If baby sleeps for a long time, cries little, parents are happy that they have such calm child, does not cause much trouble, gives you the opportunity to relax. But you shouldn’t always be happy about this; this feature should alert the mother that perhaps not everything is in order with the baby’s health. What does it mean when a baby sleeps a lot, what is the danger of this situation?
In order for a newborn baby to develop harmoniously, it is necessary good nutrition mother's breast milk and healthy sleep, but a reasonable balance between these important components is required.
Physiologically, a baby is designed in such a way that it needs to feed frequently. After all, the volume of his stomach is small, approximately 7 ml, and the structure breast milk is such that it is easily processed by the digestive system and absorbed quickly, the process takes no more than an hour. Therefore, the mother should put the baby to her breast every hour or hour and a half.
When a baby has difficulty sucking, he sleeps too much and doesn't get enough nutrition. After all, he sucks out milk little by little and rarely. The lack of useful components, nutritional components and liquid leads to the fact that the baby gradually loses strength, becomes lethargic, and it seems to the parents that he is simply calm.
It turns out to be a vicious circle, the baby becomes weaker every day, sleeps constantly, and does not ask for the breast. This behavior should alert parents, because no one healthy child, will not sleep if he is hungry.
Why does my baby eat poorly?
Why does a child have difficulty eating? There can be many reasons:
- Often, difficulties arise for a baby if he did not suckle at the breast in the first days when colostrum was produced.
- Children experience problems if the mother has a peculiar nipple structure: they have a flat or elongated shape. When a baby has difficulty sucking, he refuses food.
- If mommy doesn't follow a diet, the milk changes taste. The child may not like this, he refuses the breast or eats too little.
- When a woman has excess milk, the baby chokes and refuses to eat. It happens that the nipple becomes rough, and it is difficult for the baby to wrap his lips around it. The baby gets tired and falls asleep at the breast without eating. To prevent this situation from arising, it is better to express the first portion of milk before feeding, so that it is easier for the baby to latch on to the nipple.
- Sometimes a child has a poorly developed sucking reflex or there is a pathology and he cannot suck. This is usually detected in maternity hospital, but sometimes the defect cannot be diagnosed at an early stage. For example, when the cleft palate is located deep in the mouth.
- Perhaps the baby has a cold, his nose is stuffy, and it’s difficult for him to breathe when sucking.
- If the baby has colic or otitis media, he also does not eat well.
- When the mother takes antibiotics, the child develops candidiasis (thrush), pain in oral cavity does not allow you to eat properly.
To solve the problem faster, you should find out the cause; if you cannot normalize breastfeeding, you will have to switch to a mixed diet.
Other causes of drowsiness
There are other factors that affect infant drowsiness:
- In case of long and difficult labor, if additional medications, the baby is able to sleep a lot and for a very long time.
- If a mother does not breastfeed her baby correctly, this provokes malnutrition: the baby quickly gets tired and falls asleep. If you can’t organize the feeding process correctly, you can consult with more experienced friends, or better yet, with a specialist.
- Sometimes sound and long sleep is provoked by the environment. Conversations in raised voices, constant television on, bright lighting tire the baby’s psyche, and in such conditions he falls asleep very quickly. So small organism protects the nervous system from overload. The pattern was discovered a long time ago: if there is noise in the apartment, children sleep for a long time, but such rest is not considered complete.
Alexandra, 33 years old: my son slept for a long time during windy weather, this did not cause any problems, he ate well before and after sleep, woke up, was cheerful and cheerful, and slept less on ordinary days. It’s just that, apparently, he’s weather dependent.
Therefore, the mother’s task is to constantly monitor the baby’s behavior. When he sleeps for a long time, this cannot be ignored.
The dangers of infrequent feeding
When a breastfeeding baby receives nutrition once every 3 hours or less, this is a deviation from the norm. The schedule can cause complications and health problems that will require long-term treatment to eliminate:
- With a lack of fluid, dehydration develops; for a baby, this condition is dangerous in itself, and the situation often ends in hospitalization.
- When a newborn has increased bilirubin(neonatal jaundice) he needs to drink more fluids to remove the substance from the blood. When a child sleeps a lot and suckles little, the concentration of bilirubin does not decrease; on the contrary, the course of jaundice becomes more complicated.
- Due to the fact that the baby rarely nurses, less milk comes in and its arrival is delayed.
