For every family with a small child, the concept of a good night's sleep has its own meaning. Some mothers believe that the child does not sleep well at night if he wakes up every three hours, and for some it is not a problem to get up to the baby every hour. For any age of the child, there are norms for how many hours he should sleep per day. From about a year, you can expect that the child will stop waking up often at night and will sleep fully. But this requires the observance of certain conditions.
Hunger
The most common reason a child wakes up at night is hunger. The breast milk diet is different for all babies. Pediatricians recommend keeping a break of 2-3 hours, but all children themselves set the frequency of night feedings. Someone eats up and falls asleep soundly, while someone asks for a breast very often. In this case, the very first action of a nursing mother is to make sure that the baby is eating enough milk. Maybe the baby does not sleep well at night precisely because he does not have enough milk. If we are talking about a baby whose diet contains porridge, it makes sense to try feeding porridge for dinner so that the baby goes to bed full.
When there is not enough milk at all and the mother feels that the child is not eating at night, it is worth introducing the mixture. Some parents note that almost on the first night that the infant was supplemented with formula, he slept much longer.
At the age of about a year, the child's appetite increases greatly. At this time, children begin to beg for breast at night almost every hour. A nursing mother who is tired of too frequent feedings should consider stopping breastfeeding. The methods may be different: simply refusing to breastfeed, replacing with a mixture, water or kefir.
The child is in pain
The child does not sleep at night if something hurts him. The cause of the ailment needs to be found out. For babies, this is most likely colic; older children suffer from toothache. In any case, when the mother is worried that the baby's sleep is not strong and long enough, she needs to consult a neurologist. A competent doctor will rule out neurological problems, advise vitamins for the nervous system and, possibly, sedatives, if necessary. After all, the reason that the child does not sleep well may be increased intracranial pressure and other serious diseases.
Daily regime
All children need to adhere to the daily routine. If a child does not sleep at night, then in his life he needs a special, rather tough day regimen. Daytime sleep is mandatory for him. But it would be better if its duration does not exceed 2 hours. It is necessary to put to bed during the day not too late (until the evening the baby should have time to get tired).
Exclude cartoons and video games from the child's life. Despite the fact that it seems as if the baby is calmly watching TV, in fact, his nervous system is very overexcited at this time. And this then affects the quality of night sleep.
Long walks in the evening. No need to bring a stroller, bicycle or other means of transportation for a walking child. He must walk and run throughout the walk. If you need to take a break, this can be done on a swing or bench. The ideal option for an evening walk is the park. On the playground, the child moves less and gets tired.
A child 2 years old and older should not be fed immediately before bedtime. Like an adult, it will be difficult for a baby to fall asleep with a full belly. Dinner should be, but at 19-20 hours, not later.
Potty trips
Another reason a child wakes up at night is the urge to go to the toilet. Even when the baby is wearing a diaper, his sleep during this process becomes less sound. At dinner, it is better not to water the child and teach him to go to the potty immediately before bedtime and immediately after waking up. When the body gets used to this regime, the baby will sleep better.
A mother, faced with the problem that the child does not sleep well at night, needs to be patient and methodically try ways to calm the baby down. In any case, with age, both the regimen and the need for sleep change, so as they grow up, the child will still begin to sleep all night with almost no awakening. Until this moment, you just need to live, eliminating all of the above reasons for a child's poor sleep.
