Restless baby. The child sleeps restlessly at night: advice from psychologists. Restless baby: theory and practice

Ekaterina Rakitina

Dr. Dietrich Bonhoeffer Klinikum, Germany

Reading time: 4 minutes

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Article last updated: 05/06/2019

A child's sleep is a very important part of his life; a newborn generally spends most of the day in a dream. If the child began to sleep restlessly, he ceased to fully rest. What to do in such a situation?

Many foreign pediatricians consider restless sleep to be the norm rather than a pathology. In domestic pediatric practice, the approach is more rigorous, and if parents complain about the baby's restless sleep, the child will most likely be referred for a consultation with a neurologist.

Stages of life accompanied by restless sleep

In the life of a baby up to 3 years of age, there are several stages when his sleep can be unstable and cause concern for caring parents.

The 1st stage coincides with the 1st week of the baby's life;
the 2nd stage falls on the age of up to 3, sometimes up to 6 months;
Stage 3 begins around 3 years of age.

In the first week, many mothers still do not have enough milk, the baby is simply malnourished and literally “hangs” on the chest. He may wake up very often, demanding food. In this case, the mother can do only one thing - to give the baby a breast as many times as he asks. In addition, in the first three days of life, until the child empties the intestines (this does not always happen on the 1st day), he may cry from pain in the tummy. By the end of the first week, milk begins to arrive, meconium (the baby's first feces) is replaced by the usual stool for an infant, and there is a slight lull.

Then the mother again notices that her little one has become restless. Firstly, children under 3 months often suffer from intestinal colic and flatulence. In the strict sense of the word, this phenomenon cannot be classified as pathological, since this is a problem for all infants, and it is associated with the imperfection of the digestive tract, its enzymatic deficiency, and the lack of microflora, which is just beginning to colonize the intestines. What to do in this situation, the pediatrician will tell you. As a rule, for colic, carminatives and dry heat on the abdomen are recommended.

If the mother refused to swaddle, and the child is dressed in sliders and a vest from the moment of discharge from the hospital, he may wake up due to the pronounced Moro effect.

The Moro effect is a natural reflex of a newborn. It manifests itself in the shuddering of the baby, the sharp breeding of the arms and the opening of the palms.

Parents may say that their child "throws up" in his sleep. A loud sound, a flash of light, and other factors can cause the Moro reflex to appear. In this case, the child may wake up and cry. By 4 months, the reflex disappears. What to do before that? You can swaddle your baby at night. If the reflex has not passed by the specified time (there may be residual effects, but they are weak), the baby will have to be massaged to reduce muscle tone.

The main causes of restless sleep

All reasons can be divided into 3 groups:

physiological;
psycho-emotional;
pathological.

Physiological reasons include:

hunger and thirst;
pain from erupting teeth;
discomfort from uncomfortable clothing;
uncomfortable posture;
uncomfortable conditions for sleeping (the baby is cold, hot, stuffy, too noisy, etc.);

the need for the presence of the mother;
overexcitation;
individual characteristics of the nervous system;
violation of sleep and wakefulness (insufficient or excessive daytime sleep);
age-related features, including the architecture of sleep.

Pathological causes include various kinds of diseases that cause pain and sleep disturbances.

These are the main reasons why an infant may be restless during sleep. With the exception of pathological conditions and diseases, all of these causes are natural. It is not necessary to treat the child in this case. Some of the exciting factors parents can easily eliminate (for example, ventilate the baby's room and dress him more comfortably), some are difficult to influence. For example, if in the baby's nervous system the processes of excitation prevail over the processes of inhibition, this cannot be changed. You can only make sure that an hour before bedtime the child is not overexcited.

Physiological causes of anxiety

If the baby began to sleep poorly, he may not finish eating during the day (not enough milk at each feeding). In this case, he will toss and turn a lot and cry at night. There are children who, from the neonatal period, can sleep for 5-6 hours at night, there are those who will wake up every 3 hours and ask for food. Both situations are normal. In the second case, you need to understand the characteristics of the crumbs and feed her on time.

If the child began to sleep worse, it is possible that he is teething. This process can be frustrating for babies and affect the quality of their sleep. If intestinal colic occurs, the baby will most likely not wake up, but it can toss and turn and grunt in a dream.

Wet diapers can be the cause of poor sleep for babies. The baby is just cold and uncomfortable. Young parents are often afraid that their child will get sick, and sometimes they wrap the child excessively. Small children do not tolerate heat very well. Overheating, the baby will toss and turn and whimper. If your child is not sleeping well, make sure he is not too hot. Clothes, falling into the folds of the skin, can rub delicate fabrics, or simply press. In this case, the baby, very tired, will fall asleep, but is unlikely to sleep well.

