5 tricks to help your child fall asleep faster

Parents of a newborn child often face problems with their baby's sleep. Sometimes sleepless nights drag on for up to a year or even two years; some mothers do not stop getting up at night to see their baby even by the age of three.

This is terribly difficult for mom and dad and, of course, does nothing good for the mental and physiological development of the child.

Children's sleep problems

Children who sleep poorly often have certain problems:

• they cry often;
• have a bad mood (the child himself does not know what he wants, he is capricious);
• very dependent on the attention of parents (grandparents);
• have poor appetite;
• there may be delays in development and growth.

For parents of a restless baby, this brings certain psychological problems such as:

• feeling of guilt and uncertainty in your methods of caring for the baby (sleep schedule, walks, feedings, etc.);
• confusion and not knowing what to do next;
• chronic fatigue and lack of sleep;
• problems in the relationship between parents.

The beneficial effects of pets

Activities with pets have a calming effect on children. If this is an aquarium with fish, then you can feed them, watch them swim, talk about it, listen to the murmur of the water. After putting your child to bed, invite him to observe the inhabitants of the water world. An aquarium, illuminated by weak light, is an excellent sedative that affects the psyche non-verbally, only through visual contact.

Before going to bed, an activity with hamsters, a rabbit, a dog or a cat will have a very calming effect on a child who is overexcited by active games. You can pet these fluffy animals, feed them, and watch them fuss. The purring of a cat will put even the most nimble baby to sleep. The presence of an animal in the house, even a reptile like an aquatic turtle or a slow-moving iguana, an exotic insect or bird, is always calming. Does your child not want to sleep at night? What to do? Get a pet. Just try to be especially careful about observing hygiene rules.

Calm down and pull yourself together before you rack your brains about how to put your child to sleep and once again ask the question: “What should I do?” The child does not sleep at night if he is hungry, overexcited or in pain. Children's fears of secret monsters are fiction. Kids don’t know anything about them until they see them on TV or another gadget. You don't entertain your baby with horror movies, do you?

If the child does not sleep

What indicates an incorrectly formed sleeping habit in a child:

• the child often wakes up every night (from 3 to 15 times);
• very sensitive sleep - the child wakes up from any noise;
• The baby cannot fall asleep on his own without the help of his parents.

Already from 6 months, babies are quite able to sleep all night without interruption for feedings. You just need to teach your child to sleep in this mode. From this age, children are able to distinguish day from night. Therefore, parents should create different conditions for the child’s daytime and nighttime sleep:

At night, the baby sleeps in complete silence and darkness, and during the day in dim light and not excluding light noise.

Different sleep conditions will be associated with different times of day, different sleep patterns. In this way, the child will get used to sleeping at night for a long time, calmly and without frequent awakenings.

From the above facts it follows that the lack of healthy sleep for a child is a big problem for the whole family . There are several very clear rules for your baby to sleep independently. Rules that will help every mother teach her child healthy and restful sleep, at least in certain conditions (in her crib, her room, at certain hours).

Teething is a common cause of insomnia

You fed your little one, stroked his head, back or tummy, and yet your baby doesn’t sleep well at night. What to do in this situation? Take his temperature. Perhaps he got sick. This happens extremely rarely with children who are breastfed and isolated from external infections. Most often, an increase in temperature indicates teething. In this situation, the baby’s salivation increases, he tries to take something into his mouth, and screams sharply. The mother's breast is the best sedative and pain reliever for him. In some cases, a numbing gel designed to lubricate the gums can be used, but this should only be given after consultation with a pediatrician. When a month-old baby does not sleep at night, the same doctor will tell you what to do.

How to accustom a child to a routine

So, briefly about the conditions and rules:

1. Your baby should get used to certain things or certain procedures that you will do before bed. The daily routine, repetition of habitual actions and associations with sleep will develop in the baby a sense of confidence and calm, and of course will help to sleep peacefully and soundly. Here is an approximate “set” of procedures and items “for sleep”: we take a bath, put on a diaper, change into pajamas, read a fairy tale, turn off the lights, hug and kiss mom and go to bed with our favorite toy. If different family members put the child to bed on different days, it is important for everyone to follow the same bedtime ritual.
2. When putting your baby to bed, you should be as calm and confident as possible in yourself and what you are doing . Children are very sensitive to the mood of loved ones, and it will be extremely difficult for a baby to fall asleep next to an upset, worried mother. When performing the sleep ritual, you must be convincing and calm.
3. If you want to have a restful sleep for yourself and your child, you should not accustom him to the fact that you rush to his crib at any call : to drink, to eat, just to see his mother again, just to be naughty, to cover the baby or adjust the pillow. Do not think that a one-and-a-half-year-old child cannot go without food at night, or that he is constantly thirsty every night - this is how you taught him. To be calm, feed your baby before bed and give him something to drink.

Here I would like to separately add that all small children, even up to 6 years old, open up. Mothers are often very concerned about this. There is one reasonable way out of such a situation - pajamas . Pajamas must match the temperature in the room. It should warm enough so that when the baby opens up it doesn’t freeze at night, and it shouldn’t cause overheating - the baby will sweat and you’ll probably have to change his clothes. If it's cold, wear socks. Choose several pajamas for your baby - for different seasons.

