One of the most important components of a child’s life, along with food, water, air, is healthy sleep. This is a source of energy, strength, and complete rest. Sleep has another function. It helps to calmly process the entire mass of information that the baby receives during the day. Adequate sleep is the key to health, comfort, and well-being.
Included in the sections: Child development Child health
Child's sleep norm
Tables of sleep norms for children depending on age:
Five rules for arranging a children's room
Child's sleep disturbance
Sleep is the basis for the health and proper development of a child. While the baby is sleeping, his body is recovering from everything that happened during the day. However, if he sleeps poorly, the process of exhaustion of the nervous system begins, irritability and tearfulness appear, which has a very bad effect on the life and mood of the whole family.
Sleep regression is a normal phenomenon and is associated with the restructuring of cycles. Side effects- frequent waking up at night and the fact that the quality of sleep in general is deteriorating. This period falls between 3 and 5 months of life. Usually the regime is restored after a few weeks, the sleep structure is fixed on a clear schedule. If the child is sensitive and very attached to his mother, the “sleepy” jump will appear very noticeably in him.
Regression duration
The baby sleeps poorly periodically: first at 14-17 weeks, then at six months, then between 8 and 10 months, then at one and a half and two years. This process predominates in next weeks life - 5, 8, 12, 19, 26, 37, 46 and 55. The duration is most often two weeks, but the crisis can drag on for a month and a half.
How to put your baby to sleep
Newborn babies sleep a lot, not only at night, but also during the day several times a day. As a rule, up to a month the baby falls asleep after each feeding. With this regime, when going to bed at night, you need to observe certain nuances so that the baby feels that the main period of rest has arrived.
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As the baby grows, rocking him becomes more and more difficult. The baby needs to be taught to fall asleep on his own. To get out of the habit of motion sickness, you need to organize a gradual transition to other sleepy procedures. It’s worth starting with a night’s sleep, when the child’s body is most inclined to rest.
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Newborn babies fall asleep immediately after breastfeeding, and this is normal. By the age of one year, pediatricians recommend gradually separating sleep and food. Nighttime sleep should not depend on feeding, so you need to wean off breastfeeding at night. Pediatricians believe that night sleep The baby should not associate it with feeding.
After the baby reaches about 9 months, he becomes more active, gets up, walks and also wakes up at night. How to wean off night feeding at this turbulent age?
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At one year old, the baby may no longer wake up at night, but only if he is healthy, spent the day active, and the evening was calm and the baby ate well. In order for your child to go to bed without any problems and rest all night, it is important to accustom him to a certain procedure.
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Children at this age are very active, and the psycho-emotional development of children leads to the emergence of many new impressions, including fears and reluctance to part with their mother even for the night. At this age, the child needs communication with his family; it is difficult for him to be alone in the evening.
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Once children reach the age of three, getting them into bed becomes more difficult, especially at the classic time of 9 p.m. If a child goes to bed late and attends kindergarten, you should not be fooled by the child’s reluctance to fall asleep, as in the morning he will be sleepy and tired.
Sleep safety
The issue of children's sleep safety remains one of the most pressing among mothers and fathers in our country. However, many parents still prefer to simply distance themselves from this painful topic. Why is it necessary to intimidate yourself with “horror films”? This formulation of the question is fundamentally incorrect. Indeed, in our case we are not talking about mythical “horror stories” at all, but about completely real threat: About 90% of accidents are caused by potentially dangerous behavior.
According to experts, one of the probable causes SIDS is a weakening of the child’s brain control over the functioning of the respiratory organs, body temperature and heartbeat. A significant percentage of disasters occur in cases of difficulty respiratory system the baby being pressed down by an adult’s body or various objects.
SIDS is the most common cause of death in children early age. So, in America, out of a thousand cases, one is talking about a dangerous Syndrome.
Some statistics:
- Boys die from SIDS 50% more often than girls;
- In 90% of cases, death occurs in babies who are not yet six months old (in most cases these are babies 2-4 months old). SIDS always occurs during the baby's night or daytime sleep.
Provoking factors can be divided into:
- Uncontrollable. This list includes insufficient maturity of the baby’s brain, other certain health problems, prematurity of the baby;
Managed. Smoking before and after the birth of a baby, unsafe conditions for night and day rest, and feeding with formula rather than breast milk, incorrect position of the baby’s body when sleeping (typical for children under six months).