The first abundant flow of milk causes congestion in the chest, the baby does not suck it enough, there is a risk of developing mastitis. - After childbirth in women, stimulation of the mammary glands by sucking promotes contractions of the uterus. This helps the organ return to normal faster and reduce the amount of blood released.
- With insufficient nutrition, the baby's blood glucose level decreases, which makes possible development hypocemia.
Therefore, when the child sleeps all the time, the mother needs to sound the alarm and urgently take measures to eliminate the critical situation.
What to do
When the baby is sleeping and feeding time has come, you should not wait for him to wake up; you should still feed him. It is not always necessary to wake up the baby, just take him in your arms and bring the breast to his mouth, he will feel the proximity of milk and begin to suck.
If the baby does not wake up, he should be woken up. It is important that the baby receives adequate nutrition to grow healthy.
So that the child does not get scared when he wakes up, he must be woken up correctly. They do this during shallow sleep; you can understand when this period has begun by the following signs:
- the eyelids tremble and open slightly;
- it is noticeable how the eyeballs move under them;
- facial expressions appear on the face;
- sometimes limbs tremble;
- the child makes other movements, this is especially noticeable if you lightly touch his face.
To prevent your baby from closing his eyes and falling asleep again when he opens his eyes, it is better to dim the lighting.
When urgent action is needed
Prolonged sleep is a signal that the baby is not doing well. In any case, you cannot do without consulting a doctor. If the situation is not out of control, it can be corrected. But when signs of deterioration appear, an ambulance should be called urgently:
- the child does not wake up for more than 5 hours;
- lies in almost the same position;
- I can’t wake him up;
- the skin and mucous membranes have turned pale or turned blue;
- increased sweating;
- breathing is heavy, shallow.
This indicates a serious condition; if even one of the signs is present, urgent measures are necessary.
The mother of a newborn should contact a pediatrician in any case of changes in the baby’s behavior. And you shouldn’t be embarrassed, it’s better to disturb the doctor in vain than to miss real danger. And you should be happy when the baby often asks for the breast, this means that he is healthy and developing well.
Is my baby sleeping a lot - is it normal or should I be concerned?
Often parents are faced with the problem when the baby eats little and sleeps a lot. This lifestyle of a newborn baby should worry parents, because normally a child should eat frequently from the first days of life, waking up every 2-3 hours.
A newborn baby sleeps a lot, because he is just adapting to other living conditions, which takes a lot of energy from him. At this time, he gains strength and grows. Sleep duration small child depends on the characteristics of his body. However, other factors can also affect sleep. These include:
1. Difficult childbirth. The birth process- a lot of stress for the child. And difficult childbirth weakens the newborn’s body so much that in the first days he can sleep around the clock, waking up only to feed. Often, when complications occur, a woman in labor takes medications. Components pharmacological agents enter the newborn’s blood and are removed from there quite slowly, which also affects the baby’s drowsiness.
2. Malnutrition. There are several reasons why an infant is malnourished. But all of them lead to the fact that the baby does not receive the required amount of milk and as a result becomes weaker. Malnutrition leads to lethargy and drowsiness.
3. Noise and bright light. Interestingly, newborns fall asleep best in bright light or noisy environments. These factors act on children as irritants, from which they protect themselves by deep sleep.
4. Vaccination. Vaccinations begin for children from birth. Often during the vaccination period, newborns are prescribed antiallergic and antipyretic drugs that have a calming effect. Therefore, long sleep for several days after vaccination - normal phenomenon for babies.
5. Diseases. Children who receive breast milk have strong immunity. However, this only applies to those newborns who are breastfed, artificial feeding does not protect the child from diseases. They are more likely to be disturbed colds, colic or abdominal pain. And in infancy, any illness is stress for the body. Sleep helps restore strength.
Baby sleeps a lot and eats little, should you worry?
It is normal for a newborn to sleep a lot, eat little and be uninterested in the environment in the first weeks after birth. During this period, the infant sleeps almost all the time, spending up to 20 hours a day in sleep. Only by the first year of life is it time general sleep is reduced to 12-13 hours a day.
However, sleep norms, like those, are changeable and depend on the characteristics of the baby’s body. In the first month infant Up to 700 ml of milk per day is enough. By the baby's first complementary feeding, this figure increases to 1000 ml. But sometimes a newborn eats little and does not feel hungry. If the newborn baby is cheerful, healthy, and gaining weight well, then there are no problems. You should be concerned if newborn babies sleep constantly, do not ask to eat at all, and often cry while awake.