If the baby began to sleep restlessly, perhaps the stale air in the room is to blame. Correcting this situation is very simple - ventilate the room more often. A small child of the first month of life cannot roll over in a dream and take a comfortable position, he lies as he was laid; if he is uncomfortable, he will wake up.

Psycho-emotional reasons

In an infant, especially a newborn, the need for the presence of the mother is especially strong. Has your child become restless or sleepy? You may have decided that he should sleep separately. The baby may wake up feeling the absence of the mother, especially if he is used to falling asleep in her arms (under the breast or with a bottle). What to do in this case? Some recommend co-sleeping with a baby up to 2-2.5 years old. Some suggest placing the crib in the parent's bedroom.

Children, especially excitable ones, if for some reason they receive an emotional charge (whether positive or negative) just before bedtime, may not fall asleep well, sleep restlessly and toss and turn a lot in their sleep. An excess of communication with adults for babies is as bad as a lack of it.

Oddly enough, not only an excess of daytime sleep can lead to a failure of the regime, but also its lack. If a child does not rest well during the day, his nervous system is overloaded, he will fall asleep badly and sleep very restlessly. In this case, you can do only one thing - to provide a full daytime sleep to the child. Between 2 and 3 months of age, the sleep cycle changes; the baby several times during the night enters the phase of superficial sleep. If he is used to being picked up, rocked, given a pacifier at the first sign of waking up, he will have difficulty falling asleep and will need an additional stimulus to sleep.

Pathological problems causing sleep disturbance

The onset of a common cold, fever, otitis media and other diseases can cause sleep disturbances.

If the child began to sleep poorly, the mother should pay attention to his condition, measure the temperature, show the baby to the pediatrician.
What to do in this case, the doctor will tell you. There may also be neurological causes of sleep disturbance, such as increased intracranial pressure.

If the child does not sleep well, spit up often and profusely, regardless of food intake, cries, it must be shown to a neurologist.

The birth of a child is a big event for any family, along with joy comes various chores. But what if the child is also very restless. Restless baby is the focus of the family. It requires constant care and communication. Usually such a baby does not sleep well and cries a lot. Then the parents, a completely logical question arises: maybe something hurts him, or he suffers from a wet diaper. It is very easy to find answers to such questions.

Most newborns have several bouts of angry crying. This state alternates with unusually deep sleep, when it seems that the child cannot be awakened. This behavior does not mean that the child is sick. It takes a little patience and it will pass.

If the child is extremely active, he needs to take special soothing baths. They can be with valerian root, motherwort, mint or nettle. For one bath, you need to take 30 grams of each herb, pour a glass of boiling water and boil for 5 minutes. This infusion needs to stand for 2 hours, and then it needs to be filtered. The decoction should be added when bathing in the water in the bathroom. If the child suffers from diaper rash, then it will not be superfluous to add oak bark, string, chamomile and St. John's wort. You can use the herb as a collection or separately.

If the baby is crying, do not feed him immediately. First, check if his diapers are dry and if the clothes are causing him unnecessary discomfort. If during crying, the child pulls his legs to his stomach, then he is tormented by pain in his stomach. To save the child from pain, before feeding, put it on the tummy for a while. You can do special exercises with your child. Vigorously press the child's legs bent at the knees to the stomach. If after that the baby cries and worries, then it is worth attaching a warm heating pad or diaper to the tummy.

If the child is excessively restless, then it is worth taking him to the doctor. If, during a loud or harsh noise, he shudders, rolls his eyes, and while crying, his chin trembles, then be sure to contact a neurologist. If these phenomena are not very pronounced, they will pass on their own.

A restless baby is a constant reason for parents to worry. Before going to bed, you need to shake the child, a slight movement can calm him down. You can try to put him to sleep with music. Be sure to monitor your own condition, as it is transmitted to the baby. And a mother's nervous breakdown can be a cause for concern for the child.

A child's restless sleep is a common cause for parents to worry. The baby spins all night, falls asleep for a short time, but his sleep is not strong, disturbing, any rustle can break it. What is happening with the baby? Experienced parents with experience, as a rule, are well versed in the needs of their child, but even they sometimes have questions related to the restless sleep of the baby.

Causes

There may be several reasons. Both physical and psychological.