Important! We have now listed the provoking factors, none of which can lead to the death of a child with 100% probability.
The sleep process and its benefits
Brain growth and development
Mothers know how long a newborn's sleep can be. Most babies sleep most of the day, waking up only to eat and briefly - about an hour - to communicate with their mother. Babies exist in this mode for the first 4–6 months of their lives.
It's not just the duration that's exceptional. baby sleep, but also its structure. The duration of the period, which scientists call “REM sleep,” is 2 times longer in newborns than in older children and adults. And this is no coincidence.
REM sleep is the time when dream images are formed in the cerebral cortex. With their help, new neural connections are formed. So it turns out that a newborn sleeps most of the day so that his brain grows and develops.Energy recharge
The main task of sleep is to restore energy. This is important at any age. Prolonged deep sleep “recharges” the body and brings a feeling of vigor. This is the so-called anabolic - accumulative - function of sleep.
It is extremely important that the baby sleeps a lot until six months and his sleep is deep, without frequent awakenings. During such rest, blood flows to the muscles, preparing them for future physical activity.
If a newborn does not get enough sleep, he becomes capricious and constantly asks to be held. Children of the same age who sleep well will be more active due to full recuperation. Their physical activity will manifest itself in attempts to roll over, sit, and then crawl.Development of memory and attention
Somnologists explain the importance of sleep by the fact that it allows a person to systematize acquired knowledge about the world around him. A growing and actively developing baby cannot do without this.
The process of systematization is based on different functions of the brain: attention, memory, ability to synthesize, etc. Sleep is a kind of catalyst and the main condition for the normal course of all this complex activity. It helps the baby process and organize the ideas received about the world around him.
No matter how hard the mother tries and takes the child to all kinds of developmental courses, if he doesn’t get enough sleep, they are of no use. It has been practically proven: children begin to do better in school if they only add 1-2 hours of sleep per day. Lack of sleep provokes not only falling behind in general education school curriculum. It is also directly related to such a common diagnosis as ADHD. IN full version- attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.Body growth
An adult needs sleep mainly to restore the energy spent during the day. For a child - for active growth. In the first 2 hours of sleep, the pituitary gland produces 80% of the growth hormone somatropin. If the child does not get enough sleep, then physical development he will probably lag behind.
Concerned about the lack of growth and physical weakness of their children, parents begin to look for the cause in some non-existent diseases. Pediatricians advise starting with proper organization child mode day. You need to put your baby to bed long before midnight, then he will get a good night's sleep and receive enough growth hormone.Mental recovery
Throughout the day, the baby receives a huge amount of varied information. His brain is "attacked" by visual, auditory and tactile images. Trying to give their child the maximum, modern parents actively use various kinds of stimulants, educational games, and developmental games.
This flow of information seriously overloads the brain and creates psycho-emotional stress. Sleep allows you to overcome this stress. It helps to organize the data received throughout the day and eliminate negative reactions. If your baby does not get enough sleep regularly, he will be nervous and moody from overload.
Many mothers notice: as soon as the child began to sleep well, his behavior changed. The baby calmed down and even began to smile more often. This once again confirms that sleep for babies is a unique natural source of psychological health.Strengthening the immune system
Included in the sections: Child development Child health According to the results of studies conducted in the USA, a person who does not get enough sleep has more weak immunity. It has 30% less than normal cells that eliminate viruses and bacteria. This is due to another important function of sleep, which can be called recharging the immune system.
While a person is sleeping, his immunity is most active. This is why sick people feel sleepy all the time. While they rest, the process of self-healing occurs.
Some children cannot fall asleep independently in their crib due to pain. Parents should create all conditions so that their sick baby gets enough sleep. If necessary, rock and cradle. Initial difficult period It will soon pass, and the baby will fall asleep without outside help. During this time, his immunity will do everything possible to ensure that the disease recedes.Always in a good mood
Adequate sleep sets good mood all day. Even adults become gloomy and unfriendly if they do not get enough sleep. If this happens to a small child, it will not be good for everyone in the household.
