Parents often complain that the child does not sleep well at night or during the day and often wakes up. Children's sleep develops before the age of three, but parents experience the main problems until they are one and a half years old. Sleep disturbance in children is a relative concept; the following plays an important role in this:
- How does the mother herself feel about the baby’s regime,
- what kind of feeding is he on?
- does the baby suck a pacifier?
- Is life organized in the apartment?
- Do other family members help the mother?
- How emotional is mom?
- how ready she was for motherhood.
All these factors, both external and internal, are of great importance and add up to a certain picture. First of all, parents should determine the reason why their child does not sleep at night, and only after that try to correct the situation.
Sleep norms for a child up to one year old
All norms are quite relative, the same applies to sleep. There are options for the acceptable norm and you need to treat them “plus or minus two hours”:
- a newborn baby can sleep 18 hours,
- a month old baby is already 16 hours old,
- around three months, night sleep becomes better, and daytime sleep becomes shorter, 16 hours a day,
- after six months, the baby’s waking period increases, the options are purely individual, approximately 13-16 hours a day,
- As children approach one year of age, they usually sleep 11-13 hours a day.
If the baby develops normally, wakes up in a good mood (even if he didn’t let his mother sleep all night), gains weight normally, then the norm of sleep that he has established is normal for him.
Going beyond normal sleep limits can be alarming; first of all, you can contact a pediatrician; if the pediatrician does not find somatic causes of sleep disturbance, you need to contact a neurologist. Often the problem is psychological.
Poor sleep in a 1.5 month old child
Natalia
March 19, 2020
Hello! Please tell me if our situation is normal. The child was born on February 1, 2021. Birth weight 4130, height 57 cm. Boy. The birth was natural, the second, the bladder was punctured, after the puncture I gave birth within about 1.5 hours. According to Apgar, the indicators were 8/8. From the second night in the maternity hospital, the child cried a lot at night, on the advice of the nurses, she began to supplement her with formula, put her to the breast more often, and if nothing helped, she rocked her in her arms for a long time. During the day, the baby slept for relatively long periods of time (1.5-2 hours). After discharge from the maternity hospital at night, the baby was attached to the breast on demand an unlimited number of times, there was no such prolonged crying, apparently there was enough milk, although he woke up often and sucked the breast for a long time . During the day, it was possible to lay the child down only in the arms or under the chest, and the child could sleep for an hour, sometimes for 1.5-2 hours. However, from about 3 weeks of age, daytime sleep became very short, motion sickness became longer. You rock it for about 30 minutes, seem to be sound asleep, transfer it to the crib, and after 15-30 minutes the child begins to wake up, sometimes crying in his sleep. Only long-term motion sickness again helps, shifting it is already unsuccessful, he also wakes up, or remains to hold the sleeping person in his arms. But even in your hands you can clearly see how after half an hour he begins to worry again. These are probably the changing phases of sleep. What’s confusing is that the child used to overcome these phase changes, but now he can’t. This lasts until now. The increase in the first month was 1 kg 100 g. During periods of wakefulness, the baby is quite calm, lies, walks, and looks at something. Approximate waking time is 1-1.30 hours. Complete breastfeeding, almost on demand, intervals of 2 hours, sometimes persistently demands by screaming and you have to breastfeed again an hour later. Sometimes the child lets go of the breast and it is clear that he is trying to fall asleep on his own, but after a few minutes he shudders, rubs his face with his hands, seems to calm down again, and after a few minutes all the actions are repeated again and the child finally wakes up, however, he is capricious and, with the help of the breast or rocking, quickly begins to fall asleep . I myself try to stick to the diet of a nursing mother. We didn’t have any attacks of creepy rabbits, as it seems to me, of course there are whims due to discomfort in the stomach, he sometimes cries and curls up his legs, but there was no incredible crying, which is impossible to distract with anything. I would like to know the opinion of experts. Is this still an ongoing adaptation to a new life? Or the wrong habit of falling asleep on your arms and chest? But I can’t help but rock the baby when he cries. We haven’t seen a neurologist in a month; for some reason the pediatrician didn’t refer us. We live in a military camp, there is no pediatric neurologist, most likely they will be sent to the regional center at 3 months. Is it possible, based on the situation I described, to suspect the cause of poor sleep in neurological problems? Or is this the norm for this age and we need to wait and be patient?
