Why does the child sleep poorly at night, often wakes up. Problematic sleep at night in babies of eight months Restless sleep in babies of 8 months

The first weeks of his life the child is awake a little. During the day he sleeps more than he plays. This is the ideal state of affairs. Babies often have restless sleep, are naughty, do not sleep themselves and do not give rest to their parents. Why does an eight-month-old baby sleep badly?

It is impossible to give an unambiguous answer to this question. There can be many reasons for such behavior of a little man. Most often this is due to some problems in physical or mental development. To help the child, you need to figure out what exactly is connected with his poor sleep at night.

How important is sleep for a child?

The problem of sleep is devoted to many different studies and scientific research. Most of all, those processes that occur in a dream with young children are considered. The time that the baby spends in sleep has a significant impact on the formation of his higher nervous activity and on the state of health in general.

Good, sound sleep contributes to the normal course of many important processes:

• final maturation of the brain. Scientists believe that after birth and up to three years, a person has the highest brain activity. The neural network is able to actively form precisely at rest, that is, when the child is sleeping. Among other things, at this time there is an increase in the interaction between both hemispheres of the brain;
• The development of memory and attention. Based on scientific research, it has been proven that, as a child, a person is able to perceive, memorize and distribute a large flow of material. The time that the child spends in a dream is more aimed at remembering the information received;
• "Growing up" of the baby. People say that a baby grows in a dream. This is true, because the secretion of growth hormone is characteristic of night sleep. If this hormone is not enough, then the child will not grow and develop in accordance with his age;
• Restoration of strength and energy. By eight months, the baby becomes very active, so he gets tired a lot during the day. Only a sound night's sleep can help him renew his strength;
• Mental and emotional relaxation. A little man from his birth receives a certain share of stress. This happens almost every day due to the fact that he is constantly confronted with something new, until then unknown to him;
• Formation of mood. When a child has a good night's sleep, he wakes up in a great mood, which pleases the people around him;
• The development of immunity. When the body is weakened from restless, sleepless nights, it easily gives up under the influence of negative infections. The more the baby sleeps, the more he gets stronger, along with his immunity. The calmer the child's sleep, the stronger his health.

How should a baby sleep at 8 months

The way an adult sleeps is different from that of an eight-month-old baby. Under favorable conditions, the baby spends about 11 hours sleeping. But sleep is rather heterogeneous, it is called cyclical, because the phases are constantly changing. We are talking about falling asleep, about the phase of superficial and deep sleep.

After the baby is 6 months old, the slow-fast phase period is one and a half hours. Over time, the deep phase becomes longer.

The slow phase is characterized by a slow heartbeat, deep breathing, the eyeballs are at rest, the muscles of the face and fists are relaxed, the child stops shuddering.

That is, in this case, we can talk about sound sleep.

In the active phase, the eyeballs are constantly moving, breathing is intermittent, frequent changes in facial expressions are characteristic, legs and arms often twitch.

The active phase is that period of sleep when everything that happens around easily wakes up the child. If at such a moment you try to put the baby in his crib, then most often there will be an awakening. Therefore, do not rush. Let the baby sleep soundly and only then shift.

Why does an 8 month old baby sleep badly at night

There are many reasons for a child's restless sleep. Unfortunately, there are even those that can only be eliminated with the use of drugs. Doctors tried to group all the factors into specific groups:

• Physiology and characteristics of the body characteristic of a particular baby;
• Emotional problems;
• Neurology.