Lack of sleep affects babies in different ways. Some children are only a little capricious, cry, and then gradually return to more or less normal mode. Others react violently, “do not hear” their parents’ comments, and in some cases even become uncontrollable. If parents ignore the problem, they will eventually have to deal with a “difficult” child.Concentration and control of your body
Even an adult in a state of lack of sleep cannot perform high-quality actions that require concentration. Such as, for example, driving a car. There is a high probability of falling asleep at the wheel and getting into an accident. Children, without enough sleep, stumble over all corners, fall down stairs and generally have poor coordination of their actions.
The period of infancy is the time of physical exploration of space. You can't do without falls and bruises. Parents can help in this difficult matter if they make sure that the baby gets enough sleep. You should not allow yourself to become overtired. If you comply with sleep standards, the process of comprehending the world around you will be easier and more painless.Prevention of overeating
Lack of sleep can also cause weight problems. The body compensates for the lack of rest by consuming extra calories. The less a person sleeps, the more he eats. This rule applies to both infants and schoolchildren and their parents.
Many adults have probably noticed that in the evening the refrigerator beckons. This is explained by the fact that the body has spent a lot of energy during the day and now seeks to replenish it. American nutritional scientists have noticed one pattern: as soon as children reduce their sleep time, they begin to consume more high-calorie foods.
Lack of sleep reduces the production of a hormone that controls the feeling of fullness. The signal from the stomach reaches the brain more slowly. As a result, a person eats more than what he really needs. Regular overeating is a direct road to obesity. To prevent it, parents need to ensure that their children get enough sleep.Maternal depression
The first months of a baby’s life and the night feedings associated with them are very draining. nervous system mother. A baby's restless sleep makes a woman's emotional state unstable. This often leads to depression. There is also Feedback: Permanent stress in the mother has a bad effect on the baby’s psyche.
People usually call depression when it occurs periodically Bad mood. But true depression is a serious illness that requires treatment. It often appears in women who do not get enough sleep in the first 3 years of a baby’s life. According to statistics, almost 50% of such mothers require serious drug treatment.
Prevention postpartum depression- regular and good sleep. Spouses and other relatives can help by taking on some of the baby's care responsibilities. In general, everyone needs healthy sleep. It helps you to be strong, healthy and to endure any troubles.
Night comes on a silent path,
To overcome anxiety and fatigue,
To forget all the bad things,
But the good remains.
L. Derbenev
Sleep is a temporary “disconnection” of a person from the outside world.
The question of the purpose of sleep has not yet been completely resolved. However, most scientists agree on two essential functions sleep.
The first is the anabolic function of sleep (accumulation), which brings a feeling of physical rest, allowing you to accumulate energy potential and restore the ability to perceive new information.
The second is the function mental protection, closely related to unconscious processes that actively function in sleep.
Lack of sleep is expressed in the fact that people show less and less desire to communicate, do not crave the entertainment that pleased them before, and they are not as concerned about the quality of food as before. Irritability and rudeness in dealing with others increase significantly.
Losing four hours of sleep in one night slows down a person's reaction time by 45%. A loss equal to a full night's sleep can double the time it takes a person to search for the correct answer. It is known that if a person is deprived of sleep for several days, he develops mental disorders.
Prolonged lack of sleep adversely affects your health.
A newborn baby spends most of its time sleeping. What problems does sleep solve for a baby who has just begun to interact with the outside world, without having time to demonstrate tangible and understandable activity for an adult in mastering the surrounding space?
It is difficult to even imagine what enormous work a baby does when he is “thrown out” from the stable and calm atmosphere of the mother’s womb into a complexly organized external world. The level of mental stress of a newborn baby can be compared, and even then not fully, only with a state of total mobilization aimed at the struggle for survival in extreme situation, life threatening for an adult. Is it necessary to justify the intensity of the work of adaptation and processing of the huge amount of information that the baby does every minute of wakefulness? That is why the importance of sleep for a child cannot be overestimated.
A baby needs sleep primarily in order to gradually organize his knowledge and ideas about the world. This complex process involves the functions of attention, memory, systematization and many others, in the implementation of which sleep takes a very direct and immediate part. Sleep disorders in children significantly reduce the productivity of these functions.
Learning something new and unexpected for a child is inevitably associated with stress, which, if there is a lack of sleep, can lead to serious disorders. emotional state, child behavior.
