.

At this moment, you should forget about all your affairs, take the baby in your arms or lie down next to him. There is also such a wonderful device as a sling. Thanks to him, the baby will be able to feel calm, and the mother will have her hands free to carry out current household chores. The feeling of closeness with the closest person will allow the baby to relax and fall asleep peacefully.

Doesn't sleep, but feels good and doesn't cry

Parents often have high expectations. A young mother, having listened to a lot of advice and read forums, expects that her baby will sleep as much as he should. However, do not forget that each little one is individual, and all numbers are averaged. There is no need to focus on the child of a neighbor or relative; it is possible that your baby is more active and restless from birth and due to his temperament. For this reason, it turns out that the baby has difficulty falling asleep during the day, but sleeps well at night.

There are several other common reasons for a baby staying awake for long periods of time during the day:

Features of the mother's diet. The woman drinks large quantities of coffee and tonic drinks, the effect of which affects not only her body, but also the nervous system of the newborn, which makes it difficult for him to sleep.
The baby is too excited. Frequent changes of scenery, new surroundings, excess impressions and emotions - all this affects the child’s nervous system, and the baby does not sleep well during the day.
The process of growing up. For many parents, their own child is growing up unnoticed, and they simply do not have time to track all the changes that are taking place. For example, the period of wakefulness, characteristic of the first week after birth, quickly increases from 20 minutes to more than 2 times by the end of the first month of life. As a result, it seems to adults that the baby sleeps very little, but in fact, children's sleep is quite consistent with the norms.

When is lack of daytime sleep a sign of illness?

In some cases, daytime insomnia may be alarm signal, indicating the presence of any disease in the baby. Often inexperienced parents, not knowing the obvious signs, cannot distinguish normal from pathology.

The following signs indicate health problems:

the baby is constantly capricious, screaming, crying or even throwing tantrums;
the baby has seizures or sudden stop breathing during sleep;
the baby eats poorly and little, and began to lose weight;
for 4 hours or more, the baby does not need to sleep or nap;
the baby became very irritable and nervous;
the baby has obvious signs ailments: fever, lethargy, runny nose, wheezing, cough.

Ignore similar symptoms If this is not possible, you should contact your local pediatrician. Only a specialist can carry out the necessary diagnostics, diagnose accurate diagnosis and answer the question why the child does not sleep during the day.

Most common reasons reasons why a child does not sleep during the day are:

If a one-month-old baby does not sleep during the day or an older infant regularly does not get enough sleep, there may be serious problems, because it is during the rest period that growth hormone is produced and the neural connections of the brain are improved. Caring parents should carefully monitor any changes in the baby’s behavior and, in case of alarming symptoms, immediately sound the alarm.

A new mother always has a lot on her plate. It’s not for nothing that when a new addition to the family is added, they want good night, because babies rarely let their parents sleep. And when a newborn baby doesn’t sleep well all day and doesn’t allow him to rest at night, then the mother has no time to do household chores, pay attention to her husband, or even really get herself in order. Why can a baby have restless and shallow sleep? How long do babies usually sleep, and how can you normalize their sleep patterns?

Sleep duration in infants

Often, even in the maternity hospital, young mothers ask pediatricians how much can a baby sleep per day?

In the first three months, a newborn baby sleeps about 18-20 hours. Each body is individual, and children's sleep time varies from 16 to 20 hours. See newborn sleep patterns by month.

Until the daily routine has been formed, these hours are evenly distributed throughout the whole day. But a lot depends on the well-being and temperament of the baby. Temperament and biological rhythm are established in the womb. During pregnancy, a woman must follow correct mode day. Fall asleep before midnight and wake up in the morning, not at noon. After all, the baby already forms habits, and after birth he will lead the rhythm of life the same as his mother’s.

If a newborn baby feels well, he should not be disturbed painful symptoms(colic, runny nose, intracranial pressure), then he can sleep serenely for several hours. Then the hour of wakefulness will come, which will again be replaced by sleep. The baby can sleep very soundly without waking up even when she comes next time feeding.

When a child sleeps more than five hours - this is alarming symptom nervous disorders and other diseases. It is better to consult a pediatrician.

In the first months of life, healthy sleep compensates for the lack of food. If sleep is limited to four hours, there is no need to wake the newborn. When he wakes up, he will eat well and be in a great mood.

It happens that a newborn does not sleep well at night and during the day. You need to pay attention to this, as with excessively long sleep. The main thing is to identify the cause and try to eliminate it.

Causes of poor sleep in children

The depth and duration of a newborn baby's sleep is influenced by many factors. It is unlikely that he will sleep when the diaper is leaking, the diapers are wrinkled under the delicate back, and there is loud hammering in the next room.

Baby sleep occurs in two stages:

fast (superficial) phase;
deep.

Starts when you fall asleep fast phase. If the baby was previously rocked in his arms and tried to be transferred to the crib when he just closed his eyes, he will most likely shudder, wake up, and start crying. And if you wear it and rock it a little longer, a deep phase will begin. The body, arms and legs will relax. Then you can safely put him in bed, and even turn him over on his side.

