How to help your child fall asleep. The method is a long goodbye

Young parents are always worried if their baby’s behavior differs from the “generally accepted norms.” If a child sleeps or eats less than expected, cries and is capricious all the time, the mother immediately begins to sound the alarm. The fact that a baby does not sleep or sleeps very little and irregularly always makes his parents worry. “Infants, especially newborns, always sleep a lot,” we read in manuals for young mothers or in some publications on pediatrics. However, this is not always the case; the daily routine of some children differs significantly from the daily routine of other children, and in any case there is no need to panic. You just need to figure out why the baby is not sleeping and help him fall asleep sweetly and with pleasure.

Why does the baby not sleep or sleeps very little?

Infants, indeed, sleep most of the day, however, there are exceptions to the rule. The baby may not fall asleep because he is bothered by intestinal colic: due to bloating, his gas production increases, which causes considerable discomfort. It also happens that after eating the baby cannot poop, which also prevents him from falling asleep. In any case, he could use a light tummy massage, which is performed with circular stroking movements in a clockwise direction.

Also, the baby may not sleep, or sleep little due to a constant feeling of hunger, which is explained by the insufficient amount of milk from the mother or its low fat content. In this case, many mothers supplement their baby with formula, and at the same time take measures to increase breast milk (eating high-calorie foods - milk, cheese, butter, nuts; taking medications that increase the level of lactation; adequate sleep and rest).

An infant may not sleep due to discomfort associated with teething. Itching and pain can be reduced by special gels and ointments that need to be used to treat the baby’s gums; you should also give him a cooling teether - this will distract the baby and significantly reduce discomfort, after which the baby will be able to fall asleep. A baby may not sleep due to reluctance to part with mommy, because at this age he needs almost round-the-clock contact with her.

The baby can ask for the breast every hour, since being at the breast is so far the only way for him to communicate with his mother. And, of course, the fact that the baby sleeps little can be caused by his individual biological rhythms. He is who he is and he shouldn’t sleep as much as other kids his age sleep. He has his own temperament and daily routine, and the task of parents is to make the child’s sleep as comfortable as possible and always observe the baby’s bedtime ritual.

Helping your baby sleep

The baby may not sleep if he feels that mommy is nervous or very tense. Therefore, when putting your baby to bed, you need to relax as much as possible, enjoying the unforgettable moments of communication with him. In addition, you should not play noisy games with your child before bedtime; you should avoid overstimulating him. If the baby does not sleep or constantly wakes up, try to avoid being in a large number of people in the apartment for a while, protect the baby from excess impressions. The child needs to create comfortable conditions for sleeping: the room should not be too light or dark, stuffy or hot: the ideal air temperature is 18-22 degrees, you also need to take care of the air humidity - no less than 50 and no more than 70%.

Many children quickly and soundly fall asleep after taking a relaxing bath with herbs: chamomile and string. It is necessary to allow the baby to swim independently from the first months, using a special circle that is placed around the baby’s neck. The baby will be pleasantly tired, relaxed and will sleep soundly and sweetly. Before going to bed, you need to feed your child properly, sing him a gentle lullaby, and pat him on the back.

If the baby categorically refuses to fall asleep in the crib on his own, you can remove or lower the front wall from his crib, move it closer to yours, hold the baby by the hand or stroke him - this way he will feel his mother’s presence and his sleep will become stronger.

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A peacefully sleeping baby is a joyful and trembling sight. The baby snores and smacks his lips in his sleep, and adults finally have some free time for relaxation and household chores. What should those whose babies sleep poorly and wake up often?

There is no sight more beautiful and touching than a soundly sleeping baby. It would seem - this is it, happiness - so simple and so huge... And only the parents of this sleeping baby know what this “happiness” sometimes costs them, and how difficult it is to maintain presence of mind and patience if the baby does not sleep well...

Baby doesn't sleep well: mom's school?

What do parents need from their child? Fall asleep quickly and have a restful, long sleep. Surprisingly, children need the same thing from their parents. Moreover, they begin to need it much earlier than you might think. Yes, yes, many babies are very sensitive to their mother’s routine and, most importantly, to her lack of sleep. And what’s surprising is that not only after birth, but also before it!

It turns out that the “sleep-wake” rhythm is established in future infants in the prenatal period, from about 18 weeks of development. At this age, the tiny fetus depends on the mother for everything, so pregnant women should definitely try to get enough sleep, especially at night. It is also extremely useful for expectant mothers to go to bed and get up at the same time. In the future, this habit will help create the correct sleep schedule for a newborn, and later for both an infant and an older child...

Thus, if your baby does not sleep well, falls asleep “hard” and wakes up restlessly, it is quite possible that he is “walking in his mother’s footsteps”...

