All young families are nervous before the baby appears and worry that long sleepless nights await them. However, the view that a newborn baby does not sleep well is only partially true. By nature, sleep in newly born children takes a significant period of time. If your baby is behaving uneasily, and you cannot lay him down for a long time, then this should have its own reasons that must be found and solved.
The lack of maternal experience often makes it difficult to objectively assess the well-being of the child. Before talking about the fact that the newborn does not sleep well, you should determine the normative indicators. The first three months, the duration of a healthy baby’s sleep is at least 16 hours. Then, up to six months, the duration should take about 15 hours. After six months - 13 hours. When the baby turns one year old, his sleep time is reduced to 12 hours.
Why does a newborn baby sleep poorly, no doctor will say for sure. The root causes can be different, ranging from individual characteristics, increased excitability, changes in nutrition and ending with colic, changeable weather, stuffiness and the appearance of teeth. Some of these reasons can be addressed by following the tips below.
Ventilate the room well before putting your baby to sleep in the afternoon or evening. To help your baby sleep better, hang a cloth bag filled with lavender, valerian root or hop cones at the head of the crib . Baths with decoctions of soothing herbs will also help improve sleep .
The mistake for many young mothers is the desire to protect their baby from all extraneous noise. But, accustomed to absolute silence, children can wake up at the slightest sound. Exclude active games and strong impressions in the evening.
If a newborn baby does not sleep well, it may be worth reviewing his diet. Try to keep your baby's dinner tight. Instead of motion sickness, just lie down next to it and sing a lullaby. Be sure to adhere to the daily routine, observe all the rituals of going to bed - bathing, massage, feeding, etc. At night, after hearing the cry of a child, do not rush to approach the crib. Wait for a while, the baby can calm down and fall asleep on its own.
An important factor is the environment. For example, colorful wallpapers and too bright light can interfere with healthy sleep. Sometimes a newborn baby does not sleep well in an oversized bed. More comfortable children feel in a small space. Remember that for nine months in his mother’s tight tummy, the baby did not know what could be different. A good way to imitate familiar sensations is swaddling. In addition, in this way, it is possible to exclude the likelihood that the baby will injure himself in a dream by accidentally touching the eyes or face with a pen.
In general, adaptation of a newborn to night sleep takes from three to four months. During this time, you can try these methods or show imagination and come up with something of your own. After all, each child is unique, which means that the solution to the issue must be individual. We wish you a good and healthy sleep and good night to you.