The child sleeps restlessly at night if he starts to get sick. The disease has not yet manifested itself on the physical level, and outwardly the baby is quite healthy. But he already feels unwell, and begins to worry in advance. If the baby is already 5 months old or more, then cutting teeth can become the reason for disturbing sleep. In any case, it makes sense to show the little one to the pediatrician so as not to miss the onset of the disease.
Poor sleep can be caused by increased intracranial pressure. Only a doctor can detect this problem and prescribe treatment. Restless sleep in a small child can also be the result of serious diseases - encephalopathy, rickets or brain tumors. Otitis media, dysbacteriosis, and various infectious diseases do not allow normal sleep. Therefore, the search for the cause of disturbing sleep should begin with a visit to the doctor to rule out the disease.

In newborns up to 3-5 months, a common cause of restless sleep of the baby is intestinal colic. The intestinal microflora of the peanut is still not sufficiently formed, besides, his body is still only adapting to independent life. These processes are accompanied by increased production of gases. The baby "swells" the tummy, especially strongly - in the evening and at night. Barely dozing, the baby wakes up, screams piercingly, turns purple, pulls her legs up to her tummy. You can alleviate his discomfort with the help of various drops and syrups based on simethicone, dill water, and a gas outlet tube.
The baby may not sleep well if he is cold or hot. A lot of young parents, having heard a lot of “good” advice, tend not to spoil the baby, so once again they try not to take him in their arms, and many moms and dads generally have a negative attitude towards co-sleeping in the same bed with a child. But in vain. Because the baby may worry because he feels "torn off" from his mother. And he needs physical contact with her. In addition, at night the body temperature drops somewhat, and the baby needs to be warmed by his mother's hands. At the other extreme, the baby is hot or stuffy. Mothers are afraid of catching a cold, so they tightly close the window in the room, wrap the baby up.

The room where the baby sleeps must be ventilated. The temperature in it should ideally be about 19-20 degrees with an air humidity of 50-70%. These are the most comfortable conditions for a small person.

Another reason for restless sleep is hunger. Perhaps the baby did not eat at the previous feeding, and in this situation there is no need to refuse night feedings. A baby may need a nightly meal up to 6 months. After this age, according to pediatricians, the child has no physiological need to eat in the middle of the night.

Babies who are breastfed may experience hunger if mom's milk is not nutritious enough. Review your diet. And also contact the pediatrician with a request to conduct a control feeding with weighing the child before and after meals to determine how much the little one eats. If he does not get enough of your milk, the doctor may allow "complementary foods."

"Artists" often swallow a lot of air when feeding, this creates a false feeling of satiety. Hunger returns again when the little one relaxes and tries to sleep. Therefore, babies who eat adapted mixtures must be allowed to burp air after eating. Small regurgitation at the same time is a variant of the norm. The nipple on the bottle should please the butuzu, be comfortable. Some babies prefer latex, others prefer silicone nipples. Choose for your baby the option that he will perceive in the best way.

The cause of restless sleep may also lie in the violation of the daily routine. For example, the baby had a good night's sleep, or even mixed up day and night. The regimen of the crumbs should be brought in accordance with its age-related needs.

A baby aged 1 to 3 months needs 17-20 hours of sleep per day.
The sleep requirement for children aged 6 months is 14 hours per night.
At 1 year old, a child should sleep at least 13 hours a day.
At 2 years old, the daily need for sleep is 12.5 hours.
At 4 years old, the baby should sleep at least 11 hours a day.
At 6 years old, the need for sleep is 9 hours.
At 12, a teenager needs 8.5 hours of sleep per night.

Tips from a popular pediatrician to improve the quality of sleep for babies in the next video.

Vitamin deficiencies also lead to sleep disturbances in children. And also the kids are very weather-sensitive - they react to changes in atmospheric pressure, to precipitation, and often "anticipate" them.

Psychologists say that the restless sleep of the baby may be due to age-related characteristics. The fact is that the structure of sleep in children at 2 months and at 2 years is different. From birth to 1 year, baby’s superficial sleep prevails over the deep phase, which is why babies often wake up. Only some fall asleep easily on their own again, while others need the help of their parents.

It happens that a calm baby begins to wake up and toss and turn restlessly by 7-9 months of life. At this age, the baby has the first psychological problems that prevent him from sleeping normally - this is the fear of being away from his mother. If parents sleep in the same room with the baby, then the child will not experience feelings of defenselessness and such nightly disturbing awakenings will gradually come to naught.

At 2-3 years old, sleep can become disturbing and restless due to the development of the baby's imagination. He already knows how to fantasize, it is at this age that the appearance of nightmares, fear of the dark. A cozy night light by the baby's bed, a favorite soft toy that he can take with him to bed, will help to cope with this.

