The most exciting first weeks of the baby's life are behind us, and parents are beginning to gradually get used to the new family member. Natural questions arise about the baby's routine, for example, how much should a baby sleep at 1 month? The baby's sleep is the key to his normal growth and development, every mother understands this. She worries if the child sleeps too little or, conversely, too much. What are the generally accepted norms and what to do if a newborn often wakes up and cries?
Sleep norms during this period and its duration
The sleep process of little toddlers differs significantly from the way adults sleep in terms of duration, frequency and rhythm. During the period from birth to 1 month, a child should sleep on average 15-20 hours a day: approximately up to 11-12 hours at night and up to 8-9 hours during the day. This is due to the fact that the baby still continues to live in the rhythm of intrauterine life and does not yet fully distinguish day from night.
In the daytime, according to accepted standards, the baby should sleep about 3 hours, 3 times a day. The first two weeks of life, the baby mostly sleeps, wakes up to eat and falls asleep again. Subsequently, episodes of wakefulness appear during which he can be active, look at everything around him and make some sounds, attracting his family to him.
Signs of not getting enough rest
The birth of a child, especially if it is the first for young parents, is a real test for the latter. Every movement and breath of the baby is monitored, and at the slightest, sometimes imaginary, violations in the child’s behavior, the alarm sounds. Over time this will pass.
However, you can determine that a child is resting and not sleeping enough by:
- deterioration of behavior;
- manifestations of aggression;
- hot temper, impulsiveness;
- causeless tearfulness and irritation;
- hyperactivity syndrome;
- difficulty or inability to pay attention or concentrate;
- constant desire for attention from mom.
Such “incorrect” wakefulness and any of the above unpleasant consequences of a baby’s lack of sleep up to one year old sometimes become the cause of problems with his development, health and behavior in older age. For this reason, it is important to make the necessary efforts to ensure that your child gets adequate rest.
If a child is hyperactive, it is prohibited to resort to self-administration of various sedatives and medications without prior recommendations from a pediatrician.
Features of sleep during this period
During sleep, a newborn experiences an alternation between fast and slow phases. It is believed that the deep or slow phase occurs approximately 30 minutes after falling asleep. Before the slow phase, the newborn may close his eyes, clench his fists, and strain his arms and legs. When the phase change occurs, the newborn completely relaxes his tiny limbs, the eyeballs stop moving, and the facial muscles stop working, and we see a picture of a calm and peaceful child's rest.
Literally after 20-30 minutes you can observe how the child goes into the fast phase, he may even wake up. The slow stage is an adaptive feature of newborns, and it is necessary in order to be able to wake up and eat.
The fast phase, which is observed immediately after falling asleep, is a special time during which it is undesirable for there to be extraneous noise, because the little one can easily wake up, and if he falls asleep next to mom or dad, you should not rush to put him in the crib.
What time should you put your newborn baby to bed at night?
It is recommended to put the baby to bed at night at the same time - from 20 to 22 hours after bathing and feeding. For better sleep, you can use white noise - sounds of nature, splashing water, sound of waves, heartbeat. Thanks to this method, babies calm down and do not hear extraneous sounds.
Safe sleep for a baby is on its side. To prevent it from turning over, you can apply a soft cushion to its back. There should be no large blankets, rugs, canopies or other items in the crib that are easy to get tangled in. The use of a “nest” is allowed. This is a specially made mattress with sides.
How to help a small child sleep more peacefully
It is very important that your newborn gets enough sleep. First of all, this is necessary for the proper development of the nervous system, as well as for its general condition and development. It can be negatively affected by several factors, such as:
- room temperature;
- air humidity;
- cloth;
- possible malnutrition.
Every mother worries about her baby and constantly makes sure that he does not freeze, trying to constantly put something on or wrap him in an extra blanket, but few people think about not overheating the child, and this is very important. He or she will be cranky and unlikely to fall asleep if the air in the room is too dry and warm, and also if he or she is wearing warm clothes and the baby is hot. It is also important that it be comfortable, otherwise it can cause discomfort and interfere with normal sleep.
In the first month, breastfeeding is actively being established, and often a young mother, especially if she has become one for the first time, has doubts: whether the baby is getting enough to eat or not. If he can't sleep, is cranky and cries, that's probably true. The first thing you can do is observe how much the child pees, and if he does it often, it means there are no problems with malnutrition and you need to look for another reason.
Frequent walks in the fresh air can also improve your sleep, and this should not be neglected, because this improves the condition of the body as a whole.
It is also important who the newborn sleeps with. As a rule, if he sleeps with his parents, then his sleep is more stable and longer. When the baby wakes up, he does not need to be overly irritated and shout for his mother to feed, because she is nearby and, as soon as the baby begins to be active, she can immediately breastfeed without waiting for crying. This also helps to establish breastfeeding, so it has double benefits, although you can find a wide variety of opinions on this matter.
If a toddler at the age of 1 month does not sleep all day, it is necessary to analyze his general condition: if he is active, in a good mood, eats well and gains the required weight, then this means that this is an individual feature of his body. It is also important to pay attention to night sleep: it often happens that the baby practically does not wake up at night, so during the day he has the strength to stay awake.