Unlike an adult, a child’s body actively grows and develops. It is known that the growth process depends on the interaction of several hormones. The main one among them is produced in the pituitary gland. During the day, growth hormone is hidden, but at night, while children are sleeping, the blood contains the largest amount of the hormone. Scientists have found that growth hormone ( growth hormone) is secreted in the most significant quantities (80%) in the first two hours of sleep. Lack of sleep in childhood may result in stunted growth and slower physical development.
A restless night's sleep affects not only the child's health, but also the quality of life of his parents. According to studies conducted in Europe, an incredible number of families suffer from poor night sleep - about 44%. In families with infants, average duration An adult's continuous sleep is only 5.45 hours, and then by about 4 months, when the interval between feedings increases. It has been proven that lack of sleep not only negatively affects the health of parents, but also often affects the relationship between them. According to statistics, one in 4 couples begin to experience troubles in their family life with the birth of a child.
Adequate sleep is an indicator of children’s health and their mental well-being, while its disruption is a cause for serious concern and intervention by specialists.
Sleep duration
1-2 months — 19 hours a day
3-4 months — 17 hours a day
5-6 months — 16 hours a day
7-9 months — 15 hours a day
10-12 months — 14 hours a day
1-1.5 years - 13 hours a day
1.5-2.5 years - 12 hours a day
2.5-3.5 years - 11 hours a day
3.5-5 years - 10 hours a day
Most common reasons childhood insomnia
1. Overeating or undereating.
2.Overexcitement active games or bedtime stories.
3. Thirst for attention in children whose mothers work.
If you eliminate at least one of the existing problems, your child's sleep will improve.
Remember, a child will not be able to find and overcome problems on his own. Help him with this so that he can always please you with his smile. After all, sleep is an important link in proper development child's body!
The problem of children's sleep is one of the most frequently discussed among mothers on the playground. “He doesn’t sleep with me at all!” - complains the exhausted mother. In fact, her baby sleeps, like all babies, 16-17, or even 20 hours a day. But he does this so “illogically” from the point of view of an adult, so intermittently and restlessly, that the impression is exactly the opposite - the child is not sleeping! It's obvious that main question It’s not how much the child sleeps, but how and when he does it.
Bed wisdom
A child's mattress must be flat, elastic, exactly match the size of the crib and fit snugly against its walls so that the baby's head, arm or leg do not accidentally end up in this opening. If the crib model allows you to install the mattress at different heights, first fix it at the highest level - this will make it easier for you to remove the baby from the crib. And as soon as he learns to kneel, lower the mattress down. Infants are not provided with pillows, but you can put a diaper folded in four under your head: it will absorb moisture if the baby sweats or burps.
During the cold season, try replacing your blanket with a sleeping bag. He will not allow the baby to accidentally open up. In addition, the child will not feel “lost” while lying in a large bed. To put your little one in the sleeping bag, open it, place the child inside and only then put on the sleeves and fasten the zipper.
The right atmosphere
Place the crib away from windows and radiators. The window is a source of light that can wake up the baby ahead of time; drafts are dangerous for colds. And next to the radiators, the baby can overheat, because a temperature of 18-21 ° C is considered comfortable for sleep. Therefore, do not forget to ventilate the room before going to bed.
In order for the baby to quickly understand the difference between the time of day, it is better to put him to bed in the dark at night, and in semi-darkness during the day. To create it during the day, not only thick curtains will be useful, but also bumpers or bumpers for the crib. They should not be too thick so that air can pass through them. Attach them securely to the crib partitions and check frequently that the ties are holding well. It is better to remove soft children's toys from the crib for safety reasons.
Be observant
In addition to the baby’s biological predisposition to healthy sleep, there are objective realities Everyday life. In order for your child to sleep better at night, you need to adhere to certain principles of behavior. Learn to recognize the signs of drowsiness and put your baby to bed as soon as you notice them.
Only peace!
Do not disturb your little one before bedtime with playful games, the appearance of guests, or noisy discussion of the past day. A good end to the evening would be a walk on fresh air, followed by a bath, evening feeding and a cute ritual marking the imminent end of the day. Try to follow the “one-handed” rule: let the child be under the supervision of one of the adults 1.5-2 hours before bedtime (the mission can be carried out in turns). Mom and dad should not take care of the baby at the same time.