Another "critical" age is 6-7 years. At this time, the child's sleep may be disturbed due to the experiences associated with the start of school.

At any age, children are very sensitive to the psychological climate that prevails in your home. If they often quarrel, get nervous, worry there, this will definitely affect the quality of the child’s sleep, and not from the best side.

Create a calm, peaceful home environment for your baby

Restless sleep can also be an "echo" of the innate characteristics of the baby's character, his temperament. It is known that choleric children sleep worse than phlegmatic children, and sanguine children have a harder time waking up in the morning. Each child needs an individual trip, taking into account all his personal characteristics and general factors that affect the quality of sleep.

Effects of sleep deprivation on children

If the problem of a child's restless night's sleep is ignored, pretty soon the baby will begin to suffer from lack of sleep. Sleep deprivation will affect all the functions of his body. First of all, there are disorders in the nervous system. Then the hormonal background will “failure”. The fact is that growth hormone STH (somatotropin) is better produced in children during sleep. If a child does not get enough sleep, he has a lack of growth hormone, and, as a result, he grows more slowly and develops not only physically, but also intellectually.

Another "night" hormone - cortisol helps the body cope with stress. If a child sleeps little, his cortisol level is underestimated, which means that the crumbs' psyche becomes vulnerable.

Chronic lack of sleep reduces the mental and intellectual abilities of the child, such kids are hard to learn, they have severe memory problems.

Be sure to adjust the baby's sleep in order to avoid problems with the future development of the child.

How to fix a child's sleep?

If your child's restless night's sleep is not an exception, but rather the rule, you need to contact your pediatrician. He will advise a way to improve the baby's sleep, taking into account the age characteristics.

If the cause is in the disease, the treatment will be beneficial, and the baby will begin to sleep normally.

If the child is healthy, then you can “even out” his sleep on your own.

Bathing before going to bed helps, a light soothing massage helps. In the water in which the baby bathes, you can add a few drops of valerian or motherwort.
In the evening it is better to avoid increased activity, try to arrange all noisy games and educational activities with the child in the daytime. An agitated toddler, by definition, cannot sleep soundly.
Do not forget that walks are important for the baby. Children with whom they walk little are more likely to suffer from sleep disorders. If the weather and season allow, take small evening walks.
The bedding in the baby's crib should be only of their natural fabrics, the mattress should be smooth and moderately soft (the best option is an orthopedic mattress), and the diaper should be proven, high-quality and reliable. Children under 2 do not need a pillow.

Special rituals help to establish a night's sleep. Each mother can come up with them, taking into account the needs of her child. In my family, this is a mandatory reading of one fairy tale after bathing before going to bed. Make your ritual a must. Whatever happens, it must be strictly followed. This will allow the baby to quickly understand what his parents want him to do, and he will wait for the events to occur in a certain order. This reduces stress levels, making going to bed softer and smoother.

Many young parents are terribly upset by the fact that the baby has restless sleep. In addition, mom and dad themselves cannot rest normally because of a sleepless child. In this article, we will analyze the causes of insomnia in young children.

Babies may grunt and cry if something is bothering them. Among the causes of restless sleep in an infant, it is worth highlighting:

constipation;
air in the stomach;
crusts that are stuck in the nose;
neurological problems.

Why do they bother?

Does the baby have restless sleep and is he groaning? Maybe he just wanted to go big. In children under one year old, it is considered normal to empty the intestines after each feeding. This is especially true in babies who are breastfed. Since the rectum of the little one has not yet fully formed, and the baby’s stool is very soft, it can make sounds during the act of defecation, while the child grunts.

You need to worry and see a doctor if the child does not sleep, and the following symptoms are observed:

increase in body temperature;
streaks of blood and mucus in the feces;
convulsions.

The baby may also be uncomfortable if the room is too hot or cold. Next, we will tell you how to understand what is happening with the baby, and what pediatricians recommend in such cases.

Difficulties in the gastrointestinal tract

If the child has recently eaten and does not fall asleep in any way, but groans and strains, then, most likely, he swallowed air while eating. Follow him. Perhaps he is spitting up and making sounds similar to "grunting"?

To avoid this trouble, after eating, keep the little one upright for 20 minutes. Then all the excess air will come out. To put a child to bed, who has just eaten, should be on the barrel for safety reasons. Use a rolled-up diaper or towel as support.

If this seems unreliable and unaesthetic to you, then on sale you can find a special mattress. It is impossible to lay the child on his back, as there is a risk that he will burp in his sleep and choke on milk.