Norms in numbers: how much sleep an infant should sleep

A newly born baby usually sleeps most of the day: 20-22 hours. He wakes up for 20-40 minutes to eat and interact with mom, and falls back to sleep almost immediately. With age, the amount of sleep decreases, and a 1-3 month old baby sleeps 15-18 hours a day (3-4 times for 40-90 minutes day and night).

By the age of 6 months, babies switch to two naps during the day, and the total sleep time decreases by another 1.5-2 hours. In the period from one year to one and a half years, the baby gradually switches to 1 nap during the day and sleeps about 13-14 hours a day.

If a baby sleeps poorly on a regular basis, without getting his/her hours, this can negatively affect the health, growth and development of the baby.

What are the dangers of sleep deficiency?

A lack of sleep, even for 1-2 hours a day, immediately affects the child’s condition. Mood deteriorates, whims appear (and sometimes even, from which every mother’s heart breaks into fragments), appetite decreases. Chronic sleep deficiency can provoke not only psychological, but also somatic disorders. There is evidence that children who are constantly sleep-deprived get sick more often, develop worse, and are prone to obesity in the future.

Moreover, the fatigue that accumulates due to a lack of sleep negatively affects... the next sleep, preventing you from falling asleep quickly and soundly. It turns out to be a vicious circle: the baby, tired during the day, has difficulty falling asleep, sleeps poorly, often wakes up, cannot rest during the night, greets the morning with sleepy, whiny and capricious, then again sleeps poorly during the day and again cannot sleep at night. Therefore, the first rule (not only, by the way, for infants, but also for children up to 5-6 years old) is a sound and sufficient daytime sleep.

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If your baby is not sleeping well, you need to check and review:

Daily regime. Each baby has its own daily routine: the mother just needs to pay close attention when the baby begins to show obvious signs of drowsiness. This usually happens at about the same time both during the day and in the evening. Having calculated this natural bedtime for the baby, parents should regularly put the child to bed at this exact hour. Naturally, if at this time you have already planned trips to the baby pool, massage or developmental classes, you will have to reschedule or cancel everything, because now for the baby sleep is more important than anything else. The main thing is to start at the same hour every day, accustoming the child’s body to the fact that at this time it’s time to go to bed...

Comfortable place to sleep. The baby should be comfortable to sleep. This means that the bed should not be overly soft, the blanket should be light, and the pillow should be completely forgotten for the next 1.5-2 years.

The temperature in the nursery should not exceed 19 °C, air humidity should reach 60-70%. In spring and summer, the window in the room can be left open (just cover it with insect netting!); in autumn and winter, the room where the child sleeps should be ventilated 30-40 minutes before bedtime, and then close the window.

Many children spend their daytime naps on the balcony or outside while walking.

Ritual of falling asleep. Monotonous actions, as well as familiar sounds, phenomena and objects have a calming effect on children. One can even put it more precisely - “soporific”! It’s not for nothing that kids demand to read the same fairy tales to them, to sing the same songs, and woe to the parent who tries to deviate even a word from the text familiar to the child. Same with falling asleep. In the first 6-8 months of life, most children fall asleep during the day while being fed: at their mother's breast or with a bottle. After six months, it is better to gradually wean the child off the food-sleep connection by introducing other rituals. Everyone has their own: the same lullaby, reading a favorite book or the same massage - there are many options. In the evening, as a ritual, it both calms the baby’s nervous system and brings physical fatigue.

Using a pacifier directly at the moment of falling asleep is also a kind of ritual, very effective and useful if the baby does not sleep well.

And don’t be afraid that the baby will get used to it and then won’t be able to sleep at all without a pacifier - .

Feeding for bedtime. And, of course, when a child goes to bed, he should be well-fed: hungry children fall asleep worse (if they fall asleep at all) and more often wake up crying and restless. Therefore, 20-30 minutes before putting the baby to bed, you need to feed it - or it will give the baby not only a feeling of fullness, but also physical fatigue, which also contributes to falling asleep quickly.

All these seemingly simple tips can be of great service to a parent whose baby does not sleep well both day and night. Set up a daily routine, walk more with your baby in the fresh air, bathe him before bed, and then after a full evening feeding - try to smoothly lull him to sleep with the same melody or lullaby, which you have used more than a dozen times. You yourself will be surprised how useful these tips will be for you if you show the proper parental patience, affection and love...

Do you feel like your baby is not sleeping well or waking up too often? How to help the baby? What is the reason and is there any cause for concern?