Poor sleep, in which the deep phase does not occur or occurs for a long time, can be due to several reasons.

Intestinal colic

When feeding from the third week of life, the baby may swallow air, causing painful colic. Therefore, it is important to lay the newborn on his tummy before eating, lift him up after each feeding and stroke his back so that he can burp. Colic annoys babies for 3-4 months, then, if there are no pathologies, this phenomenon goes away.

You can apply a warm diaper or heating pad to the baby’s tummy, massage clockwise, and if gas formation is severe, use a gas outlet tube. You can successfully overcome trouble dill water. It can be purchased at a pharmacy or prepared at home from dill seeds.

Unstable day and night mode

When a newborn baby walks, plays and is awake at night, and sleeps soundly during the day, this means that his biological clock is not developed correctly. We need to introduce him to a normal daily routine, walk outside more often, do gymnastics and light massage. In the evening, baths with soothing herbs and going to bed at the same time are required. Parents will need to spend a lot of effort and patience until the child's sleep returns to normal.

Adverse external factors

Factors affecting a newborn baby's sleep include:

Psychological atmosphere. After childbirth, women feel depressed, irritable, anxious, and nervous. Quarrels, unexpected complications may arise in the family, stressful situations. A seemingly small, clueless child is sensitive to all the negative aspects of his parents’ lives, and this negatively affects his sleep. After all emotional connection mother and child during this period is extremely high.
Wet diapers or an overfilled diaper cause discomfort, diaper rash, prickly heat and rashes on the skin of a newborn. This makes the baby uncomfortable. A dry bottom, lubricated with high-quality baby creams or ointments, is the key to a sound sleep for a baby. It is important to choose clothes according to the season, not to overwrap the baby, and in hot weather leave him in thin cotton clothes, covering him with a thin diaper while sleeping.
Overexcitement, overwork, strong excitement, strong emotions, new people, loud music affect a child’s sleep. It is better not to receive guests until the baby grows up and gets stronger. In the evening, it is advisable to dim the bright lights, ensure peace and quiet, so that no worries prevent the baby from eating and falling asleep peacefully.
Thirst. Babies sleep poorly and feel thirsty. Mother's foremilk will save a breastfed baby from it, and a bottle of water will save artificial babies.

Room temperature

Temperature and air freshness directly affect newborn sleep. In the heat and stuffiness, any person sleeps poorly, not to mention babies. Best temperature in the children's room 18-22 degrees, humidity – 60%. If you open the window before bed and ventilate the room for 15 minutes, your child will sleep faster and deeper. In winter, 10 minutes is enough for complete ventilation.

Diseases and poor sleep

If external irritants are excluded, and the baby does not sleep well and is often capricious, it means that he is sick.

If a newborn is capricious, sleeps poorly at night and during the day, is reluctant to eat, and loses weight, this is a reason to consult a doctor. He will order an examination, make the correct diagnosis and determine the course of treatment. Self-medication in such cases is prohibited. You can aggravate the situation, trigger the disease, which will lead to serious complications.

How to get your baby to sleep

No need to worry if without visible reasons The baby doesn't sleep well at night. Until the age of three, children wake up and fall asleep several times a night. This is fine.

Mommy needs to help her child to normalize sleep:

Satiety

Hunger often causes sleep disturbances with frequent awakenings. When breastfeeding, feedings from 3 to 8 am are considered the most important. Then the hormone prolactin is produced, which is responsible for milk production. By putting the baby to her breast more often at night, mommy will be able to provide him with sufficient quantity milk during the day.

Constant mode

Set up for sleep. You need to act in the same way at the same time every day. First a walk, then bathing, feeding and rocking in a calm environment. The baby will quickly get used to this regime, and will soon begin to act up if mommy goes off schedule. >> What to do if a child confuses day with night

Avoid overwork

When a newborn baby is tired, he can fall asleep if he is rocked and fed. But sometimes his parents let him take a walk. Nervous system the baby becomes overexcited, the baby begins to indulge, play, and actively explore the world. After this, it will be difficult to put him to sleep, and his sleep will not be sound.

Create amenities

Without special need, there is no need to turn on bright lighting in the room, make noise or knock when the baby falls asleep. Silence, the presence of the mother, her warmth, smell, breasts with milk - ideal conditions for falling asleep and peaceful sleep for newborns. Co-sleeping With infant not acceptable by many families and doctors. Here the choice is up to the parents. In this case, it is advisable to place the baby crib close to the parent's bed.

You can sing a lullaby, rock the baby, or sit next to him if you fall asleep without being held. If your baby needs to be put to sleep during the day, you can darken the windows with blinds or curtains. In the semi-darkness, the baby will fall asleep faster.

When the baby begins to wake up, there is no need to immediately rush to the crib. A newborn baby can lie down for a few minutes and fall asleep again. And by making sudden movements, touching him, trying to pick him up and rock him to sleep, mommy will finally wake him up, dispelling his sleep.