To eradicate the problem of swallowing air, for an artificial person, purchase special bottles with a valve to release air. When breastfeeding, make sure that the baby takes the nipple correctly. This happens when the baby's chin rests on the mother's mammary gland.

Colic

Even more often, restless sleep in infants is observed due to colic. The child has cramping pains in the tummy. As a rule, they begin to torment infants at 2 weeks and stop at three months. Some pain can be observed for up to a year.

How to determine that a child has restless sleep precisely because of colic? If the baby has problems with the tummy, then he cries heavily with anguish, tightens his legs. Also, the child has manifestations of flatulence. The baby has a swollen and dense tummy, in which gases have accumulated.

When a child has colic, he most often refuses to eat. Takes the breast only to calm down and uses it as a pacifier, but does not want to eat. As a rule, during this period the child either does not gain weight, or its growth stops. Even if the baby falls asleep, he whimpers in his sleep. From the gastrointestinal tract, such troubles as regurgitation, vomiting, green stools appear.

How to solve a problem?

First of all, the mother needs to calm down, as her excitement is completely transmitted to the child. This is a physiological condition that will go away on its own, even if you do absolutely nothing. The gastrointestinal tract of the child will mature, and the torment will stop. But if the baby suffers too much, then the mother, of course, wants to help him.

If the child is bottle-fed, then purchase special bottles that are equipped with valves to bleed excess air. Choose a special blend with probiotics and prebiotics, as well as lactulose. Such nutrition contributes to good digestion and normalization of the stool. Give the child "Espumizan" in drops and other pharmaceutical preparations. There are also a lot of special herbal teas and dill water on sale.

If you are breastfeeding, then this is very commendable. To prevent colic, a nursing mother should follow a diet at least in the most acute period (from 2 weeks to three months). It is strictly forbidden to use: soda, legumes, cabbage. It is still necessary to refuse products with a high content of chemistry: a variety of snacks (chips, crackers, salted nuts).

Do not eat smoked meats, fried foods, canned food. A nursing mother can also use dill water herself and special herbal teas that prevent colic. After all, if a small child is fully breastfed, then pediatricians do not recommend supplementing the child for up to six months. The medicinal components of tea will get to the crumbs through breast milk.

Problems with bowel movements: the child does not sleep, fidgets, grunts

Does your little one have bowel problems? Naturally, they can cause restless sleep in a child. You can talk about constipation if the child cannot defecate for a long time, the stool has become very hard, the child is crying angrily. If you close your eyes to the problem, the consequences can be very deplorable. You shouldn't ignore her. Show the baby to the doctor and follow his instructions.

Usually, doctors prescribe glycerin suppositories to soften the stool. You can also use enemas. But don't do it too often, as a new problem called "lazy gut" may arise. This is a situation where the child cannot empty himself without special means. The intestines of any person quickly get used to such help and no longer want to work. Then constipation can become chronic, which is very bad, because it leads to general intoxication of the body and constant pain.

How to prevent and prevent digestive problems?

Breastfeeding mothers should follow the diet. If the baby is breastfed, then the mother should eat 5-6 times a day in small portions. If there is a fact of constipation, then you need to include fermented milk products, prunes in the diet. You should refuse nuts, sweets (especially condensed milk), fresh pastries, hard-boiled eggs, cabbage, cucumbers. You can take small portions of vegetable fiber.

The doctor will prescribe a special mixture containing lactulose for an artificial person for a while. It improves the intestinal microflora in the intestines of the child. Do not forget to give the baby, who is bottle-fed, some water. It is very important! Lack of fluid is a common cause of constipation in babies.

Massage and gymnastics

Do you want to forget what restless sleep is in a baby? Give your child massage and exercise. Massage of the tummy consists in stroking clockwise. Drive should be in the area around the navel.

Don't forget to put the baby on your tummy. Just don't do it right after eating. For these purposes, it would be nice to purchase a special large ball - fitball. It is very comfortable for children, and it brings a certain element of the game. Also on the fitball you can do a lot of exercises that strengthen the abdominal muscles.

Nose crusts

Each person periodically in the nose there is such a nuisance. An adult or older child may simply blow their nose or flush their nasal passages with water. The kid can do absolutely nothing on his own.

You need to clean the nose of the baby constantly, that is, every day. To do this, you can wind the flagella from cotton wool in advance. Let them be at your fingertips. Using cotton swabs for such purposes is convenient, but unsafe. The exception is special safety sticks for newborns. They have a large round head. But, unfortunately, they will not completely clear the nasal passages.

