Young mothers often worry about the amount of time their baby spends in a state of sleep or, conversely, awake. However, they can be understood - during sleep, the baby grows and develops intensively. Of course, sleep norms are a conditional and approximate concept, and yet you should at least roughly understand how much a small child should sleep at a given period of his life.
In fact, you should always keep in mind the fact that a child, due to his individuality, cannot meet the average statistical standards adopted in pediatrics. How much to sleep per day, how to gain weight and how often to eat are purely individual things and completely depend on the newborn himself. The child will sleep exactly as much as he needs. If, with small deviations from the average norms, the child behaves calmly, he is full and satisfied, then you should not forcefully put him to bed in order to reach the mythical norm. But in the case when the baby is restless, he cries angrily and rubs his eyes, but he cannot fall asleep, and this continues from day to day - these are situations that require special attention.
How much does a newborn sleep
Newborns, according to the classification adopted by the World Health Organization, are considered to be crumbs under the age of one month. During the newborn period, a small family member spends most of his life in a state of sleep - about 17-18 hours a day. This, of course, does not mean that the sleep time will last continuously. The kid will wake up about every 2-3 hours to eat. More often babies who are breastfed wake up, babies who are fed with formula, as a rule, can sleep continuously for up to 3-4 hours. At this age, the mode of sleep and wakefulness has not yet been settled, so just help your baby fall asleep: swaddle him, hold him a little longer in your arms after feeding, quietly sing a lullaby.
Sleep rates for a baby up to three months
At this age, the time spent by the child in sleep can be reduced by two hours and will be 15-16 hours during the day. However, it is at this age that most often the little man suffers from colic, which will prevent him from sleeping peacefully. If the cause of colic and poor health of the child is eliminated, then at night he can sleep continuously for 5-6 hours, and during the day the total sleep time will be about 10 hours. The baby's periods of wakefulness increase, because he studies the world around him with interest.
Sleep time for babies under the age of six months
The little man has grown up, he is becoming more active and he is very much interested in everything that happens around him. Accordingly, the periods of wakefulness are becoming longer and longer. At this age, the baby can sleep for 3-4 hours continuously during the day, after which he will definitely want to eat and play. There should be three stages of daytime sleep. A night's sleep in a child under the age of six months, as a rule, lasts already 10-11 hours. It is the period from 4 to 6 months that is considered the most favorable for working on the child's day regimen. Mom by this time had already studied the features of her baby and understands when he wants to sleep, and what exactly helps him when falling asleep.
Sleep of a child aged 6 to 9 months
After six months of life, the child is able to sleep peacefully all night, without waking up for night feeding. The night's sleep can be up to 12 hours if the child is healthy and not bothered by teething or other problems. In the morning, the baby is able to entertain himself for 2, 5-3 hours continuously, then exactly the same amount of time he will sleep. There may be two stages of daytime sleep by the ninth month of life, at this time the baby will sleep for 2-3 hours, no more. The rest of the time, the child learns the surrounding space - he begins to crawl, learns to stand up with support, becomes more excitable. Therefore, at this time it is very important to work out a procedure for going to bed - to play only calm games, hold your hand while falling asleep, tell a fairy tale. The habitual actions will help the child tune into sleep, and the process of laying down will be much easier.
How much does a child sleep up to a year
After 9 months of life, the child needs less and less daytime sleep, while at night the child sleeps peacefully, without waking up, as before, at least 11-12 hours. Many children, closer to a year, switch to a one-time nap of 3-4 hours, and spend the rest of the time in the mode of vigorous activity. However, this is still rare. Most kids continue to sleep during the day in two stages, each of which lasts 1.5-2 hours. It is very important to stick to the regimen and try to put your baby to sleep at the same time. This sequence of actions will help the baby fall asleep on its own, and you will not have to sit by his crib for a long time or rock him.
And yet, despite all existing norms, allow the baby to deviate from them to some extent, especially if you see that the child gets enough sleep, feels active and vigorous. Observe your child, and you can determine for yourself what distribution of periods of sleep and wakefulness he needs for full development.
