For the proper development of the child, he needs a certain sleep mode. But often young parents are faced with such a problem as restless children's sleep. How to recognize the reasons that the baby wakes up at night? Consider the reasons for the waking baby at night and how to fix the situation.
Night walks baby
Many parents expect that at night the newly born baby will sleep like an adult, but this is far from the case. A newborn in the first months of life, at least up to three, simply can not rest for a long time. He can wake up to eat his mother’s milk, pee or just grunt and remind himself. But, as a rule, such awakenings do not last long and soon the child falls asleep.
If at night the baby is awake more often than during the day, then it is worth saying that the child mixed up day and night. To correct the situation, it is worth being patient and first of all laying the baby at a certain time. Experts note that 19.30 is an ideal time for bedtime, since during this period the hormone of calm in the body is actively produced.
Also, the baby may wake up, feeling discomfort from a crowded diaper. It is important to change it in advance. It should be understood that the baby's sleep is superficial, that is, he can wake up from any rustle or clap. Sometimes children themselves wake themselves up with pens that they still cannot control.
Psychological aspect
There are many situations when a baby wakes up at night and cries, and calms down only when he is picked up. This is due to a psychological factor. This is especially true for children who are rocked before going to bed in their arms and only then put into bed. Having woken up, such a baby is very worried and worried about what is not on her mother’s arms and does not hear her smell, but sees only the rods of the bed. Fear and despair seize him, and he begins to loudly declare it with a cry.
What to do in this case?
- A good way out can be a joint sleep. In this case, even waking up, the baby will see the mother and smell her, without feeling a sense of fear and anxiety. You can easily feed him by giving breast, and then sleep peacefully.
- Teach the baby to fall asleep on their own. After feeding, you can put the baby in the crib so that he falls asleep, while being close. You can stroke the baby or sing a lullaby so that he feels the presence of his mother.
It is important in this case to act consistently and gradually accustom the baby to ensure that he sleeps in the crib. It is also worth not to bother with motion sickness. At the age of six months, you should not put the baby to bed in a stroller, let him learn to fall asleep, not under shaking, but in his crib.
Many pediatricians note that if the baby often wakes up at night and the mother puts it next to her, this is primarily convenient for parents, but not for the baby. Not everyone wants to get up at night and calm the raging baby, because it’s easier to put it nearby and sleep peacefully. But a child who has made his loud cry for a place on his mother’s bed will not want to leave her alone and fall asleep in his own. A child who cries at night, if it is not connected with his well-being, just wants to make sure that his mother is nearby.
Natural Causes of Sleep Disorders
Somnologists who study the quality of sleep in children identify several factors why babies wake up at night. And this should not cause concern among parents.
Often babies cry in a dream, which is a physiological feature of the child's body. It can be either a quiet “whimper” or a loud cry. Thus, the baby spills out its impressions received during the day. Parents often note that the more impressions the child received during the day (for example, guests visited), the more he sleeps. Such a reaction of the child’s body takes place by the year and should not cause concern for parents.
Many babies tremble in a dream, thereby waking themselves up and then calling their mother cry. This is also the normal state of the baby, since his nervous system has not yet formed and he still cannot control his reflexes. In this case, it is worth staying next to the baby, reassuring him or gently stroking him so that he can sleep peacefully.
Violations of wakefulness and sleep
Many parents are interested in why a baby wakes up at night and is awake. But few, especially young mothers and fathers, guess when to put the baby to bed so that his night's sleep is calm.
Experts note that the optimal time for falling asleep is from 19.30 to 20.30. During this period, the baby produces the hormone melatonin, which is responsible for its peace of mind. It is also important to notice when the baby wants to sleep. Usually he rubs his eyes. Do not miss this moment, because then the baby takes a walk and it will be difficult for him to fall asleep. The hormone of calm is replaced by the stress hormone (cortisol). At this time, it is almost impossible to lay the baby, and it is not worth hoping for a quiet sleep.
Babies who are breastfed can eat up to four times a night. Children aged six months can be replaced with plain water or stewed fruit to gradually accustom him to sleep without waking up for at least six hours, from midnight to six in the morning.
If the baby wakes up at night every hour, this should alert parents. Perhaps he is malnourished, which is observed with reduced lactation in the mother or if the milk is of low fat content.
Sleep regression
The reason that the baby often wakes up at night may be a regression of sleep, that is, a natural process in the development of crumbs. Each baby goes through several transitional stages up to two years, when sleep patterns can be disturbed by physiological causes. Such a situation can occur in 4, 9 months, a half and two years.
Violations can also be triggered by the fact that the child acquires new skills, which helps increase his excitability. Also during this period, the duration of sleep and wakefulness changes. He no longer spends all the time in a dream, but often walks.