Age:
34
The question is closed
Restless short sleep
When should you be concerned if your child is not sleeping well?
A child's restlessness during sleep may be a sign of ear pain, an inflammatory process, or a viral infection. Nasal congestion can disrupt sleep. Excessive excitability due to hypocalcemia - a lack of calcium, when the child does not have enough vitamin D. Often taking vitamin D during its deficiency normalizes sleep.
Sleep carries many abnormal paroxysmal disorders. Sometimes they are of epileptic origin. But this applies to problem children with unfavorable intrauterine development and birth trauma.
Paroxysmal disorder of consciousness is a short and sudden disorder of consciousness that occurs on the basis of neuralgic diseases.
In their sleep, such children can make various movements. Parents should be wary of the baby's frequent sudden startlings for no particular reason at an older age, which lead to frequent awakenings.
But adults also shudder and make some movements in their sleep, and the same thing happens with babies. If the child is developing normally, this does not happen often, does not aggravate the sleep problem, and should not cause much concern.
Infants have a very low level of control over their movements and their emotions; their nervous system is not yet mature.
The main reasons affecting a child’s sleep
As a rule, in the first month there are no problems with sleep; babies mostly sleep.
In the second month, as a rule, parents begin to complain that the child does not sleep well during the day, this is due to intestinal colic and flatulence. At the same time, the baby becomes more mature, he has more responses to what prevents him from feeling comfortable, a wet diaper, the temperature in the apartment, noise, light can already disturb the baby.
If the mother eliminates the irritating factors, takes the baby in her arms and everything returns to normal, then everything is fine. Children sleep better outside; background noise and rocking calm the kids. The position of the cocoon is more comfortable for children under 3-4 months because this is how they were located in the mother’s stomach. A straight surface makes them uncomfortable.
At three months, sleep is structured into cycles and stages. As an adult, drowsiness, light, medium and deep sleep occurs.
Around six months, concerns associated with the first teeth begin, the period of dentition. There are different situations. By the age of one and a half years, on average, 16 teeth should appear; this happens differently for everyone. Read more in this article.
From this period up to a year, parents often complain about disturbances in daytime sleep, but at night everything is fine. The child does not necessarily have to sleep for long periods of time during the day; sometimes half an hour in several cycles is enough.
As a rule, babies with nipples sleep better when bottle-fed. The most worrying situations arise in cases of breastfeeding and in children who do not want and do not take the pacifier.
A newborn (2 weeks) sleeps for 10-15 minutes.
Alyona
The child must be shown to a neurologist and surgeon for consultation; an ultrasound of the sternocleidomastoid muscles may be needed. If the diagnosis of congenital torticollis is confirmed, then a set of special exercises is needed, not a collar; most often, babies do not need a collar at all. I am providing a link with exercises for left-sided torticollis, there is also a link for right-sided one https://www.orthoseek.com/articles/ifs-left.html Exercises are most often prescribed from a month onwards, but the doctor will tell you in more detail after an in-person appointment. Regarding sleep disturbances. It is possible that the collar is in the way, so the sooner you seek advice from specialized specialists, the better. I repeat once again, with muscular torticollis, a collar is not needed. But there are situations when you really can’t do without it. It is likely that the baby has developed infantile colic, which is interfering with his sleep. You just have to get over it. Remember, no anti-colic remedies are effective, but they can cause allergies. Therefore, there is no need to use them. To alleviate the condition, carry the child in your arms more often, make sure that the breast is latched correctly, and make sure that for 3 hours you give him one breast, and then only the other. If you alternate breasts more often, the baby receives only foremilk, which promotes fermentation processes in the intestines. Apply a warm diaper to your stomach, do massage, exercise therapy, lay the baby on your stomach more often (with the head turned in the opposite direction), lay it on your stomach and carry it in a sling. Infants need to be held as often as possible; close tactile contact between the baby and mother is very important for the development of the child. Uncomfortable sleeping conditions can also cause anxiety. The optimal conditions have already been indicated above. In addition, some babies need to be somewhat limited during sleep; try to swaddle your baby loosely before going to bed, so he won’t be able to wake himself up by waving his arms. Also, do not rush to the child as soon as you hear that he has woken up, wait a few minutes, and only then go to the baby. This way you will give him the opportunity to continue to fall asleep on his own. Over time, you will learn to determine the required amount of time and situations when your presence is really necessary for further falling asleep. And, lastly, your child does not know how to sleep properly; now he has his own routine, which may differ significantly from yours. The baby must be gently taught that night is night and day is day. Therefore, despite the fact that the baby is still very tiny, start introducing simple sleep rituals. Observe what calms the baby best, what overstimulates (for example, some children get excited from baths, so they need to be bathed in the morning, others take a long time to calm down after a massage, etc.). And before bed, use only what calms your child. Then, determine for yourself when it is convenient for you for “night” to fall in the house. If you decide that it is, for example, 22.00, then after this time the lights in the apartment should be turned off, the TV should be turned off, and so on. If the baby wakes up, then no games or bright lights, give the breast, take him in your arms, but do not turn on the light, only with a night light. During the day, on the contrary, it should be light, the noise of operating appliances (for example, a washing machine) should be heard, and so on. Thus, you immediately teach the child to understand where is day and where is night and prevent sleep inversion, when the child sleeps during the day and then walks around all night.