Sleep aid feedings?
Many nursing mothers fall into the trap: “In order for the baby to calm down and fall asleep, he needs to be offered the breast.” And because of this, the child, waking up in the middle of the night, will, out of habit, demand the breast in order to fall asleep again. Newborns can wake up several times during the night, but at the same time they can fall asleep on their own, whimpering a little. Therefore, you should not tie feeding to falling asleep. Give breastfeeding some time before going to bed, while moving away from the crib. After feeding, change the baby's clothes and ask one of the family members to hold him in his arms, of course, provided that such an opportunity exists.
All in your hands
When placing your baby in the crib, support him by the head, back and butt. A newborn can only sleep on his back, and an older baby can sleep on his back or side, unless otherwise directed by the doctor. Alternate the left and right sides so that the little one’s skull takes on a rounded shape.
Pediatrician, Candidate of Medical Sciences Natalya Vitalievna Chernysheva
Every mother wants to know if her baby is sleeping enough. Sleep-savvy moms want to know not only whether their babies are getting enough hours of sleep, they want to make sure their babies have healthy sleep patterns that allow them to recover physically and emotionally, and to thrive and grow properly.
Mark Weissbluth identifies 5 elements of healthy sleep, which has the maximum restorative effect for a child. Read to the end and compare your baby’s sleep with these points - now you know how good your baby’s sleep is.
Total sleep duration (day+night)
Up to 3-4 months, the baby’s sleep indicates the development of his brain and most often the child sleeps as much as he needs, because his sleep is influenced biological factors. At the same time, the baby can sleep in almost any conditions, even in noise and light, which means that the child can be with you all the time and, no matter where you are, if he needs sleep, he will fall asleep. Evening bedtime at this age can be different time, which is often caused by colic, which manifests itself especially strongly in the period from 18 to 24 hours. Babies sleep on average 16-17 hours a day, and often confuse day and night.
After 4 months, parents already formulate the child’s sleep and wakefulness schedule and can influence its duration. One of mom and dad's most important goals should be to ensure that their growing baby gets the healthy sleep he needs.
Of course, periodically missing, for example, a day's sleep or more late bedtime, may not harm the child, but if this has become a habit, then the baby may become increasingly capricious and uncontrollable in his overwork.
Studies have shown that sleep standards are not affected by cultural and ethnic differences, social variables, even various modern inventions, including television, computers, etc. Sleep norms are typical for each age of the child and are fixed biologically.
Availability of naps
Daytime sleep is significantly different from nighttime sleep and has rhythms independent of it. At the same time, daytime sleep leads to optimal daytime activity for learning, does not allow the child to become overtired, which means the baby will sleep better at night.
The main function of daytime sleep is to provide children with maximum REM sleep, that is, restore them emotionally and psychologically, while night sleep restores physical strength to a greater extent.
It is very important to choose the right time of day at which the baby sleeps. After a healthy day's sleep, the child wakes up rested, and the level of cortisol in his blood drops. Sleep that is too short or not synchronized with the baby’s biological rhythms will not provide adequate rest, but, nevertheless, at least a short daytime nap is better than complete absence. After 4 months, a daytime nap that lasts less than one hour cannot be “real” and most often does not bring any benefit to the baby.
Children can and should be taught the right things daytime sleep. If a child does not sleep well during the day, then his concentration is lower, he is less persistent in completing tasks, has difficulty adapting to new things, and is prone to hyperactivity.
If your baby doesn't sleep well during the day and you ignore early bedtime, then he suffers.
Sleep continuity
Consolidated or uninterrupted sleep is one of the important conditions healthy sleep, that is, 11 hours of continuous sleep is not at all equal to 11 hours of sleep if the baby wakes up. Sleep fragmentation reduces it total duration and reduces the effectiveness of restoring the physical and emotional strength of children.
In the first months of life, children experience protective awakenings that help prevent asphyxia during sleep, but if such awakenings continue, they harm the child because they disrupt the integrity and continuity of sleep.
Sometimes parents themselves make the baby’s sleep unconsolidated, if the baby constantly sleeps in a stroller while moving, or when rocked in his arms, sleeps in a moving car. Such sleep is not deep, short and is not able to restore the baby’s body. Best sleep There will be a dream in one place, and motionless.