What determines a baby's appetite?
In the first days of life, the stomach of a newborn baby can hold no more than 10 ml of milk. With each month, the amount of food consumed by the baby increases. However, some newborn babies eat a lot and constantly ask for the breast, while others often refuse to feed. For one child, a small amount of milk is normal, while for another, the appetite may have disappeared due to some reason.
Most often, refusal to eat is caused by the following reasons:
1. Lactation disturbance. Often, young mothers simply do not know how to wean a newborn to the breast. If a baby cannot latch on to the breast, this can lead to problems with lactation. Milk is produced in insufficient quantities, so after each feeding the baby either remains hungry or begins to suck formula from a bottle as supplementary feeding, switching to artificial feeding.
2. Excess milk. It is not uncommon for a mother to produce too much milk. During feeding, milk flows into the baby's mouth. The baby begins to choke and refuses to breastfeed.
3. The milk has changed taste. When a mother eats something bitter or sour, the milk takes on an unpleasant taste for the baby. This also happens if a woman becomes pregnant again during breastfeeding.
4. Choice. An incorrectly selected mixture is the cause of poor appetite in artificial babies. The composition of the diet must be appropriate for the baby’s age and not cause allergies or discomfort in the digestive system.
5. Illness. Any disorders (from short frenulum to pathologies digestive system) can be the reason why a newborn eats little.
But not always poor appetite associated with negative factors. Breast milk, like artificial formula, has different composition. If the milk is fatty and nutritious, then the baby will be satisfied with a small amount, so it will not require feeding for a long time.
A baby's desire to feed depends on many factors: mood, amount of energy expended, the taste of the mother's milk, and even how comfortable the mother's nipples are, the size of the opening, and the softness of the breast.
The baby's appetite appears when the mother manages to establish the correct one. If there is an excess of milk, before feeding, one breast is expressed, then the other, and the baby without any problems receives the amount of food that he needs. Appetite also depends on the lifestyle of the newborn. If you walk with your child more often, play, and bathe him, the baby will spend more energy and eat more often.
How to feed a baby if he doesn't wake up
Pediatricians advise feeding a newborn on demand, not on a schedule. But what to do if the newborn does not eat well and does not ask for milk due to prolonged sleep? If more than 3-4 hours have passed since the last feeding, and the newborn does not require food, then he must be woken up.
It is best to wake up the baby in the phase REM sleep. The stage can be determined by the child’s behavior. During the deep sleep phase, he is completely relaxed and does not respond to touch. If the sleep is superficial, then when you touch the child, his muscles tense.
The newborn has a well-developed sucking reflex. He will start sucking even in his sleep if you bring a breast or a bottle of formula to his lips. Therefore, it is not necessary to wake the baby completely for feeding. And in order for the feeding procedure to take place in conditions that are comfortable for the newborn, you need to remove his diapers, and then change the diaper.
When to sound the alarm
A newborn baby sleeps continuously for 2-3 hours. From 2 months duration of continuous nap increases to 3-4 hours, and at night the baby can sleep up to 5 hours. However, a lot depends on the child’s body. For some children, normal values may deviate by 30-60 minutes. If the health of the newborn is in order and illnesses do not bother you, then there is nothing to worry about.
Sleeping too long should alert you if a newborn baby sleeps a lot, eats little, and at the same time slowly gains weight and lags behind other children of his age in growth and development. Do not confuse newborn drowsiness with lethargy. Uninterrupted sleep that lasts more than 4-5 hours and the baby’s inactive behavior during wakefulness should alert you. If a child is not eating well or suddenly begins to eat less, is almost not awake, even if he sleeps normally without whims, then this is a reason to contact a pediatrician.
When do you need a doctor?
Prolonged sleep can be a signal of illness. You should immediately consult a doctor if, during sleep, the newborn breathes heavily, sweats profusely, practically does not move, and does not respond to touch or attempts to wake him up.
Help from a specialist breastfeeding necessary if the newborn is not gaining weight well. Insufficient or improper feeding affects the health of the baby. If for some reason the mother has not normalized the feeding process, then it is better to consult a specialist. A doctor is also necessary if the child himself refuses to eat.
