Tatiana Chkhikvishvili, a specialist at the Center for Children's Sleep and Development BabySleep, told why it is not necessary to rock the child, how to teach the baby to sleep separately and in what cases the nipple can harm.
Tatiana Chkhikvishvili
Baby Sleep Consultant baby-sleep.ru
Until about 3-4 months, children do not distinguish between day and night. At first, their bodies do not produce melatonin. Parental behavior plays an important role in healthy children's sleep. There is no need to prolong the daytime sleep, but at night, on the contrary, create all the conditions for a quiet rest.
Let him play enough, get tired and fall asleep quickly
Many parents put their baby to bed too late when he starts crying. Fatigue makes children quickly overexcited and find it difficult to sleep.
Do not abruptly interrupt the game. Spend an hour before bedtime calmly: put together a puzzle, read books, have tea.
The child needs to be rocked
If the baby is full, calm, tired, as an option, he was swaddled so as not to interfere with his hands, it is likely that he will fall asleep in the crib. There is no need to accustom to constant motion sickness exhausting the mother.
If the child has gone too far (this happens to everyone), you can shake it to calm down. Do not pump until you finally fall asleep. When calmed down, transfer to the crib.
The later he lays down, the later he gets up
The circadian rhythm in most children is set to rise early. 6-8 am is the norm. Even if the child went to bed late, he will still wake up early, only he will be sleepy. Place babies between 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm so that they fully get their age-appropriate sleep rate.
Feeding on demand worsens sleep
Breastfeeding alone does not affect sleep patterns. Parents' behavioral mistakes are another matter. Placing the baby with the breast does not need to be turned into a system. If sometimes an overexcited child falls asleep on his chest, it's okay, if only he falls asleep. But doing this every day is not worth it.
Feed him before bed and then put him down. It is important that the baby is full.
If he is distracted while feeding, try darkening the room, looking into his eyes, and removing any irritants.
The child does not sleep well if teeth are teething
This is true, but it must be borne in mind that the tooth erupts for several days. And if the baby has not slept for two months, most likely the teeth have nothing to do with it. Let me clarify that in this case we are talking about a completely healthy child.
The older the child, the more difficult it is to accustom him to a separate bed
If it is comfortable for you to sleep together, do not put your baby in the crib. In the future, you can always accustom him to a new place. To do this, create a positive image of the bed, make it a kind of prize: "When you grow up, you will sleep separately in your room." Choose furniture, bedding, room accessories together. Emphasize the similarity of your rooms: the same drawings, bedding, pajamas will help.
Explain to the child that you will come to him at any moment, if necessary. Practice in the afternoon, ask him to call you and immediately go into the room. Before going to bed, tell your baby what you will do tomorrow, what breakfast you will prepare for him, where you will go.
Rock your baby at the first call
The share of REM sleep in babies is very high. At this stage, visual images in dreams stimulate the growth and development of the brain. In a dream, the child moves, grimaces, smacks his lips, can sob. When you hear crying, do not pick it up at the same second. Wait a little, he may be sleeping. Otherwise, he will get used to motion sickness and will wake up frequently.
A nipple is harm
If the baby falls asleep better with the pacifier, it does not need to be collected.
To prevent the pacifier from doing harm, try to limit the baby's sleep with it. As soon as the baby is asleep, take her away. Otherwise, the nipple will be associated with falling asleep, and the child will wake up every 40 minutes to 1.5 hours trying to find it.
Text: Julia Kozoliy
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