A certain number of awakenings may be normal if the baby can then fall asleep on his own, and also if the baby sleeps next to the mother and breastfeeds repeatedly, in which case both mother and baby do not wake up completely and do not suffer from fragmentation.
The main problem in waking up children can be called the child’s inability to fall asleep on his own after waking up.
How to help your child sleep through the night: https://bit.ly/1lMDs4X
Sleeping mode
When we eat fast food, it fills us up, but it doesn’t add health. The same can be said about sleep. A low-quality sleep schedule ultimately gives us a tired and overtired child, because sleep is like food for his brain. Sleep and wakefulness should be as synchronized as possible with the baby’s biological rhythms.
Up to six weeks, children sleep a lot and often, mothers are satisfied and happy, but then time passes and it is no longer so easy to put the baby to bed. And here, without a doubt, it is the regime that will help us. To teach a four- to eight-month-old child a healthy and biologically correct sleep schedule, parents should control bedtime themselves, without relying on the fact that a tired child will go to bed on his own. When talking about the regime, it is worth specifying the time:
8:30-9:00 - first sleep time for babies up to 6 months;
12:30-13:00 - lunchtime nap (this time is perfect for all children who still sleep during the day);
18:00-20:00 - best time to go to bed at night.
When organizing a child's sleep schedule, many parents make the mistake of always putting their baby to bed at the same time. However, for a child the best option it will if you are flexible. If he didn't sleep well during the day or played too actively and was tired, then shift his bedtime to earlier. At each age, babies have their own acceptable time of wakefulness; knowing this moment greatly facilitates the process of going to bed.
Rituals play an important role in observing the regime, because it is through them that the baby understands what awaits him now. So don't forget to repeat the same steps every night before your baby goes to bed. For example: quiet and calm games, bathing, massage, bottle, book in bed and finally sleep.
What could be more important for mothers than? For this they are ready to do anything and even more. Pediatricians came to the conclusion that a caring mother should put her child to sleep not in a separate crib, but next to her. Babies are supposed to sleep with their mother until they are 3 years old, otherwise unexpected problems may arise.
Why is this so, why is it harmful for a child to sleep in a separate crib and how to make everyone feel comfortable - editors "So simple!" already knows the answers to these questions.
Healthy baby sleep
Dr Nils Bergman from the University of Cape Town says newborns should sleep on their mother's chest during the first weeks. And then - next to their mother until they are three or four years old. He came to this conclusion after discovering that babies in separate cribs sleep less and more restlessly than those who sleep on their mother's chest.
When a child sleeps in a separate crib, his heartbeat increases, and the little heart suffers greatly from this. In addition to causing health problems for the child, it can also cause bad behavior in the future and even cause difficulties in adolescence.
Opinions on this matter are divided. For example, British scientists recently published an article stating that children who sleep with their mother are at risk. They researched cases sudden death babies and found that 2/3 of them occurred while the baby was sleeping in the mother's bed.
Bergman has his own point of view on this matter: “When babies die in bed, it is not necessarily the fault of the mother who turned over. "Strangulation can occur from other things: toxic fumes, cigarettes, alcohol, large pillows and dangerous toys." And one cannot but agree with him on this, because sudden infant death also happens in children who sleep in a separate cradle.
The study found that only 6 out of 16 babies slept peacefully in their cribs. Children who sleep in their cribs are less likely to transition from active sleep to restful sleep. And this is very important for brain development. Research confirms that these sleep disorders in a child can lead to problems during adolescence.
In turn, Dr. Komarovsky believes that this cannot be the rule for all parents. He claims: “Each family determines its own sleep system, and this system should be convenient for a particular family.” He doesn't advocate this claim, but he doesn't say it's bad either.
© DepositPhotos
“First of all, I am in favor of treating all this calmly—without stress. Is it harmful for a child to sleep with his mother? Not harmful. If all conditions are met"- says Komarovsky. In his opinion, for safe and comfortable sleep child in the parents' bed, the bed must match necessary requirements: flat hard mattress, no pillow, good bed linen.
He focuses on the fact that the main thing in all this is the consent of the parents with this situation. And not just one, but both parents. “If you and your “bed mates” feel good, then that’s how it should be. If it’s bad, either change the partner or move the child to his own crib,”- says the doctor.
