How to organize the correct daily routine for a newborn in the first month: useful tips for young mothers. What should be the regime for a newborn baby by the hour?

A newly born baby tirelessly learns every day the world. His appearance often brings big changes into the usual way of life of the parents. To prevent a breakdown in the coordinated family life will help you competently organized regime day of the newborn. It is recommended to install it from the age of 1 month.

In addition to organizing daily baby care, mothers and fathers need to pay attention homework and find time for distracted activities. Parents need time to get proper rest in order to regularly recuperate to perform all their many responsibilities. A good newborn routine will help the entire family balance daytime and nighttime while staying energetic seven days a week.

Regime for a newborn baby by the hour

The “daily routine” consists of the sequential execution of repetitive actions in certain time days. If this is followed, older members of the newborn’s family have the opportunity to:

• plan your daily schedule rationally;
• raise healthy offspring;
• pay due attention to older children;
• maintain harmonious marital relationships;
• regularly replenish reserves of much-needed energy

From the first day of his life, each child is tuned to an individual rhythm of life. The task of parents is to clarify all these features in a timely manner. They should try to organize the baby’s daily routine in accordance with his characteristic biorhythms.

An established daily routine helps the baby quickly learn to distinguish between daytime and nighttime, avoid premature fatigue, and in the future will become the key to his full physical and mental development. Daily repeated actions have a calming effect on infants, create a feeling of comfort, security and form the first rudiments of discipline. It has long been noted that children accustomed from infancy to the main aspects of routine are less anxious, sleep better and always have an excellent appetite.

Components of a baby's daily routine

The baby's daily routine consists of alternating activities. These include feeding, periods of sleep and wakefulness, hygiene procedures, preventive massage and regular walks in the fresh air.

The feeding regimen of a newborn baby is especially important. Normally, babies in the first month of life should receive food 6 times a day with breaks of 3 hours during the day and 5-6 hours at night. At the same time, the feeding schedule for a newborn baby with formula may differ from the natural one, since most products baby food have a richer composition and higher calorie content.

Baby's sleep schedule

A baby should sleep at least 4 times a day. Usually infants fall asleep while feeding. Daytime sleep can last 1.5-2 hours. Night sleep in most cases lasts at least 6 hours.

Hygiene procedures and preventive massage will provide protection against harmful bacteria and proper physical development. For complete oxygen saturation, walks with newborn children should be carried out daily, 2-3 times a day.

Table of a newborn baby's routine by the hour

The approximate hourly daily routine of a baby is an example of the correct routine of day and night activities. It might look like this:

The diet of a newborn baby may deviate slightly from the norm. Ideally, it is designed for natural breastfeeding.

The baby should be washed every morning. It is more convenient to do this using cotton pads, soaked in warm water. The water should only be boiled. It is important to pay Special attention eyes and nose. It is these areas that most need careful treatment, as they are prone to frequent souring and clogging.

Babies often fall asleep while feeding and walking outside. Walking of a newborn is carried out only in a closed stroller or in the arms of the parents. In the first days, you should not stay on the street for a long time and go far from home. At first, the walk can take 15-20 minutes, increasing each time by another 10. Upon returning from the street after feeding and during nap mothers can take care of personal and household chores.

It is known that newborn children often confuse day and night. This can happen when the child sleeps for a long time during the day. In this case, in the evening and at night he may experience increased activity. Such disruptions to a child's routine are, of course, unacceptable to most parents and deprive them of the opportunity to get a full night's rest. You can restore normal day and night cycles in a newborn by waking him up early in the morning and maintaining the correct regime moments during the whole day.

In families where there are established rules for living on a schedule and sticking to a daily routine, children will eventually begin to behave in the same way. However, in the first months of life, the baby’s developing routine requires special care, sensitivity and patience on the part of his parents.

The baby should be introduced to the routine gradually, without nervous breakdowns and experiences. On initial stage Not everything always goes according to plan. The baby and his parents may need 1–2 weeks to adapt to new conditions.

Night sleep can be made more sound and comfortable by taking care to pre-ventilate the room and bathe the baby. Falling asleep will become calmer if the baby hears his mother's gentle voice telling a story or singing a gentle lullaby while she feeds him. For deep good sleep The last feeding should be made as filling as possible, feeding the newborn after breastfeeding nutritional mixture. At night, you can leave a soft, dim light from a night light in the children's room. Thanks to this, the baby will not be afraid of complete darkness and will not scream when waking up in the middle of the night.