For a newborn baby proper development You need regular meals and good, long sleep. In the first weeks of life, the child sleeps most of the day, waking up briefly to eat. It is important to pay close attention to how much your baby sleeps and how often he eats, since excessive sleep and lack of food indicate health problems.
How much should a baby eat
The volume of a newborn's stomach is very small - immediately after birth it holds about 7 ml, but it expands quite quickly, adapting to the body's increasing need for food. A two-month-old baby can eat up to 150 g of mother's milk or artificial formula at one feeding.
Pediatricians believe that in favorable conditions (the baby is correctly applied to the breast and is completely healthy), the baby eats exactly as much food as he needs for proper development, and the mother’s body adjusts and produces the required volume of milk.
A healthy baby wakes up about 10 times a day and demands food - breast milk is quickly digested and he needs a new portion. On empty stomach active child can't sleep.
The speed of digestion is affected not only by the volume of milk consumed, but also by its chemical composition, fat content. To understand whether a newborn eats the amount of food that his body requires, it is enough to count the number of urinations per day - there should be about 12 wet diapers.
If a child eats little and spends almost all his time sleeping, this is convenient for his parents, who get enough sleep at night and have time to cope with all their affairs during the day. But you should not rejoice at the baby’s calmness, since insufficient nutrition is the cause and consequence of certain disorders.
A newborn who, for some reason, eats little, loses strength, his body goes into an “energy-saving mode” - this is what explains constant drowsiness. The weaker the child, the more difficult it is for him to wake up, even when he is hungry. It turns out to be a vicious circle that can lead to sad consequences.
A child who rarely and eats little does not receive enough nutrients, but also the fluid itself. This threatens dehydration, which is very dangerous for the baby. In the most extreme cases, only doctors can save you from dehydration and its consequences.
Underfeeding: consequences
A deviation from the norm is considered if the newborn requires the breast less often than every 3 hours and the number of wet diapers per day is less than 10. Such a feeding schedule indicates that the child does not have enough strength. TO related problems relate:
- Low immunity. If a newborn does not receive enough colostrum and early breast milk, which contain the maximum of substances necessary to develop its own immunity, its body will remain susceptible to infections.
- Difficulty sucking. It is important for the baby to latch onto the breast correctly in the first days, otherwise he will not only receive less useful material, but will not be able to fully suck milk in the future - this results in malnutrition and weakening of the body. Usually such problems arise if the mother's breasts.
- Severe jaundice. To remove bilirubin from the child’s body, which stains tissue yellowish color, he needs to consume more fluid. If the baby eats little, his jaundice progresses longer and more difficult.
- Delayed milk supply. Active breastfeeding by newborns in the first few days of life contributes to the flow of full-fledged milk. Insufficient stimulation of the nipples by a poorly sucking baby delays the process, and the baby does not receive enough nutrients.
- . If the baby is not feeding well, he does not suck out the milk that comes in, which threatens stagnation and inflammatory processes in the chest.
- Postpartum bleeding. Frequent and intense stimulation of the nipples during feedings causes the uterus to actively contract. If your newborn doesn't eat well, it increases the risk of postpartum hemorrhage.
Malnutrition increases the risk of hypoglycemia in an infant.
It's important to know the symptoms reduced content blood glucose in an infant:
- increased sleepiness - it is difficult to wake up the baby, he is relaxed and spends almost all his time sleeping;
- lethargy – the child has no interest in the world around him;
- heavy sweating - undershirts and diapers quickly become wet;
- shuddering in sleep;
- rapid shallow breathing;
- paleness of the skin and mucous membranes;
- refusal to eat or sluggish sucking.
If you notice any symptoms from the above list, you should immediately consult a doctor.
Why might a newborn sleep too much?
There are a number of reasons why a newborn sleeps a lot.
1. Pharmacology during childbirth. In case of complicated protracted labor, during which the mother was administered any drugs, the child, through the general bloodstream, receives a dose of drugs that affect its activity in the first hours and days after birth. In this case, the baby sleeps a lot and skips feedings.
2. Incorrectly organized feeding process. A baby who latch onto the breast incorrectly due to the shape of the nipple or an awkward body position spends too much energy trying to get food and falls asleep from fatigue, remaining hungry. If your child is not gaining weight well and is inactive, you should definitely consult a breastfeeding specialist to rule out this problem.
Problems can also arise when there is a strong flow of milk, which causes the breasts to become hard. In this case, it is enough to express some of the milk so that the nipple and the area around it become elastic.