Sleep is a very important part of a newborn's life. During deep sleep, children produce growth hormone, so babies usually sleep a lot and grow quickly. Another important property of sleep is the protection and restoration of the nervous system. A tired child begins to be capricious and move restlessly. And after sleep there is no trace of excitement left. That's why proper sleep is vital for your baby. There are averages for sleep duration depending on age. However, it is important how many hours a day the baby sleeps, and not how many hours in a row.

Features of children's sleep

Before falling into deep sleep, babies go through a stage of light sleep, lasting about 20 minutes. Your baby may wake up if you put him in his crib during the light sleep stage. We need to wait for him to fall asleep soundly. As your baby grows up, he will learn to fall asleep faster.

Children's sleep cycles are short. After 20-40 minutes, the child’s deep sleep again turns into superficial sleep, and here he can wake up from the slightest noise.

How to help your child sleep

You won't be able to force your child to sleep, but you can help him fall asleep faster.

1. You should start putting your baby to bed for a nap when he shows signs of fatigue: rubbing his eyes and being capricious.

2. For proper daytime and night sleep, it is important that the child is actively awake: talk to the baby, sing songs, recite little rhymes to evoke visual and auditory reactions. Provide him with the opportunity to move freely, lay him out on a wide sofa or on the floor, travel around the house in your arms, and walk more in the fresh air.

3. When you put your baby to bed for the night, sing a lullaby. His mother's gentle, gentle voice will calm him down and lull him to sleep. Wonderful lullabies on the website dreamsong.ru/video

4. Create an inviting environment. Make it traditionally pleasant. The styling process should be the same every day. The repetition of events gives the baby a feeling of security.

5. The baby will fall asleep faster if the room is a little cool. It is advisable to maintain the temperature +18 ... +20 C, and humidity 45-60%. Before going to bed, ventilate the room well. Don't wrap your baby up, just periodically check if his nose and hands are warm.

6. When mom can’t lull her baby to sleep, dad can help out. Fathers often put their babies to bed faster, oddly enough, especially for naps. If your baby has colic, you can put his tummy on his dad's chest or stomach: he will warm up and fall asleep.

7. Calm down during the day. Use the language of touch: stroke it, massage it, play with it, carry it with you. Such gentle communication will give the baby a feeling of security - this will allow him to sleep soundly at night.

8. Develop a daily bedtime routine and strictly follow it. Let there be more pleasant processes for the baby. For example, evening bathing with relaxing foam, pine extract or sea salt, the gentle touch of your hands during a massage. Well, how can you not fall asleep here?

9. At night, be sure to put on a clean diaper and comfortable pajamas so that nothing interferes with your baby’s sleep. Feed your baby before bed.

10. Don't listen to other mothers' stories about how great their babies sleep. All babies are different, each has their own temperament, each goes through the main periods of development differently: teething, learning the skills of crawling, sitting, walking. Observe your baby, notice what actions you take best to help him fall asleep, and you will become a real expert in this matter.

Good luck and sweet dreams to you and your baby!

Sooner or later, all mothers wonder how to help their baby sleep through the night.

Here we will have to... teach him. Just teach, because the key skill in this case will be falling asleep independently. The fact is that we all naturally wake up several times a night, including children, and thanks to the fact that we can fall asleep immediately, most often we do not remember these awakenings. However, children must learn to fall asleep on their own without the help of rocking, breasts, pacifiers, etc., otherwise they will again and again need your help every time they wake up at night (and there can be up to 12-20 of them per night!).

When to start?

First of all, you need to understand that until the age of 3-4 months, a child is physiologically and neurologically incapable of the feat of even 6 hours of sleep without waking up. The need for nutrition every 2-4 hours and the immaturity of the nervous system, which simply cannot provide a sufficient level of control over nervous excitation and inhibition, play a role here. Moreover, it is absolutely normal to maintain 1-2 feedings per night up to 8-9 months.

Therefore, have some patience, take a closer look at your child, listen to yourself - not all mothers are ready to stop night feedings of their 6-month-old baby. The mother’s psychological attitude is very important, because if she cannot follow her plan and returns to old habits, this will be a signal to the baby that the mother herself does not know what she wants and will have to insist on her desires. The next time after failure it will be more difficult to achieve the goal.

What's stopping you?

There are several reasons that keep your baby (and you) from sleeping for longer periods of time.

Finding out and eliminating these reasons will help you quickly improve the whole family's night's sleep.

