As soon as a woman becomes a mother, her world begins to revolve around the "little sun". But the first days of the baby bring not only unconditional and absolute happiness, but also unusual sleep deprivation at night. The way out of this situation is simple and does not take much time. You just need to figure out how to properly feed your baby at night.
A person's sleep has a phase of deep and shallow sleep. During shallow sleep, the likelihood of awakening is much greater, since the activity of the brain is still quite high. In small children, most of the total sleep is occupied by the fast phase.
Physiology - a clue to solving a problem
The presence of shallow sleep directly affects the correct growth and full development of the child. Newborns, for example, can only sleep up to 40 minutes.
But what does not cause practically any inconvenience during the day turns into torture at night. It is about restless sleep and the awakening of the child. Just 15 minutes of sleep in a crib - and the child sobs, foreshadowing a full-fledged "serenade" to the parents.
At such moments, you do not need to fall into despair, the irritation will be passed on to your baby. All he needs is timely feeding.
Night feeding as the basis for healthy baby sleep
What is the dependence of breastfeeding at night and the successful overcoming of the phase of superficial sleep by the child? The bottom line is that there are many substances in breast milk that help the baby fall asleep, since they have an effect on the inhibition of the nervous system. The baby calms down and falls asleep quickly while feeding.
The secret of a long, restful sleep for a child and a mother depends on the establishment of a feeding system at the first request of the baby. The process of sucking milk during sleep helps him to sleep continuously for a long time. It is important for mom to make sure to feed on time, at the first "call" of the child.
There is no need to bring the baby to full wake up. As soon as he turns around, which usually happens an hour or two after falling asleep in the evening, mom needs to offer him a portion of milk.
This action will allow the baby to safely move into the next phase of sleep. Of course, the baby will ask for breast several more times during the night, but feeding will not take long and will not be a hassle.
Aside from a calm and quiet night at home, nursing while you sleep has many other benefits. The main ones are:
- maintaining a sufficient level of milk in the mother;
- promoting the work of the baby's gastrointestinal tract;
- reducing the influence of external factors (wet diaper, for example) on the baby's waking up.
In addition to all of the above positive aspects of the night "snacks" of the child, there is one more. It's about communication. The tactile contact between the child and the mother is very important, since from the first days it signals the little person that he is loved.
