The newborn sleeps a lot: is it worth it to wake up, the norms of sleep and wakefulness for the baby, the reasons for a long sleep, tips and recommendations of pediatricians

Long-awaited happiness: baby and mother at home, the first month after the hospital. Parents think that they are waiting for sleepless nights, distribute who will get up to the baby at night. But not always a newborn bothers its parents and neighbors at night. And mom and dad cannot believe their happiness. A newborn baby sleeps a lot during the day and does not wake up often at night. But mother is certainly worried about the question of whether it is normal for the child to sleep for a long time and whether it is dangerous to his health. Usually worry is in vain.

Features of Infant Sleep

The main part of a baby’s life is spent in a dream. At this time, the baby is growing, the systems of its internal organs are developing. Since the child is still too small, the regimen of the day has not yet been established. The baby falls asleep when tired. In the period of up to three months, the baby gets tired very quickly, as he sees everything that surrounds him for the first time, every minute of his life is full of new impressions. The biological clock and time of day until the child is not affected. The kid does not distinguish whether it is day or night, he only knows whether he is tired or not.

Some children can sleep peacefully all night, waking up just to eat. In the daytime, the baby can wake up several times, study the world and fall asleep again. Moreover, the fact that the newborn sleeps a lot during the day is not a deviation. All children are different, their needs are also different, respectively, and sleep time varies.

Baby Sleep Phases

Any person has two stages of sleep: deep and superficial. An adult, depending on the degree of fatigue, can very quickly (within a few seconds) plunge into a deep sleep and remain in it until the end of the night. In the first months of life, the infant has a superficial sleep; this phase also prevails during daytime sleep. When going to night sleep, the surface phase lasts an average of twenty minutes. After this, the deep sleep phase begins, which continues until the first nightly feeding.

Superficial sleep is very beneficial. During this period, the brain assimilates all the information received during the wakeful period. The assimilation of emotions and new sensations occurs, the baby may have a vivid dream.

Deep sleep in infants is very strong. When the baby is in this phase, it is very difficult to wake him. The child does not respond to external stimuli, his sleep is stronger than that of an adult. In this phase, the baby’s body “reboots”, forces are restored, the work of internal organs is renewed, and the energy reserve is replenished.

Sleep rates

While the child is in infancy, he does not have a daily routine. Do not force the child to sleep if he does not want to. And, accordingly, do not wake him if the newborn sleeps a lot. The kid himself knows how much he should sleep. Average sleep rates in children under one and a half years of age are presented in the table.

The smallest day and night sleeps are approximately the same in duration. The older the child becomes, the more stable the night's sleep becomes. A long day is replaced by one or two not so long. Fear may cause the deviation of the data presented in this table by 4-5 hours in plus. Then we can assume that the newborn is sleeping a lot, and there is reason to contact a neurologist.

Why the newborn sleeps a lot

In a short time after birth, the baby needs to learn how to roll over, crawl, sit, walk. It takes a lot of strength. Therefore, it is the norm for a small child to sleep a lot. But there are exceptions when a baby’s sleep really lasts longer than it should be by age.

Signs of abnormal development:

1. If before that, the baby was sleeping within acceptable limits, but suddenly his sleep became very long.
2. Long sleep is accompanied by fever.
3. During wakefulness, and sometimes in a dream, a quiet faint cry is observed.
4. The general condition during wakefulness is weak, lethargic.
5. In a dream, a child cannot breathe for a long time.
6. Dehydration is observed, the baby's skin is not elastic.
7. There is a smell of acetone from the mouth, pallor or redness of the skin, a change in the structure of feces.
8. Lack of appetite, refusal of food.

If any of the above signs match, this is an occasion to immediately consult a doctor. The main reason why a newborn baby sleeps a lot and eats little is the normalization of the work of internal organs. For the first time after childbirth, the baby receives milk or a mixture, the stomach begins to work. The child’s liver is still poorly developed, so bilirubin rises in the blood, which causes drowsiness.

Infant nutrition

The concern of parents may also be caused by the fact that the newborn eats little. The frequency of food intake in children eating the mixture and breast-fed children is different. The amount of food at one time is almost the same.

The amount of complementary foods may vary individually for each baby. The surest way to check whether the newborn really eats little is to monitor the increase in height and weight of the child.

How much should an infant gain in weight:

• 1 month - 600 grams;
• 2-3 months - 800 grams;
• 4-12 months - minus 50 grams from the norm (i.e., the 4th - 750 grams, the 5th - 700, etc.)

By the year, weight gain per month is an average of 350 grams.

Growth increase:

• 1-2 months - 3 centimeters;
• 3-4 months - 2.5 cm;
• 6-8 month - 2 cm;
• 9-12 month - 1.5 cm.

Experts recommend: watch your child. If the baby’s health does not cause anxiety, he is cheerful, emotionally developed (according to his age), then fears are in vain. He has enough food, even if you don’t think so. If you worry that the newborn eats a lot and sleeps a lot, then nursing mothers can be calm - the child will not eat more than necessary. On artificial feeding, it is recommended to use the WHO standards so as not to overfeed the child.