So, take a flagellum and dip it in a saline or boiled water. You can also use boiled vegetable oil or baby body oil for these purposes, only odorless. The flagellum must be inserted into the nasal passage and made a rotational movement. Use more if necessary until the last one is completely clean.

Why children

Restless sleep in a small child may be accompanied by twitches. They most often scare young mothers. The child fell asleep and then suddenly makes an arbitrary movement, for example, throws his arms up sharply. It can manifest itself at any moment, even when the child is just falling into a deep sleep.

Reasons for shuddering

Children, just like adults, have dreams. And they also have REM sleep. At this time, the crumbs may change facial expression, move the eyelids. He can cry, move his legs, throw up his arms, roll over. The child's breathing may become erratic, he may snort from something. This is all normal. You need to show the child to the doctor if the child wakes up more than 10 times a night. At the same time, the baby looks frightened and cries angrily.

Moro reflex

Another cause of flinching is the Moro reflex. This is a built-in survival mechanism that nature has endowed the baby with. The fact is that for a newborn, the fact that he left a cozy house, his mother's tummy is a big stress. There he felt the support provided by the walls of the uterus.

The Moro reflex is an attempt to find support and balance. The space around the crumbs is too vast. The baby may dream that he is falling. Therefore, he shudders and very sharply raises his arms to the sides, he may scream at this moment. For a mom, this is creepy. This phenomenon may be accompanied by restless sleep in infants at 1 month and up to three. As a rule, after this period, this phenomenon disappears. No wonder the first three months are called the "fourth trimester of pregnancy." The baby can also shudder from noise, pain, bright light.

Important! If you notice convulsive movements in a child during the entire period of sleep and at the same time the baby screams without waking up, this may be a sign of a health disorder. Be sure to show the baby to the doctor. The cause may be a metabolic disorder, lack of calcium, high intracranial pressure.

How does a 1 month old baby sleep?

If you are worried about restless sleep in a 1 month old baby, then you should know what regimen the baby should have at this age.

The baby is still very small, and most of the day he must rest. During daylight hours, the baby should sleep for 2 hours about 4-5 times a day. Night rest should be about 8 hours. Naturally, the baby will wake up for feedings on demand.

Restless sleep in a 2 month old baby

The baby is growing, and its development is progressing by leaps and bounds. The baby is becoming more and more interested in observing the world around him and less and less sleepy. He realized that being awake can be much more interesting. Now it is especially important to monitor the quality of his sleep. After all, it takes a lot of energy to be active.

How babies sleep at 2 months

Babies at two months of age still sleep most of the day. They sleep about 16 hours. During the day, as a rule, 5-6 hours, at night - about 10 hours. While awake, play with your child, massage, wear it around the house. Children at this age begin to look at the faces of adults. For them, this is the best toy. If a child sleeps poorly at 2 months, then take a closer look at the child. You may notice one of the symptoms described above.

Sleep schedule at three months

A baby at this age should sleep about 15-17 hours a day. If the child rests a couple of hours less, then this is also a variant of the norm. Do not take this figure as an axiom, each organism is unique in nature. Focus on the child's well-being.

A baby can spend about 5 hours on daytime sleep at three months. A child usually plunges into the realm of Morpheus for 40-90 minutes 3-5 times per daylight hours.

Night rest should last 10-12 hours. Naturally, a breastfed baby wakes up to satisfy hunger or thirst as many times as his body requires. Artificers are fed every three to four hours. At this age, some kids begin to stand without food and drink for about 5-6 hours and give their mother a good night's sleep.

Restless sleep of the baby at 5 months

At this age, children sleep at night around 9-11 hours. They wake up several times to eat. Babies can get up quite often - every three hours. Formula-fed babies can sleep for about 6-8 hours. This is because artificial baby food takes longer to digest and the baby becomes hungry later. Are you worried about your baby's restless sleep because he wakes up every hour? This situation is not normal, because it does not allow both mother and child to fully relax.

You cannot understand why the baby is restless. Perhaps noise from the street, too bright light from a lantern, or lighting in the room interfere with it. If you find such interference, then eliminate them.

Dry air in the room can also interfere with a good night's rest. This is especially pronounced in winter, when the central heating is on or you have turned on the additional heater.

Heating devices burn out the oxygen in the room, and the mucous membranes of the nose dry up. The child cannot breathe normally through his nose and therefore tosses and turns in his sleep. He may also wake up and cry. If the child woke up, then give him a breast or some water. Drip the nose with baby drops with sea salt. It is advisable to turn on a humidifier in the room. If the house does not have such a unit, then simply place a bowl of water near the heater.