It is necessary for every newborn and his parents to adhere to a daily routine. The principle of regular change of activities is inherent in human nature itself. Adults can give it the right direction, thereby helping their children grow up healthy, balanced and disciplined.

Baby? - this is perhaps one of the most controversial issues among mothers. Some are sure that a regime is needed, while others prefer to give the child freedom. What's best for a child?

Diet is an integral part healthy image every person, so you need to gradually accustom your baby to it. The key word in this statement is “gradually”, since the transition immediately to strict regime dangerous to the child's health. A decade ago, doctors put children on a strict schedule from birth, but today, after birth, newborns are in the same room with their mother and receive nutrition on demand. What is the difference between strict and flexible regime? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Feeding by the hour

A strict feeding regimen for a newborn involves feeding by the hour. Previously, in maternity hospitals, children with normal weight were fed at four-hour intervals - at 6, 10, 14, 18, 22 and 2 hours. In those days, it was believed that feeding by the hour was the key to raising a healthy and unspoiled child, but doctors did not take into account several important points:

• Feeding for a newborn is not only a meal, but also an important psychological point view of the process of communication with mom,
• the constant presence of the mother nearby is a necessity for the child,
• Not all newborns are able to eat enough milk from the first days of life to not feel hungry for 4 hours.

So it turns out that mothers of healthy babies who could adapt to a strict feeding regime rejoiced in motherhood. And mothers of children who experienced digestive problems in the first months after birth long-awaited baby spent like hell looking at crying baby with a sinking heart and being afraid to pick him up so as not to violate the doctor’s recommendations.

Today we can say with complete confidence that a strict regime is not suitable for all children. Of course, it will be convenient for mom, but the transition to it should be gradual.

Flexible or on-demand feeding for newborns

This regimen is based primarily on the baby's needs. It is preferable for newborns and mothers for a number of reasons:

• the child feels his mother more often, so he calms down and relaxes;
• the child eats when he is hungry, which makes it easier for him to adapt to life outside his mother;
• during the period of lactation, feeding on demand improves milk production;
• lactation continues and the period of milk crisis, etc.

However, there are also disadvantages, the main one of which is the fact that the baby really likes to suckle at the breast, and he can ask for it not only for food, but also when he feels anxious. Excessive milk production can lead to disorders digestive tract, A frequent feedings at short intervals they greatly exhaust the mother.

How to feed a newborn?

As it says famous saying, moderation is needed in everything, and planning the feeding of the baby is no exception. In order to figure out how to properly feed the baby, the mother should know several important points.

• In the first days of life, babies receive colostrum from their mother's breast, which is produced in very small quantities. The food needs of each baby are different; for some babies, the dose received may not be enough, so during this lactation period, doctors allow very frequent and long-term feedings.
• Babies weighing over 4 kg are able to withstand four-hour intervals between feedings, while babies weighing from 2.5 to 3.5 kg need feedings every 3 hours. Daily norm milk consumption for a child in the first week of life is calculated using the formula 10xMx7, where M is the baby’s weight.

Daily value for two month old baby is 800 ml and increases by 50 ml every week. During a milk crisis, the baby may not receive the required dose of milk, so the mother should feed more often. This will help maintain lactation.

But let's get back to planning the regime.

The feeding regimen must be followed, but some deviations are allowed. If the baby woke up and started asking for the breast earlier, then be sure to give it. If it is time to feed and the baby is sleeping, wait 15-20 minutes and then wake him up. Feeding times are also set individually, depending on the daily routine adopted in your family. The main thing to remember is that a regimen is not a strict law, but a recommendation, so if you can’t establish a feeding regimen immediately after giving birth, don’t torture yourself and your baby, everything will come with time.

One mode involves feeding on demand, the other - feeding by the hour. Let's figure out what these modes mean, what advantages and disadvantages each of them has.

Defining concepts

Clock feeding is feeding according to a schedule created for the baby by his mother or doctor. Feeding on demand - putting the baby to the breast as many times and at such times as he himself requires, including at night. This mode also implies that the duration of feeding is also determined by the baby’s needs.

How many times to feed is key moment, which distinguishes feeding on demand from feeding by the clock.

In the case of feeding by the hour, the following scheme is meant: feeding occurs once every three hours during the day and a six-hour break at night, so the total number of feedings is 7.