What to do if your child doesn't sleep well
- The child must be put to bed at the same time, and actions such as taking a bath, changing clothes, and dinner must be repeated.
- The crib should only be a resting place; it is best if parents forbid playing in it.
- The baby should have a favorite toy that will be next to him in the crib during sleep. The fact is that children experience shock when they are separated from their mother at night, so for peace of mind they leave a toy that softens the distance between them. When the baby wakes up, he should observe things that are familiar to him. This way he will feel safe.
- You shouldn’t pamper your child before sending him to bed; for example, if he spends quality time in his parents’ arms, he will delay bedtime.
- In order for the baby to have strong dreams, it is important for parents not only to put him in bed, but also to provide him with peace of mind. As a rule, children sleep for about 25 minutes, which then becomes deep. Before leaving the crib, mom or dad should make sure that the baby is sleeping soundly. In a situation when a child in bed begins to whine, it is recommended to gently stroke him, feeling the warmth of his own hands, he will quickly calm down.
- Ventilate the room before going to bed.
Some parents in the same situation may complain that the child does not sleep well, others take it for granted. There are mothers who are emotionally stable, and there are those who are very restless. If the mother is in the deep sleep stage, waking up is a stressful situation for her.
The child wakes up, smoothly going through the phases of sleep, lets his mother know that he is awake, and in order to fall asleep he just needs to suck something. If the mother is at a considerable distance from him, sleeps in a separate bed or room, this can cause discomfort, and if repeated constantly, it can cause stress in the mother.
So which of you is not sleeping?
Co-sleeping can help a mother overcome major points of discomfort. Try to sleep during the day with your child as well. If there are other family members in the house besides you and the baby, let them play with the baby for an hour during the day while you rest, involve dad in such activities more often.
The most important thing is to understand that this period will end someday, the child will grow up, sleepless nights will be a thing of the past.
Baby's sleep up to six months
For a newborn, healthy sleep is as important as breast milk and walks in the fresh air. The smaller the baby, the longer he should rest. Adequate sleep has an impact on its development. It promotes the production of growth hormone and the development of the nervous system. That is why, first of all, you must set it up. First, let's find out how much a newborn should sleep. In the first two months about 18-20 hours, then up to 5 months 17-18 hours, from 6 to 9 months 15-17. And at 1 year it’s already 14-15 hours. Wondering why a newborn wakes up often? This happens because sleep can be shallow or deep. During superficial eyelids, the baby's eyelids twitch and a smile flashes on the lips. During this period, any noise or rustle can wake him up. To prevent your little one from frequently waking up and starting to cry, learn to identify these phases. You should know that deep sleep occurs half an hour after falling asleep.
If the baby is sleeping soundly, then you will see this by his relaxed appearance: his facial features smooth out, his fingers unclench, and his breathing becomes calm. In this state, the baby can be put into bed or covered with a blanket. But remember that after 40-50 minutes the REM sleep phase will come again, when a little noise is enough to wake up the baby.