We remove interference and tune in to a healthy sleep

The inconvenience of the crumbs at any age brings tight clothing, too warm a blanket. Also, children at 5 months are already quite emotional. Do not play too active games before going to bed. Don't plan on hosting guests in the evening, or do so when your child is in bed for the night.

On the contrary, give your baby a massage, bathe him in herbs that promote sound sleep. In the bath, you can pour a decoction of mint, lemon balm, lavender, chamomile, thyme. Naturally, mother's lullaby, a fairy tale told in a calm, quiet, monotonous voice, has a great effect on sleep. These tips don't just apply to babies at five months old. You can come up with your own rituals for sound sleep for crumbs from birth. He will get used to it and fall asleep faster.

If the baby has restless sleep, it is first of all important to find out the causes of the problem, and only then look for ways to deal with it.

The baby sleeps restlessly

Everyone knows that children grow in their sleep, while restoring strength, making up for energy losses. When a child sleeps, his body develops fully and in case of sleep disturbance of a small person, negative consequences may occur. A long sleep of newborns is completely normal and it says that the child is developing correctly. However, sleep disturbance in newborns is very common. This, as a rule, happens due to problems with the development of the baby's body, which can have a negative impact on his health in the future.

Why does the baby sleep restlessly

Restless sleep of an infant may be associated with violations of his diet or other troubles. It could be some kind of illness, a violation of his living conditions.

The causes of restless sleep of an infant include the following factors:

Very often, anxiety during sleep of the baby is caused by a reason that traditional healers call "subcutaneous bristle", another official name is lanugo. This is the name of the small hairs that cover the body of a newborn baby. When the baby is two weeks old, the bristles fall out and normal bulbous hairs grow in their place. At this time, the baby's skin may itch, which causes restless sleep.
The child can sleep restlessly from the heat, while he sweats, his skin becomes red and the mucous membranes dry out. You should open the window, give the baby a drink and moisten the room.
The child's anxiety can also be caused by the cold. In this case, his skin acquires a bluish tint, his arms, legs and back become cold. The child should be warm and dressed.
A child's poor sleep can be triggered by uncomfortable or dirty bedding and dirty clothes. The baby begins to scream and a button or seam mark may remain on his skin. You should examine him and change his clothes.
Loud parties do not contribute to sound sleep of the baby. Parents should decide what is more important to them - their own fun or the health of their child.
Constipation can interfere with your child's sleep. In this case, he futilely pushes and moves his legs, his stomach becomes hard, the stool is rare, and the feces harden and acquire a dark shade. Before feeding, the child should be held on the tummy, and put to sleep in the frog position on the stomach. It is necessary to feed him only with special mixtures, drink with weakly boiled water. You can smear the anus with baby cream and put special candles

What to do at night with a restless baby

In infants, there has not yet been a clear distribution between sleep and active wakefulness. However, as each month progresses, his biological rhythms become more and more similar to ours. In order for the baby not to feel anxious at night, measures should be taken to prevent the discomfort and discomfort that he may begin to experience.

It is very important to change the diaper in a timely manner, monitor the humidity of the air in the room and prevent the temperature in the children's room from rising above 22 degrees Celsius and not falling below 18 degrees on the same scale. In the event that the child begins to experience inconvenience during sleep, it will be possible to wake him up quite easily.

The child should be set to a normal daily routine. Before going to bed at night, the child should have at least four consecutive hours of wakefulness. If the child does not sleep during the daytime, you should take him up with some active activity that involves physical activity, but you should not overwork him. Without getting any physical activity, the child will not sleep well at night.

The child should be taught to fall asleep on his own, for which he must be laid in a crib and not carried in his arms, rocking. Hand-trained children have difficulty falling asleep on their own. The child should be taught to sleep in his room.

Baby restless while feeding

Breastfeeding is a big science and very often it does not go very smoothly. When feeding, the child may show anxiety, cry and act up. Despite the fact that the child and mother are endowed by nature with certain reflexes, they need a certain experience in order for feeding to go smoothly and calmly. Of particular importance when feeding is the position in which it is performed. It often happens that the restless behavior of an infant is due to feeding disorders.

Causes of anxiety of the baby during feeding

During the first few weeks after the birth of the child, he and the mother gradually get used to each other, and much is not clear to the mother in the behavior of her baby. Very often she does not understand why the child is anxious during feeding and does not eat. There can be many explanations for this, which will be discussed below.