3. Environment. Contrary to the belief that newborns require silence and the absence of bright light to fall asleep, it is easier for babies to fall asleep in a noisy environment - this works defense mechanism, protecting the nervous system from overload.
This means that in a house where the TV is on or music is playing all the time, people are talking, noisy household appliances are regularly turned on, the baby will constantly want to sleep. At the same time, his sleep is restless, his body does not fully rest, which negatively affects his health.
Wake up and feed
A newborn should be fed on demand, but what to do if the baby does not require food, but continues to sleep for 5-6 hours in a row or even more? Pediatricians believe that the maximum allowable interval between feedings of a child in the first months of life is 5 hours.
Some children ask for food every hour, others do not show concern at a feeding interval of 2-4 hours - this depends on the baby’s body and the nutritional properties of breast milk. But if you see that the child does not wake up for more than 4 hours, wake him up to feed him. This will give the baby strength, and, having become stronger, he will begin to wake up on his own.
It is advisable to wake up a child in the REM phase, since the body is reluctant to come out of deep sleep, and this affects well-being.
To determine the stage of sleep, take your baby by the hand:
- if the hand remains limp - deep sleep;
- if the muscles are tense, the sleep is shallow.
Superficial sleep is also indicated by facial expressions on the face of a sleeping baby, movements eyeballs under the eyelids, twitching of arms and legs. It is not necessary to wake the baby completely - just give him the breast, and his sucking reflex will work.
Before feeding your baby, remove excess diapers from him - the baby should not be hot, this reduces appetite. Make sure there is no bright light in the room. After eating, change the diaper and diapers, since feeding after a long period of time
For every family, the birth of a child is a grand event. And young parents prepare themselves in advance for the fact that in the first months they will not get enough sleep at night. And in some cases, children are born who, from the first days of their lives, sleep abnormally a lot, more than 20 hours. Of course, at first, young mothers are happy that they can get enough sleep at night and have time to do things around the house. But over time, they begin to worry and wonder why the baby sleeps a lot?
The importance of sleep and nutrition for a baby
For proper physiological and psychological development, the baby should sleep a lot and eat a lot. These are the two main components of a baby’s diet, on which its health depends.
Many parents rejoice at a calm and obedient baby who sleeps a lot and is not capricious. At first glance, it seems that the baby is full and happy with everything, and this may be true if he receives nutrients along with his mother's milk on time.
Of course, a child should sleep exactly as much as he wants, but do not forget that for the full development of a newborn, not only deep sleep, but also timely feeding with breast milk.
In the first 6 weeks, the baby sleeps a lot, 17 - 20 hours a day, waking up every 1.5-2 hours only to eat. So frequent awakening the baby is due to the fact that in the first weeks all newborns have a very small ventricle and can only hold a teaspoon of milk. And although maternal colostrum is very nutritious and fatty, it is processed in the child’s ventricle quite quickly.
Should you worry?
The reason for this behavior can be both the individual characteristics of the child’s body and negative factors, which inexperienced mothers may not notice. Therefore, at the slightest suspicion of excessive lethargy and drowsiness of the baby, you should seek advice from your local pediatrician. It is better, as they say, to be safe than to miss a dangerous moment!
Do I need to wake up my baby?
There are very frequent cases when in the first days a newborn does not eat well and sleeps almost constantly; this is primarily due to adaptation to the new world around him and rest after the difficult process of childbirth.
It’s one thing if a newborn sleeps a lot and when put to the breast, without waking up, begins to suck milk and, having had enough, continues to sleep. This behavior is quite common and normal, because it is in their sleep that babies develop and grow best.
But there are times when young mothers do not monitor the frequency of feeding and do not put the baby to the breast while he sleeps. If the child is calm and sleeps a lot, this does not mean that he is well-fed, such babies must be woken up and fed, or at least try to put the sleeping child to the breast, having smelled the milk, he can start sucking without waking up.
Shallow sleep in babies
Some young mothers try to teach their babies to sleep through the night without feeding, which is absolutely not allowed. Long sleep(over 5 hours) threatens to dehydrate the baby’s body.
Unlike adults, average duration sleep of which is 8 hours, falling asleep, an adult immediately falls into a phase of long (deep) sleep, lasting 2-3 hours. In infants deep dream it is much shorter and it develops over time; when they fall asleep, they immediately fall into the phase of superficial (rapid eye movement) sleep, and deep sleep comes later and lasts a short time. And therefore, frequent awakening is the norm for infants.