Concerns among parents about sleep disturbances during these periods should not cause this. It is important to be patient, and then interruptions in sleep and rest will go away by themselves. It is also worthwhile to adhere to a certain ritual before going to bed: bathing, fairy tales or a song.
Medical factors
The reason that the baby often wakes up at night and cries may be health problems.
Common medical causes of restless sleep at night in a baby:
- teeth are cut (may be accompanied by fever);
- colic (often tormenting babies while breastfeeding, especially if the mother does not adhere to a diet);
- cold.
It is important to notice the cause of restless sleep, if it does not relate to physiological or psychological aspects, and eliminate it.
Sleeping conditions
If the baby wakes up at night and is awake and there are no disturbances in well-being, it means that certain sleep conditions were not met.
What determines the quality of the baby’s sleep?
- uncomfortable air temperature - optimally in the room where the baby sleeps, it should be from +18 ° to +23 ° , it is worthwhile to ventilate the room before going to bed;
- uncomfortable clothes - it can hamper the baby's movements;
- hard or too soft mattress;
- pillow - the newborn does not need it at all, a small diaper is enough, and from six months you can lay the crumbs on a flat pillow.
There are also certain indicators of how much a baby should sleep, depending on age. And most of the duration of the baby’s sleep should occur at night. Up to three months, the baby sleeps 18 hours, a six-month-old child - 15-17 hours a day, at 12 months - up to 14 hours, 18 months - 11-13 hours, from two years - 10-12 hours.
How to fix the situation if the baby often wakes up at night?
Having figured out who is preventing the baby from sleeping normally at night, we’ll talk about how to fix the situation.
In order to normalize the night's sleep in infants:
- Adjust the day mode. A child who is tired during the day sleeps well at night. Before going to bedtime, he should wait a bit, but not overdo it.
- A couple of hours before a night’s sleep, the baby should spend in a calm environment so that his nervous system calms down.
- Follow a certain ritual before going to bed. Thus, the baby’s body will feel that it’s time to sleep at a physiological level.
- In the room where the baby sleeps, there should be a dim light, the maximum can be turned on the nightlight.
- If a child wakes up at night, do not play or talk with him: change the diaper or feed it if necessary and put it back to bed. He must understand that night is the time for sleep.
- Remove toys from the field of view of the baby at night so that when he wakes up, he will not be distracted by them.
Should I take a child to bed if he sleeps restlessly at night?
Modern pediatricians note that the joint sleep of a baby with a mother has a beneficial effect on his well-being and development. But adherents of the classics criticize this position.
Of course, when breastfeeding, when the baby sleeps "at hand", it is convenient to feed him. In addition, pediatricians now note that it is important to feed the baby on demand. But most experts still hold the opinion that it is worth observing a certain feeding regimen, starting from birth. In this case, by 4-6 months, you can arrange breastfeeding so that the baby will eat only once a night and sleep peacefully in his bed. Thus, both mom get enough sleep and the child himself.
Psychologists note that a baby who slept with his mother for one and a half or two years often suffers from "nightmares" when moving to his crib. Those children who initially slept separately do not know at all what night crying or stress is.
If the baby often wakes up at night, you can put a crib near the parent's bed. Thus, it will always be possible to hear the baby, calm him, but at the same time he sleeps separately. This is the best option, since each person needs a personal space for sleep.
What is the most comfortable position for a baby to sleep in?
After a year, the child chooses a pose in which he is most comfortable sleeping. Up to a year, the pose of the baby in which his parents put him to bed is of great importance.
Pediatricians note that you should not put a newborn or baby to sleep on their stomach. There is such a thing as sudden death syndrome, and the reason for this is precisely respiratory arrest. A kid who does not yet hold his head or does not know how to roll over to the side can simply suffocate. It is best to put the baby on the back, while turning the head on a barrel.
What to do during the day if the baby does not sleep well at night and often wakes up?
A baby's nightly sleep depends on how his day went. In this case, the psychosomatics of each child is individual. One, fed up with impressions during the day, falls asleep without difficulty and sleeps all night, while the other, on the contrary, behaves uneasily during a night's sleep. This primarily applies to highly impressionable children.
It is worth dosing to give the baby new “impressions” during the day (guests, skills, entertainment). Before going to bed, it is important that the baby is physically tired. It can be a massage or a bath. Physical activity before bedtime is an important component of nighttime calm.
If the baby wakes up at night every hour, this can mean emotional overload, hunger or discomfort from a wet diaper. We can not exclude the well-being of the crumbs (teeth, colds). It is important to determine the cause of the restless rest of the baby and eliminate it.