The first thing that may come to mind for a nursing mother is the lack of breast milk. The biggest difficulty in this is the fact that very often a mother does not know how much milk her child receives, how much milk he needs and how much she has in general. In order to find answers to all these simple questions, you should do a few simple steps:

First of all, monitor how the child relieves himself and draw the right conclusions. If, after six days, the mother receives six wet diapers, then the baby has enough milk;
It is perfectly normal to feed frequently. During the first few weeks of a baby's life, he needs eight to twelve breastfeeds throughout the day. In the beginning, most likely, the mother will need to constantly hold the child in her arms, since for several hours he will ask for food all the time, and then fall asleep for several hours. After he learns to suck effectively, the number of feedings will begin to decrease;
You need to keep track of your child's weight. After two weeks, the baby should restore its original weight, after which, for three months, gain at least 200 grams during the week.

In the event that the mother continues to pinch about the lack of milk in her, it makes sense for her to contact a lactation specialist in order to receive all the necessary advice and advice on how to increase the amount of milk in a woman, if she needs it.

The baby may become restless when the mother's breasts swell, which may occur during the first few weeks after birth. To reduce swelling, express some milk with your hands and the breast will become softer, after which it will be easy for the child to take it. You should not express a lot of milk, as this can cause its production. Cold compresses should be applied to the chest to reduce swelling and pain.
If the mother has flat nipples, the baby may also be anxious when feeding. To eliminate the phenomenon, you should wear special pads between feedings. Elongation of the nipples is facilitated by the inclusion of the breast pump before the baby is attached to the breast. At the same time, the milk flow is turned on, which helps the child stop crying and start eating.
In addition, the child may be worried because of his incorrect position on the chest. The baby and his mother may be uncomfortable because there is little pressure on the breast, resulting in a violation of the flow of milk. If the baby is very nervous, it is best to use the feeding position, in which the baby is placed on the side of the mother and is attached to the nearest breast or is applied horizontally to the breast. In these positions, it is convenient to monitor the position of the baby's head. In this way, it is good to guide the baby to the breast and hold him in this position. He presses his nose and chin into the mother's breast and begins to suck better if the mother holds him tightly.
Almost all children have various forms of expression of gastroesophageal reflux. This name is given to a condition characterized by incomplete formation of the sphincter, which causes it to insufficiently block the entrance to the stomach. As a result, part of the milk with gastric juice returns to the esophagus, causing heartburn. The impressions are quite unpleasant, to eliminate them in an infant, it is necessary to maintain the vertical position of his body.

Reflux may occur during feeding. It can be avoided by keeping the baby upright and taking breaks while feeding. With the growth of the child, his muscles are strengthened and the manifestations of reflux gradually disappear. If there are violations of the feeding regimen of the baby due to the occurrence of reflux, you should consult a doctor, due to the seriousness of the situation.

It is possible to develop a yeast infection on the nipples of the mother - thrush. At the same time, the nipples acquire a bright red hue and begin to itch, after the end of the breastfeeding process, an unpleasant burning sensation begins in them. In this case, when feeding, the child may be somewhat more restless than usual. If thrush occurs, a woman should consult a doctor for a special course of treatment. Its necessity is explained by the fact that the infection is of a fungal origin and can be dangerous both for the mother's body and for her child.

Anxiety in a newborn baby can be due to a number of reasons. Below are some of them.

Almost all newborn children suffer from flatulence. When a child is fed, a reflex release of gases is triggered, which is necessary to eliminate objects of his vital activity from the body. Their rapid release prevents constipation.

It takes very little time for breast milk to pass through the baby's digestive system, because mother's milk is easily digested. When a baby suckles, it is not uncommon to hear very characteristic sounds. Despite the fact that gases are observed in almost all children, some tolerate them better than others. The time of day at which feeding takes place also influences the process, and flatulence is most clearly manifested at the end of the day. The child may not want to let go of the mother's breast, which only increases flatulence. As the baby develops, the problem recedes.

At the very beginning of the feeding process, mother's milk has a high sugar content - lactose. This is the so-called "front" milk produced in the first quarter of an hour of breastfeeding. If you continue to feed the child on the same breast, "hind" milk is produced. It neutralizes lactose due to the enrichment with fats, due to which there is a decrease in the level of gas formation. Flatulence may be exacerbated by an excess of lactose from a large amount of incoming foremilk.

If the baby has not yet learned to suck well at the breast, he may begin to choke on mother's milk. At the same time, he can throw his chest and start to get nervous and scream. In this case, the mother should, pressing hard on the breast, express the flow of milk, and then attach her baby to her again. You can express milk before feeding to make sure it can be stopped before the baby takes the breast. The baby should be fed from a position under the arm. When the baby grows up a little, he will be able to independently control the milk ejection reflex, being in any position during feeding.