It is necessary to wake up infants very carefully and only during REM sleep.
Superficial sleep is not difficult to recognize:
- trembling of the eyelids;
- movement of arms and legs;
- the appearance of facial expressions.
And also, if, when touching the newborn’s face, he makes sucking movements and looks for the breast, this will be the best moment for feeding.
The dangers of long sleep
Review of the most popular vitamin supplements for children from Garden of Life
How can Earth Mama products help new parents care for their babies?
Dong Quai - an amazing plant that helps maintain youth female body
Vitamin complexes, probiotics, omega-3 from Garden of Life, designed specifically for pregnant women
Infrequent breastfeeding leads not only to weakness and lethargy of the baby, but also to problems with lactation and further development mastopathy in the mother. And for infants this is fraught dangerous consequences for health, since, for the full development of the body, they do not receive the required amount of fluid, nutrients and microelements.
Constant malnutrition can ultimately lead to sad consequences, such as: lethargy, irritability, dehydration, hypocemia, jaundice, low level glucose in the baby's blood.
Difficult birth
The birth process is just as stressful for the baby as it is for its mother, so in the first days newborns sleep almost constantly, waking up only for a few minutes to eat.
Prolonged sleep for babies may also be a consequence medicines, used during difficult childbirth. During long and difficult labor, doctors cannot do without using pharmacological drugs stimulating labor, such drugs can cause long sleep in a newborn, since these drugs enter his blood.
In some particularly severe cases, the child may temporarily lose the sucking reflex and the ability to control proper reflex swallowing and breathing at the mother’s breast.
Malnutrition
Incorrect attachment to the breast can also cause malnutrition in the baby. Due to the influx of milk, the mother's breasts become very tight, the nipples become rough and the baby's small mouth cannot fully grasp them. After several unsuccessful attempts, he gets tired and falls asleep hungry, never having received the required portion of milk. Each time, from constant malnutrition, the baby becomes weaker, this leads to lethargy and increased drowsiness.
The baby may also refuse to eat in cases where a large amount of milk flows into his mouth, causing him to choke and become frightened. Therefore, in order for the breasts to become softer and milk not to flow too much, before each feeding the mother should express a little milk.
Bright light
Oddly enough, bright light can act as a sleeping pill on babies and cause prolonged sleep. A noisy room with bright lighting is not the best place for a newborn to sleep. The little ones quickly fall asleep under such conditions, but they sleep very restlessly, and such sleep cannot be considered complete.
Teething
Teething can also cause sleep disturbances in children, causing discomfort, some discomfort for babies. I cried all night from painful sensations, he will naturally sleep off during the day and this is a completely adequate reaction of a tired body.
Remember - nothing restores the immunity and strength of infants like mother's milk!
Graft
In the first year of life, babies are vaccinated to develop immunity to a number of dangerous diseases. Usually, after vaccination, children are given antiallergic and antipyretic medications, which have a soporific effect, so children sleep a lot in the first and most difficult hours after vaccination, which is common and normal.
Diseases
By 3 months, when the child’s body has already fully adapted, daytime sleep no longer takes so much time. But in cases where children have suffered various diseases, they sleep a lot, because, to fight infection, the child’s body spends great amount energy.
This is considered normal physiological phenomenon, after all past illness the child is weakened, and long sleep helps restore spent strength. You should not panic in such situations; watch your baby for 24 hours, listen to his breathing, check his temperature and complexion. If all these readings are normal, you should not worry. Give him a rest and gain strength. And, of course, periodically put the baby to the breast.
Sleep standards
At the age of 1.5 - 2 months, children begin to sleep a little longer at night, but you should not expect that the baby will sleep all night long; he can endure a maximum of 5-6 hours without food. After feeding and changing the diaper, the mother can put the baby to bed next to her. After all co-sleeping very convenient for a mother whose child sleeps a lot and eats little, since you can feed him without waking him up. And also, sleeping next to the mother is very important for the general and psychological development of the child. The beat of the mother's heart, touch, her smell, warmth are well known to the baby, which allows him to calm down and feel psychologically comfortable and safe.
According to pediatricians, daily norm sleep of a child aged 2 one month old, should not exceed 16 - 18 hours, of which 4-5 hours of continuous sleep only once a day. Exceeding the indicator is a reason to go to a specialist and find out the reason for the baby’s sleepy behavior.