When feeding on demand, the number of feedings can vary significantly - from the same 7 feedings to 24 (that is, the baby may ask to eat every hour). During the first weeks, the volume of the baby's stomach is very small, the muscles, even those involved in the act of sucking, are still weak, so the baby sucks quite often, little by little. Gradually, the volume of the stomach becomes larger, the muscles become stronger, so the periods between feedings increase, and the amount of breast milk sucked in one feeding also increases. So, for children after the 10th day of life, in calculations of the necessary daily requirement the so-called volumetric method is used. A child from 10 days to 2 months should receive 1/5 part, from 2 to 4 months - 1/6, 4-5 months - 1/7 part of body weight, but not more than 1 liter. In this case, the actual body weight is taken into account. Nutrition volume equal to 1 liter. - daily amount of food for a child over 5 months. Calculation of nutrition in the first 10 days of a child’s life is made using the Filkenstein formula: the volume of feeding is 10 x n, where n is the number of days.

The question may arise: does the baby have time to digest milk if you feed him 20 times a day? Yes, it does, since breast milk stays in the stomach for a relatively short time, after which it enters the intestines. At the same time, milk contains substances that stimulate the production of enzymes in gastrointestinal tract. These enzymes are responsible for the digestion of food. It can be said that breast milk promotes digestion itself. Therefore, you should not worry that when feeding on demand, the milk will not be digested and absorbed.

Lactation

Since when feeding by the clock the time and duration of feedings are predetermined (15-20 minutes), the most effective way influence on lactation in general - stimulation of lactation by increasing the number of applications. We know that the amount of milk is determined by the baby's needs. In this case, natural fluctuations in the baby’s behavior are completely excluded. Feeding by the hour means that the baby should eat the same amount of milk at each feeding, stimulating the mammary gland so that he has enough for subsequent feedings. It must be borne in mind that it is recommended to offer the baby only one mammary gland at each feeding. This is completely justified, since in one feeding he should receive both the so-called fore milk, rich in proteins and carbohydrates, and hind milk, rich in fats. Thus, stimulation of one mammary gland occurs once every 6 hours. If, for one reason or another, the baby ate less at some feeding, then there is no longer any way to stimulate milk production.

When feeding on demand, nothing terrible happens if the baby eats less or more than in previous feedings - this fact only determines whether it was earlier or later baby will ask for breasts next time.

When breastfeeding on demand, the baby tends to eat more often at night than when breastfeeding by the clock. It has been proven that night feedings are an excellent way to maintain sufficient lactation.

This is due to the fact that more prolactin is produced at night than during the day. Prolactin is a hormone on which milk formation depends, the amount of which depends on the number of times the baby latches and nothing else. Prolactin is always present in female body in small quantities, but its highest concentration in the blood is observed after the baby begins to suckle, and most of it is produced in the early hours - from 3 to 8 am, when many babies wake up for night feeding. Prolactin, which appears in the morning, is involved in milk production during the day.

Thus, in terms of the development of lactation, breastfeeding on demand is a more physiological process: thanks to such fine regulation, when feeding on demand, milk stagnation - lactostasis - is much less likely to occur, and the need for pumping is practically eliminated.

How much milk will mom have?

Quantity produced milk directly depends on the quantity consumed by the baby, or more precisely, from the stimulation the nipple receives. When the nipple is stimulated, impulses are sent to the mother's brain, in response to which biologically active substances are produced in the brain, in particular, the hormone prolactin, which, in turn, sends signals to the mammary gland so that it produces milk.

How to establish breastfeeding?

When feeding by the hour, it is enough to remember a simple feeding schedule and offer your baby the breast strictly at the appointed hours. When feeding on demand, there is no need to remember any schedule - you need to put the baby to the breast at every concern. On the first day, when mother and baby find themselves in the postpartum ward, attachments should be short - 1-3 minutes; in one feeding, the baby can be applied to both mammary glands. Over the course of 1-2 days, the duration of feedings should be increased and gradually increased to 20 minutes. In the future, you should strive to ensure that the baby receives one mammary gland at one feeding.

I would especially like to emphasize that the concept of free feeding provides for the child’s free choice of not only the frequency of feedings, but also their duration. This provision does not agree with the previous ideas of domestic pediatricians, who recommended keeping children at the breast for no more than 20 minutes. This view was based on the idea that prolonged sucking could cause cracked and inflamed nipples. However, it has now been established that the real reason cracked nipples are most often incorrect position baby at the breast and improper latching of the nipple. At the same time, limiting the duration of sucking can lead to the fact that the baby will not be satiated and will not receive the “hind” milk that he needs for normal height. This applies in particular to the so-called “lazy suckers”, in contrast to the “active suckers” who are sated in 10-20 minutes, they can suckle for more than 30 minutes. At the same time, it is likely that for both children, the volume of milk received per feeding corresponds to their needs. It’s just that the former suck slowly, perhaps with interruptions, while the latter suck quickly and, accordingly, get satiated faster.