Why a newborn can eat little

There are many reasons for this behavior of the child, for clarity, we will consider them all:

• Colic. During breastfeeding, the baby may not take the nipple correctly. In this regard, during the absorption of food, air enters the stomach with milk. From this, the child can conclude that when he eats, his stomach hurts, so he stops eating well.
• Disease. Diseases can affect the amount of food a baby eats. It can be a birth injury, congenital disease or acquired. The child becomes lethargic, does not feel well and is physically unable to eat normally. This happens in premature babies.
• Headache. Often babies react to the weather, become tearful and eat little. Over time, this will pass.
• Breastfeeding is not established. Almost every young mother has difficulties at the initial stage of breastfeeding. In the maternity hospital, as a rule, they do not explain to their mother what needs to be done. And you have to act on a hunch. In such a delicate matter, every nuance is important: the pose of the newborn, and the pose of the mother, and the shape of the nipple. The first days of feeding are the most important. The breast, which has never once fed this child, should get used to the process. At first, cracks and very painful sensations are possible. For the mother, the main thing is not to give up and endure. The inconvenience is temporary, the breast will soon get used to it, and the baby will receive enough food. The main thing is not to give up breastfeeding, it is invaluable for the baby’s immunity.
• Excessive curiosity. The kid is too keen on looking at objects on the sides, not having time to eat on time. Therefore, it is so important to feed the child alone and calm, without talking around and too much noise.
• Teething. This is a long period when the baby not only eats badly, but can be nervous, be tearful, fever and sleep disturbance are possible. Periodically, after the eruption of the next tooth, temporary relief comes, and you can relax a bit, during this period, feeding is established.
• Little girl. There are children who naturally eat little. Most likely, this will continue in the future. Do not worry, the children are all different, most importantly, do not force the child to eat. This may turn into an aversion to food and psychological deviations in the future.
• Not in the mood. The child already has his own character, despite his young age. Perhaps he cried for a long time or hit. The nipple will help to calm the baby, or you can hold it in your hands, shake it. The appetite will return later.

How to help your baby with breastfeeding

In cases where there are no developmental abnormalities, no diseases have been identified, but still the newborn baby sleeps a lot and eats little, then there may be reasons associated with errors in breastfeeding. For instance:

• Physiological irregular shape of the nipple. The child becomes uncomfortable, he grabs a lot of air instead of milk. Chest pads, which are sold in network children's stores and pharmacies, will help. They also help relieve pain in the early stages of feeding.
• Mom does not follow a diet. In this case, milk may not be very tasty, and the child begins to eat less or completely abandon the breast. Young mother should not neglect diet. Refuse fast food, less fatty and sweeter. With fruits, you must also be careful, exclude all red fruits, do not eat a lot of apples. Give up bad habits. Alcohol and cigarettes are excluded.
• Too much milk causes the breast to become stiff. In the case when the mother is “milk” and the baby does not cope with the amount, it is necessary to express. Thus, you will lighten the chest, and the baby will receive a lot of healthy milk, since the first, more watery and empty, will leave.
• Incorrect feeding position. In this case, the child is simply uncomfortable, so he eats quickly so that mom changes her position. From fatigue in an uncomfortable position, the baby quickly falls asleep and does not eat up.
• Too strong smell from mom. Perhaps the perfume was used or the mother ate something with a strong smell - all this can disrupt the newborn's appetite.
• Stress. The child feels the mood of the mother. If something prevents her from remaining calm and balanced, then the cause must be eliminated.
• With the onset of a new pregnancy, the quality of milk deteriorates. Probably, over time, it will disappear completely.

Daily regime

In order for the child to feel good and stay in a good mood, it is necessary to establish the daily regimen. In the first two to three months after birth, this is almost impossible to do, so you have to adapt to the baby. Starting from four months, it becomes possible to organize a day. Each child is individual. Like adults, babies can be larks and owls, youngsters and those who eat a lot and for a long time.

The first thing that will help to cope with the establishment of the daily regimen is a sleep diary. Get a special notebook and record what time the child went to bed, what time he got up. And so every day. After three to four days, it will become approximately clear what time it is convenient for the baby to go to bed. This is called a "window to sleep." It is at this time that it is better to lay it in the future and plan feeding and procedures between the rest.

As for feeding, child psychologists recommend feeding the baby on demand. So you do not overfeed him and he will not remain hungry. Over time, each mother begins to distinguish the timbre of her baby’s crying, it becomes clear to her whether he wants to eat, or his stomach hurts, or he just missed.

The daily routine will make it clear whether the newborn really sleeps a lot and eats little or eats a lot and sleeps little. Thus, the life of young parents will return to normal, there will be some free time to devote to himself or to each other. After all, it has become so small.

Recommendations of specialists

Pediatricians recommend that if the newborn sleeps a lot, remember that sleep is closely related to all components of a child’s life: eating, hygiene, ambient temperature, clothing, etc. Basic rules that must be observed:

• Parents need a good rest. Be sure to get enough sleep. For example, you can do this when the baby sleeps during the day.
• Observe the daily routine, try not to deviate from it. Create a ritual before bedtime (bathing, song, reading a book, etc.). Children love everything constant, try to perform the ritual regardless of location.
• Separate the place for the baby to sleep in a way that is convenient for everyone: both the parents and the child himself.
• If the newborn sleeps a lot during the day and little at night, then do not be afraid to wake him.
• An active day contributes to a good night's sleep.
• The air in the bedroom should be fresh.
• A long bath before bedtime, massage and clean warm clothing contribute to a healthy night's sleep.

Finally

Most often, parental worries that the newborn eats poorly and sleeps a lot are in vain. If there are any deviations from the norm, then they are accompanied by additional symptoms described above. The main thing that is required of young parents is to remain calm. Mom needs to watch the baby, especially at first. Compliance with the daily routine and the implementation of the rules of breastfeeding will allow you to notice the appearance of deviations in time, which are worth paying attention to the pediatrician. Be attentive to the baby, his life is just beginning, and how it starts will depend entirely on the parents.

Each child is individual, when the next baby appears, everything will have to go through again. The main thing, remember that worrying about the health of the child is normal, do not be afraid to ask questions to specialists even at the slightest suspicion. You will save your nerves and, possibly, the baby’s health by contacting a doctor in a timely manner.