By improving a child’s sleep, we build future relationships in the family.

If your baby does not have a problem with diaper rash, but due to an ill-considered routine, the child sleeps very poorly at night, what should you do to accustom him to a comfortable and more adult daily routine?

It is very useful to take a half-hour walk in the fresh air before going to bed. The room where the baby sleeps must be ventilated in the morning and evening. Poor sleep is often a consequence of oxygen deprivation. In the children's bedroom it is recommended to install an air ionizer and an aquarium with fish. It is better not to engage in daytime play in this room. Her entire environment should create a feeling of peace, relaxation and sleep. Even if the number of rooms in the apartment does not allow several of them to be designated as separate bedrooms for each family member, then when a small child appears, one of the rooms should become a common oasis of silence, freshness and peace for him and his parents. Let mom, dad and baby sleep in it. As you know, children sleep better and more soundly when they are with their parents. They are not tormented by night terrors - they do not experience feelings of loneliness and abandonment. In addition, a daily ritual performed before going to bed is of great importance.

Young parents at all times and in all parts of the world have always faced the same problems when raising children: a newborn, a one-year-old, or an older child does not sleep at night. What to do? It is clear that a healthy baby will happily sleep or nap next to his mother, father, grandmother or grandfather, but it is impossible to be with him all the time. And he sensitively monitors all the attempts of the unfortunate parents to quietly leave the room. Modern mothers and fathers are much better off in this sense than their predecessors. Electronic technology provides them with great help. They have the opportunity to connect headphones to the gadget and watch a movie, play a computer game, read an interesting online magazine or book while the baby falls asleep. This must be used. In past times, children were given pacifiers soaked in soothing drugs, in particular poppy decoction, alcohol tinctures, etc. After all, it is too early for an adult to go to bed at eight or nine o’clock, and the baby does not want to be alone.

It is important not to overdo it with electronic assistants. Live communication with a child is of great importance both for his development and for relationships within the family in the future. In addition, it is necessary for instilling communication skills, without which it is very difficult in adult life. If a one-year-old child does not sleep well at night, what can be done to prevent this from becoming the cause of chronic lack of sleep for his parents? Feeding, pottying, playing and communicating with the baby every time he wakes up is very difficult for working parents. Sooner or later, the baby will still have to get used to the fact that people sleep at night and are awake, play and communicate during the day. That's how it is in our world.

If your child wakes up frequently

If your child wakes frequently at night, make sure that:

• he is healthy;
• does he want to go to the toilet?
• perhaps the child is cold or very hot;
• perhaps he is hungry;
• The baby may have gas or colic;
• Help your baby get rid of discomfort.

What not to do when teaching your child to sleep independently:

• lock the door with a key;
• swing on your hands;
• drive the car until he falls asleep;
• rock in a stroller and then transfer to bed;
• feed and water in the crib;
• goes to bed with the child;
• Allow the child to frolic in bed until he is exhausted and falls asleep.

It should be noted that for a more restful night's sleep, you need to put your child to sleep in the same bed - where he should sleep all night . Why?

Because:

• A child may wake up at night for only a few seconds or minutes, and if he finds himself in an unfamiliar place, he will probably cry and wake up completely.
• If a baby opens his eyes at night in a familiar environment, in his favorite crib, in which he fell asleep, he will most likely close his eyes and fall asleep on his own without the reassurance and help of his parents.

From the age of 6 months, the mother can easily teach the child to sleep independently. Of course, there will be exceptions in your life - after all, sleeping in a hug with a baby is incredibly pleasant.

But sleeping every day with a child, and not with a spouse, is not normal for a mother, just like getting up for night feedings and the whims of an already quite large baby. A restful night's sleep is equally beneficial for the child and for his parents - you just need to teach him to it.

The article was written based on the book “Sleep Well” by the Spanish doctor Estiville.

Plants will help you relax

Herbal medicine is an indispensable assistant for difficulties falling asleep. Baths with extracts of chamomile, motherwort, mint or lemon balm, decoctions of oak bark, pine needles, cedar, fir, etc. are very relaxing. Evening tea with chamomile, linden, raspberry, motherwort or a collection of these herbs is useful to drink half an hour before bedtime, after bathing. A pillow with unblown dry hop cones will give a sound and healthy sleep to both the child and his parents.

If the tummy hurts, the baby cannot sleep peacefully

During infancy, children often suffer from colic or gas. A thin tube inserted into the anus will help alleviate the condition and empty the intestines. It should be hollow and have smooth edges. The easiest way is to use the plastic tip from a small baby syringe.

A colicky newborn baby does not sleep at night. What should parents do if they are afraid to pass gas on their own using a straw? Place the baby on his back, place a soft diaper on his tummy and stroke the tummy with your palm clockwise. Start with a small circle around the navel and gradually increase the diameter in a spiral.

Bending and straightening your knees may help. This exercise is known as cycling. Lay the baby on his back and make a few movements with his legs. It should help.

What to do - the child does not sleep at night after feeding? In this case, he needs to burp air. Often newborn babies, unable to suck properly, swallow a lot of air. This makes them feel uncomfortable. Take the child in your arms, hold him upright, slightly pressing him towards you. Pat him on the back. As soon as he burps, he will feel better and be able to sleep.