In establishing breastfeeding on demand great importance has the ability to comfortably feed your baby at night! Many mothers choose co-sleeping or put a crib next to yours.

Night sleep

At first glance, the 6 hour break implied by clock feeding is very tempting. You can feed your baby at 12 am and sleep peacefully until 6 am, and if you are lucky and the baby falls asleep after 6 hours of feeding, you can sleep until 9 am. Total, about 8 hours of full sleep. Unfortunately, more often than not these are just theoretical calculations. The baby begins to worry much earlier than at 6.00, the mother makes various attempts that could calm the baby, so she does not sleep herself, instead of just feeding the baby and continuing to sleep.

When feeding on demand, there is no need to take breaks - it is enough to give the baby the breast at the first request, he will eat and calm down, and the mother can continue to sleep with pleasure.

Psychological aspect

When feeding on demand, a young mother is simply forced to find mutual language with the baby. After all, it is clear that not every “squeak” can mean that the baby is hungry, that is, the mother, one way or another, quickly learns to understand the child’s language, what in what case he wants. In this case, the mother can use two tactics: first offer the baby the breast and look at his reaction - if the child refuses, then look for other reasons for crying, or, on the contrary, you can first check the basic signs that will allow you to judge the causes of discomfort (dry diapers, etc.). etc.), and then offer the breast. Of course, every mother chooses a more suitable algorithm of action for herself. Having learned to understand the baby, the mother becomes more confident in herself, although, of course, such understanding does not come immediately.

When feeding by the hour, the mother is forced to wait until the prescribed 3-hour regime between feedings ends. At the same time, the mother tries to calm the baby, who begins to worry, thinking that he wants to eat. To achieve this, a variety of measures can be taken - pacifier, rocking, etc. Meanwhile, the reason for crying may not be hunger at all. Of course, a sensitive mother, even when feeding by the hour, will learn to figure out why the baby is crying, but still, when feeding on demand, the most optimal conditions are created for this.

So, the indisputable advantage of breastfeeding on demand is that it is more physiological, it allows you to avoid a lack of milk, stagnation, and not waste time pumping. Breastfeeding on demand allows your baby to receive the optimal amount of milk. This feeding option allows both mother and baby to gain confidence and psychological comfort. However, there is no doubt that routine feeding also has a significant advantage - the ability to plan and find free time, which is so necessary for a young mother. In this regard, the optimal option is most likely breastfeeding on demand, with the introduction, if possible, at the age of 2-3 months of certain restrictions, which will subsequently allow mother and baby to switch to a regime that is convenient for both. So, the mother can offer the baby the breast at certain hours, even if the child does not ask, thereby gradually moving to a certain routine.

Almost every young mother who decides to breastfeed her baby is faced with a choice: what approach to feeding should she follow? The older generation, represented by grandmothers, adult relatives and some doctors, insist that the child should breastfeed every hour. However, information constantly comes from the Internet and other sources that the baby should receive mother's milk upon request. What to choose: breastfeeding on demand or by the hour? Let's try to understand what the essence of both approaches is.

Feeding by schedule or by the hour

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Once every 3 hours

Clock feeding is a relatively modern “invention.” This feeding system appeared in the post-war Soviet time, when women, having barely become mothers, were forced to go to work. Considering the conditions of that time it was easy a vital necessity, and since the work schedule cannot be adjusted to the child’s needs, we had to do the opposite: adapt the child to the mother’s schedule.

In this approach, the baby breastfeeds at intervals of three hours and suckles for a maximum of 20 minutes. At night, the break between feedings is 6 hours.

There are not many advantages to feeding by the hour, but one thing can still be highlighted:

• Along with feeding by the hour, a clear daily routine is built. It turns out that the mother knows exactly at what time the baby will suckle and at what time she will be free. You can plan your day and your time away from home.
• Once baby adjusts to this feeding routine, mom will have more restful nights.