• Negative associations - if your baby needs your help every time he falls asleep, then he has formed a negative association. For example, he can only fall asleep in your arms, during feeding, after long periods of rocking, with a pacifier, etc. The point is that with normal partial awakenings, the baby does not know how to fall asleep on his own, he always relies on your help, he associates falling asleep only with rocking in your arms. Eliminating such associations and, as a result, acquiring the ability to fall asleep on your own will solve the problem of night awakenings;
• Excessive fatigue of the child. As strange as it may sound, excessive fatigue prevents your baby from sleeping. If he goes to bed late for his age and does not get enough sleep during the day, then you are guaranteed frequent night awakenings and early rises before 6 am;
• Health problems. Food allergies, the symptom of which is often itchy skin, are not the best friend to good sleep. If your baby snores in his sleep or breathes frequently through his mouth, he may have difficulty breathing and should definitely be seen by an ENT specialist, not just for the sake of good sleep! There are more complex medical diagnoses, but parents are most likely aware of these and understand their consequences. In any case, consult your doctor if you have the slightest suspicion that it is the child’s physical condition that is preventing him from sleeping;
• Night feeding habit. Each mother decides for herself when it is time to stop night feedings. Some see the child’s readiness by 5-6 months, others continue up to a year. On average, we can confidently say that by 9 months, most children can physiologically do without night feedings. Often there remains an emotional moment - be it the habit of eating at night, the mother’s desire to extend the time of solitude with the baby, an attempt to compensate for the lack of mother’s company during the day;
• Environmental factors. Unfortunately, we cannot expect a child older than 2-3 months to be able to sleep in any conditions. Noise, new surroundings, light - all this will seriously interfere with children's (and often adults') sleep. The good news is that this is the easiest cause to fix. Install blackout curtains, and in extreme cases, stick thick black garbage bags to the window glass - this will solve the problem of excess light. Organize a source of “white noise”; it will absorb most of the house sounds. For a change of scenery, bring along a sheet from the crib (not washed!), a favorite stuffed toy and a blanket - this will help create a feeling of home away from home;
• Lack of attention. Children are very sensitive and smart creatures. If for some reason they cannot communicate with their mother for a sufficient amount of time during the day, they find a way out - waking up at night. Don’t punish yourself if you work or due to family circumstances are forced to spend time away from your child; in our lives, few people manage to be “ideal.” The situation can be corrected.

Insomnia in children- this is a fairly common problem. Usually parents expect their child to get tired during the day and fall into a deep sleep in the evening. But this does not always happen, sometimes a child cannot fall asleep in the evening, even if he is exhausted during the day, he is capricious, demands attention, and cannot lie down. What causes insomnia in children? How to help your baby sleep?

Insomnia in children: causes

Insomnia in children can occur for many reasons. Among the most common reasons are: poor health, severe emotional state, which can manifest itself in fears, panic, obsessions and much more.

Before scolding your baby for being stubborn and not wanting to sleep, try to find out the reason for his insomnia. Faced with a problem like insomnia in children, every parent should understand that the child’s psyche is very fragile, so the baby is impressionable, he can be easily frightened and shocked. Of course, all this can affect the quality of a child’s sleep.

To help your baby sleep, you need to find out what exactly is bothering him. Talk to your child, try to calm him down, hug him, tell him that you love him very much.

Insomnia in children: misconceptions of parents

Many parents believe that insomnia occurs because the child was not very active during the day and immediately before bed, but this is not so. Rather, on the contrary, from active games before bedtime the child may experience insomnia, since after a lot of activity the baby will be too overexcited and will not be able to fall asleep. In order for a child to fall into a deep and restful sleep, it is necessary for him to calm down and relax.

Insomnia in children:how to help your baby sleep

There are several ways that can help cope with insomnia in children.

1. Don't eat at night. Of course, this does not mean that the child should go to bed hungry, this is wrong, and this can also cause insomnia. The point is that the child should eat two hours before bedtime; before resting, he should not eat foods that contain sugar or caffeine. It will also be great if your child does not drink a lot of fluids at night.

2. . Try to give your child a daily routine. It will be good if the baby goes to bed at the same time, this will make it easier for him to fall asleep. The child should have certain actions that he needs to perform before going to bed (wash or bathe, listen to a bedtime story, kiss mom and dad, and more). All this will help the baby calm down and prepare for sleep.

3. Coping with a problem like insomnia in children, will help aromatherapy. Turn on the aroma lamp with lavender and orange oil. The aroma will help you relax and sleep peacefully.

4. If insomnia very often bothers your baby, contact your doctor so he can prescribe the necessary medicines.

5. Make sure your baby likes his sleeping place. Let your child have beautiful bedding on his bed, let him have a night light with soft light in his room, because many children are afraid of the dark.

Insomnia in children- may be dangerous to their health. If you notice that your child, for no apparent reason, seems to be unable to sleep, before you try to cope with the problem yourself, consult a doctor about how to help your baby.

Be healthy!

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