Sleep as a wake-up call
All of the above cases regarding the child’s condition are not so dangerous and require consultation with specialists and local pediatricians. The following symptoms require urgent medical care:
- Prolonged sleep (more than 5 hours), without movement;
- Intermittent and shallow breathing of the baby;
- Fever;
- The mucous membranes and skin of the baby became bluish.
If a child exhibits at least one of the above symptoms, parents should urgently call an ambulance. Any delay can be fatal for the newborn.
Fresh air
For healthy and sound sleep, it is best to put babies to bed in a thoroughly ventilated and well-humidified room. The bed should not be very soft to prevent the soft edges of pillows or blankets from getting on the baby’s face.
Walking on fresh air play an important role in the full development of children. During hiking, a child sleeping in a stroller associates the rocking of the stroller with the lulling movements of the mother. Along with these sensations, an influx of oxygen saturates the blood, stimulates brain function and strengthens immune system, allows you to normalize healthy and sound sleep for the baby.
It will take a little time and you will get used to the new and very responsible role of a parent. Over time, the child’s daily routine will become stable, which will suit both the baby and his parents. And the question will lose its significance in your eyes. By teaching your child a proper and stable sleep pattern from early childhood, you will help him avoid many problems associated with physiological and mental development in the future.
Sleep is an integral part of human life, which is a normal physiological process. While in the mother's womb, children develop sleep and wake patterns. After birth, the established regime is maintained, but as the baby grows and develops, other needs arise.
Benefit physiological state for children different ages:
- height;
- filtering experienced moments;
- selection of information and memorization important events, according to the child;
- recovery nervous system;
- emotional attachment and development of perseverance and attentiveness;
- prevention of cardiovascular pathologies;
- strengthening the immune system.
For growing child's body sleep is necessary. There are special tables that clearly indicate the number of hours per day that a period of proper rest takes.
Newborn babies sleep for several hours and once a day. They wake up to eat and sometimes to empty their bowels.
After birth, babies sleep for 2-3 hours at a time and are awake for no more than 30 minutes. This condition persists for the first 3 months of life.
During this period, adaptation to the conditions occurs environment, babies are overcome by colic, which worsens the child’s sleep and causes sleepless nights for parents.
- from 3 to 6 months, children sleep for 15-16 hours, of which 3 naps during the day, and one full night;
- by the year the amount of daytime rest is reduced to 2, night rest takes at least 10 hours;
- from 18 to 24 months, the child’s daily routine is rethought, and the total number of hours of sleep is significantly reduced: daytime rest - no more than 2 hours (or 1 hour twice a day), night rest - about 10 hours;
- between the ages of 3 and 6 years the child attends kindergarten, where rest is prescribed once a day for at least 3 hours (at the age of 5 years and older, no more than 2 hours). The number of hours at night is no less than 9 and no more than 11;
- from 7 years old (beginning schooling) – the norm of sleep is from 8 to 10 hours. If desired, daytime naps are practiced on weekends when psychological stress is high, but take no more than 90 minutes.
Children's bodies are individual, and the data given is approximate.
Some children sleep more often than usual, while others are night owls and sleep lovers. However, many parents are concerned about why their child may sleep longer than usual and how to recognize possible pathological abnormalities.
Reasons for children's long sleep
As can be seen from the table, children of different ages have different biological rhythms, and, accordingly, different regimes. But there are generally accepted reasons for long baby sleep physiological and pathological nature.
If the child does not wake up or his hours of rest have increased by more than 5 hours, you should sound the alarm and seek medical help.
Physiological reasons for prolonged sleep in children of early development:
- innate biorhythms;
- baby overeating.
If the baby is cheerful and active while awake, then there is no reason to worry. At an older age physiological reason is the child's individual biorhythms.
There are several more pathological reasons:
- viral and cold infections;
- lethargy due to poor nutrition and lack of necessary nutrients;
- excess body weight;
- respiratory diseases and of cardio-vascular system;
- endocrine pathologies;
- hormonal changes in adolescents;
- mental stress;
- decreased hemoglobin (anemia);
- hypoglycemia.
Not excluded neurological problems, or violations in mental health baby. While awake, children are lethargic.
There is another problem - difficulty falling asleep for a child. There are no less reasons for this phenomenon.