The disadvantages of such a feeding system for both the nursing mother and the baby:

• Babies have a hard time withstanding such long breaks without breastfeeding, so in the event of screaming, you will have to be persistent and be prepared to distract the child, keep him occupied with something, and switch his attention.
• At different feedings, the baby can suckle at the breast with different intensity, so in 20 minutes he can receive a different amount of milk each time. This leads to the fact that during some of the feedings the baby will gain less weight than expected and will have to be supplemented with formula.
• The mother is more likely to have breast problems. If the breast is not emptied in time, it becomes overfilled, which leads to such an unpleasant process as (stagnation of milk in the ducts). This is very painful condition, accompanied high temperature. Sometimes you have to seek help from specialists, since you cannot “drain” the breast on your own.
• The most dangerous consequence feeding by the hour is the extinction of lactation. Milk production depends on the level of the hormone prolactin in the blood. This hormone is produced in response to sucking, so what bigger baby sucks the breast - the longer woman feeds If breast stimulation is insufficient, less and less milk begins to be produced. A lack of prolactin is especially dangerous in the first months, when lactation is just getting started. Back in the days when hourly feeding was a common pattern, most women breastfed for no longer than 6 months.
• From a psychological point of view, feeding by the hour is also not beneficial for the baby. It turns out that the mother ignores the needs of the child, denying him the opportunity to receive the breast at the first cry. The baby's sucking reflex is satisfied only to a small extent, and this can form the habit of sucking a finger or fist.

At the first cry

Feeding on demand is often seen as something of a modern trend, but it is a much older approach than feeding by the clock. Moreover, it is not artificially developed. Feeding on demand is also called natural feeding, since this method of breastfeeding has developed naturally during the development of man.

Ancient women did not know the regime and did not try to decide for the child when he should eat. The child was almost always in his mother's arms, so getting breastfeeding was not a problem for him.

Note to moms!

Hello girls) I didn’t think that the problem of stretch marks would affect me too, and I’ll also write about it))) But there’s nowhere to go, so I’m writing here: How did I get rid of stretch marks after childbirth? I will be very glad if my method helps you too...

None complex rules at natural feeding no: the child literally gets a breast for every cry and stays at the breast as much as he wants. The same principle applies to night feedings. By the way, night feedings are simply necessary for lactation, since increased production of prolactin occurs at night.

The best feeding regimen for a newborn - Dr. Komarovsky

Although feeding on demand is in a natural way infant feeding, modern women This approach does not always seem convenient. For the modern mother, the following disadvantages can be identified:

1. Until the baby starts eating from the common table and breast milk ceases to be his main food, the mother always has to be prepared to put things aside to feed the baby or feed in a not very convenient place, because the baby may scream in a store, transport or on street. Of course, today there are special clothes for nursing mothers and underwear, allowing you to feed unnoticed. However, given the level of development of breastfeeding culture in our country, not every woman will decide to feed her baby in a public place.
2. Since the time spent at the breast is also determined by the child, it may happen that your baby will love to sleep with the breast in his mouth (many babies do this), chaining the mother to one place for a long time.
3. Breastfed babies wake up more often at night, and the mother has to either constantly get up to the crib or take the baby to the parent's bed, which is not acceptable for everyone.
4. The question is very difficult for many mothers. If, in the case of clock feeding, lactation almost always stops on its own ahead of time, then when feeding on demand, the mother either purposefully weans the child from the breast when she decides, and this is often a painful procedure, or feeds until self-weaning, which can occur later than 2 years .

Although there are disadvantages to this approach, they are not so significant. All negative aspects are more than removable and this depends, rather, on the mother’s own mood than on any objective reasons.

But the advantages of feeding on demand are very significant and it is not wise to neglect them.

1. If the baby is breastfed, you don’t have to worry about harmonious physical development, because the child is guaranteed to receive all the necessary nutrients.
2. Such children are much less likely to have tummy problems, since breast milk is a fully adapted food for the immature children's gastrointestinal tract. Babies who receive breastfeeding on demand do not need to be supplemented with water and fed early, so their intestines work more efficiently and do not cause problems for either the child or the parents.
3. For mothers, natural feeding is an excellent preventive measure. possible problems with breasts. Since the breasts are emptied in a timely manner, the risks of lactostasis are minimal.
4. Lactation is established without problems, which means that a lack of milk does not threaten anyone and the mother can feed the baby for as long as she wants.
5. Breastfed babies can do without a pacifier. There is no need for it, since the baby's sucking reflex is completely satisfied by sucking on the mother's breast. Considering that there is no consensus regarding pacifier sucking, and this is still foreign object For a child, the ability to refuse a pacifier is a big plus.
6. In general, babies who receive breastfeeding on demand grow up calmer and more confident. Their needs are not ignored, they know that they can always get what they need from their mother.

It is safe to say that feeding by schedule (or by the clock) is rather a relic of the past, and at present this approach is significantly inferior compared to feeding on demand. Overwhelming majority modern mothers has the opportunity not to go to work a few months after the birth of the baby, so introducing a strict feeding regime is not at all necessary.