When the baby is capricious, constantly cries, there are problems with weight gain, and during sleep he is restless, often shudders and cries, you need to consult a neurologist who can assess the condition and provide the necessary help.
Violations
According to scientific research, every third child has some kind of sleep disorder. In rare cases, the cause lies in neurological pathology. However, most often the child does not sleep well due to the parents’ reluctance or inability to organize a certain routine. So, let's look at all the reasons for children's sleep disturbances.
- Hunger. The child does not eat enough or simply fell asleep at the time at which he is usually used to eating.
- Colic. Due to the immaturity of the gastrointestinal tract, children often have stomach pain in the first months of life.
- Allergy. The baby will most likely have trouble sleeping if the nursing mother does not follow a diet containing red vegetables, fruits, and chocolate. Formula may not be suitable for formula-fed babies.
- Discomfort. It is extremely unpleasant for a baby to sleep in wet diapers or diapers, so he often wakes up and requires a change of clothes.
- Cold or hot. It is extremely difficult for a frozen child, just like an adult, to fall asleep.
- Emotional overexcitation, fatigue. Often, the longer a newborn stays awake, the harder it is for him to fall asleep. This feature is associated with the immaturity of the nervous system; the baby’s body is configured for frequent rest.
- Psycho-emotional state of the mother, family situation. Although the baby understands little in the first month of life, his bond with his mother is still strong. Any excitement or irritation increases his anxiety and impairs his sleep.
Does a child need a routine at this age?
The child has just been born, and during the first month he is actively trying to adapt to his new life. It’s also difficult for the mother; she needs to establish feeding and do everything possible to make the newborn comfortable. Therefore, there is no need to talk about any kind of regime yet, at least not in the first month.
During this period, you need to breastfeed on demand; this will not only nourish and soothe the baby, but also have a positive effect on further lactation. A well-fed toddler is a happy and calm baby who will happily want to sleep.
Reducing anxiety in your baby
Sleep is disturbed in a month-old baby due to anxiety. The nervous system is not yet formed, so any deviation in the mother’s behavior is perceived as alarming. The baby needs protection. When his mother is nearby, he is calm. After the maternity hospital, you need to be there for the first two weeks and pay more attention to the child. Later, the baby will get used to the new environment, his anxiety and fear will decrease.
You need to work with the child. A caring mother conducts regular gymnastics for the baby, massages his back and tummy. The baby becomes calmer when they sing a lullaby and talk to him. It is advised to limit visiting guests for the first month. New people can cause stress and poor sleep in the baby.
He will cry constantly. It is not for nothing that in the old days it was forbidden to show a newborn to strangers, for fear of the evil eye. A child is ready to communicate with strangers only at six months. In children with a fragile nervous system, the adaptation period will take a long time. You should not traumatize the baby’s psyche during adaptation.
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Helpful information
Many women know firsthand what a caesarean section is. Therefore, questions often arise about how to recover after a cesarean section and what to do with the “suture” so that it heals faster? It is also important to know what you can eat after a cesarean section, what your diet should be in order to speed up recovery and not harm the baby. Almost every mother is faced with how to remove her belly after such a procedure. You can find answers to these pressing questions by reading this information.
What was your newborn baby's sleep like until 1 month old? Have you ever had to use any techniques to get your baby to sleep, or has this not been a problem in your family? We will be glad if you share your stories in the comments and leave your feedback on what you read.
Interrupted daytime sleep
Many things can interfere with a child's daytime sleep. Brothers and sisters came home from school and made a fuss, the child fell asleep at the nanny’s and was woken up when they took him home, or (the most common reason) fell asleep in the car and woke up when the trip was over. If this happened at the very end of a quiet hour, it’s okay. It’s another matter when the child slept long enough that it was difficult for him to return to sleep after an untimely awakening, and at the same time too little to get enough sleep.
Some interferences are easy to avoid. Older children can play outside or watch videos until the younger ones finish their quiet time. Either put him to bed a little earlier, so that an accidental awakening does not significantly shorten his sleep, or, conversely, later, after an event that threatens to wake him up.
Another approach is to cut back nighttime sleep by 30–60 minutes: then the incentive to sleep during the day will be stronger, and the disturbance will not wake the baby. (For example, sleep will be so deep that it will not be interrupted even when transferred from the nanny home.) This is not an ideal solution, but if the total duration of sleep is maintained or even slightly increased, it will work for the first time.
It is more difficult to cope with napping in the car. No one wants to drive around for an hour so that a child who has fallen asleep in a car seat can finish his nap. A very brief fall asleep at the very beginning of the day will probably not disrupt his further routine. But many children, having slept even for 10 minutes, can no longer return to sleep immediately or later, when they should.
Ideally, you should not let your baby fall asleep at all. But, unfortunately, it is very difficult to keep a child awake around nap time without compromising driving safety. The problem will disappear if someone can sit with the child during the day when you are traveling on business. Otherwise, try setting his bedtime earlier so that he falls asleep at home and either wakes up before you leave or at least continues to sleep in the car. To do this, sometimes you have to wake the child up earlier in the morning, and sometimes put him to bed earlier in the evening.
Daytime sleep can be interrupted by hunger. If you put your baby down before feeding, and not after, he wakes up early because he wants to eat. Feed him before bed and he will sleep longer.