How can it be dangerous?
At a young age, prolonged sleep can lead to fatal consequences.
Nutritional deficiency leads to weight loss, stunting of growth and development of the developing organism.
At older ages, personality deformation occurs, and chronic lack of sleep causes delays in the learning process. Children confuse periods of wakefulness and rest, metabolic processes are disrupted and systemic abnormalities develop.
The same thing happens when you lose sleep. The danger lies in the true causes of the pathological illness.
If prolonged drowsiness is associated with the occurrence of infections or colds, the body thus replenishes its strength to resist the pathological process.
When not to worry
Caring parents I’m interested in when there is no need to sound the alarm, but to let the child sleep.
Babies sleep longer than usual, so if during games they are active and cheerful, then there is no reason to panic.
The same thing happens in the younger and school age. Sometimes first-graders, due to their habit of napping during the day, go to bed earlier. This is normal and goes away over time.
Prolonged sleep in schoolchildren and adolescents is associated with rebuilding hormonal levels. Sometimes teenagers can sleep the whole day, for example on weekends. This is due to overexertion during the week.
There is no cause for concern if the skin color is normal, there is no nervous tension after sleep and usual teenage activities.
Attentive parents can pay attention to the desire to sleep during the day. Most likely, this fact is associated with a lack of night rest due to games or romantic relationships.
When to be wary
- If the child does not wake up for more than 5 hours during the day and 10 hours after night;
- if during wakefulness there is apathy and loss of appetite;
- when color changes skin(pallor or jaundice);
- in case of occurrence unpleasant odor acetone about your beloved child;
- with muscle lethargy and lack of desire to fulfill simple requests;
- if the child complains about pain syndrome muscular system;
- if the baby does not gain weight or has stopped developing, he does not hold his head up or sit down in accordance with the infant development chart;
- refuses food and falls asleep “on the go”;
- does not wake up to perform natural needs, but urinates on himself even at an older age.
Parents should consider reception medicines for illnesses of the child. Thus, some herbal or synthetic preparations have a number of side effects, one of which is drowsiness.
Possible consequences
Prolonged sleep of a pathological nature changes the child’s consciousness, confuses his orientation in time and space, and leads to inhibition metabolic processes and delay mental development.
However, long sleep physiological nature brings positive results:
- for example, children who sleep longer than usual are more resistant to stressful situations;
- infants are calmer and more mentally developed;
- adolescents have no external signs puberty – pimples or acne.
Please note that all the data provided is objective and can lead to serious consequences.
If parents are embarrassed by frequent and for long periods rest, you need to contact medical specialists in the field of sleep work - somnologists.
How to wake up a baby who has been sleeping for a long time
The method of awakening is an important part, especially if the child is disturbed pathological causes illness.
To wake up a newborn, you should pat him on the back, open or unwind the diaper. Raise your voice a little and say your desire to wake up the baby.
You can blow lightly on your face or massage your feet one at a time.
Another way to wake up a baby is finger games. You can sing a song or hold the baby in your arms.
To eliminate drowsiness syndrome in an older child, you need to properly organize your daily routine.
To wake up easily and quickly, you can resort to well-known “stretches”, nursery rhymes or sayings.
Do not yell at your child, play loud music, or raise your voice.
To wake up a teenager, you can use gadgets, electronic alarm clocks with your favorite song or original work.
Parents should not shout, swear, or throw water on their teenage child.
Family individuals, to whom the child is most inclined, play a special role in awakening. For some, the authority is their mother or father, brother, sister, or even grandparents.
If prolonged sleeping is due to individual characteristics body, awakening will be more or less easy.
If the reasons lie in development pathological conditions, you need to apply for qualified assistance and take the child to the doctor.
How to normalize your child's sleep time
There are a number of complexes that improve sleepy states:
- You should choose the right clothes for sleep. The fabric should be breathable, and the child likes the cut and colors;
- maintain a daily routine and, if necessary, introduce daytime breaks;
- go to bed at the same time, regardless of the day of the week;
- give preference proper nutrition, do not give chocolates and carbonated drinks before bedtime.
It is important to monitor the health of children, regardless of age, to talk and take an active part in the child’s life.
Prolonged sleep is one of the signs of development pathological processes, which is a way to combat the disease that has arisen. During deep rest, children grow, gain strength and recover.
Interesting video: how much sleep does a child need?