Causes of restless sleep in a child:

• The stages of sleep in children proceed in different ways. For some, the fast phase lasts longer than the slow phase. The baby shudders in his sleep. How often this happens depends purely on the characteristics of the child himself. If the baby is excitable, then his sleep is less calm than that of other children. The baby requires constant attention and help from parents;
• Acquisition of new skills. With age, the baby becomes more active. By 6-8 months, he is increasingly trying to show independent motor activity, and sometimes this happens in a dream. The emotional outburst from new sensations continues its action at night. Therefore, parents should not worry, as soon as these skills are not some kind of innovation for the child, sleep will improve;
• Too active motor and emotional activity during the day. Sometimes, complaining that the baby began to sleep poorly at night, parents do not think about such a simple reason as overexcitation. If the child plays too much all day without rest, is in a constantly excited state under the impression of various events, then he will fall asleep badly, and the night's sleep itself will be intermittent, with whims and crying. Since a baby at eight months cannot yet independently limit his emotions, parents should follow this;
• The appearance of teeth. By eight months, the baby should have central and lateral incisors. These teeth are cut with especially painful sensations. Therefore, it is not surprising that the child's sleep during this period is very restless;
• Painful sensations in the abdomen. When the baby is half a year old, mothers begin to give him various complementary foods. If during this period you do not follow all the recommendations of pediatricians, then the baby may have digestion. And this threatens with painful manifestations in the child's tummy during sleep;
• Failure to comply with comfortable conditions for sleep. To create favorable conditions for a night's sleep, first of all, you need to take care of comfortable clothes that will not cause any discomfort. Also, parents need to monitor the temperature and humidity in the room where the baby sleeps. So comfortable for a child are considered temperature - 18-20 ℃, and humidity - no more than 60%;
• Feelings of hunger. Failure to comply with the elementary diet can lead to the fact that at night the child will feel hungry, from which he will often wake up and cry. Breast milk is digested quickly enough, which cannot be said about various cereals and artificial mixtures;
• Insomnia (insomnia). This sleep disorder is due to the fact that the baby is not able to fall asleep on its own. If children do not have such problems, then, often waking up at night, they change their body position, get comfortable and fall asleep again. In this case, this does not happen. Children suffering from insomnia can no longer fall asleep on their own, as their parents have accustomed them to constant motion sickness with and without it. Most often, this situation occurs during the transition of the active phase of sleep to slow sleep. And sometimes only 2-3 hours after the child fell asleep;
• Somatic and neurological problems. Fortunately, a baby's restless sleep is rarely associated with any disease. Serious reasons that led to sleep disturbance include: increased intracranial pressure, allergic manifestations, neoplasms in the brain, infections, disorders in the development of internal organs, etc. If the child’s sleep is constantly disturbed, you should think about the reasons for this state of the baby. It is best to consult a doctor and, if necessary, undergo the recommended course of treatment.

From the foregoing, we can conclude that there are many factors leading to sleep disturbance. Most of them can be changed by following all the rules and advice of specialists.

What to do if a child at 8 months does not sleep well at night

Parents need to try to ensure that the baby does not suffer from lack of sleep. You can achieve this by following certain steps:

• Get rid of overexcitement. In order for the baby’s nervous system not to suffer, a favorable atmosphere must be created around him. Spend more time outdoors. Before going to bed, it would be nice for him to take a bath with the addition of herbs with a calming effect. It can be chamomile or valerian;
• A well-fed baby is a restful sleep. Observation of the behavior of infants showed that the child sleeps worse when he is hungry. To avoid such situations, feed him well two hours before bedtime. Give him a breast just before putting him to bed. Thus, the baby will not only be satisfied, but also become calmer, thanks to endorphins. It is desirable that breast milk was more fatty. To do this, a woman needs to monitor her diet and eat well;
• The kid didn't play. It often happens that at night, waking up and having a little refreshment, the child begins an active game activity. To prevent this from happening again, shift the bedtime in the evening to a later date;
• Normal temperature. When a family has a baby, a favorable climate must be created not only psychologically, but also in temperature. The air temperature should not exceed 22℃ and humidity 40%. Make sure that the baby is not overcooled or overheated. Both of these are undesirable. When a baby has a sweat, problem areas need to be treated with a special ointment;
• Anesthesia. The whims of the baby at night may occur due to any painful sensations. It can be teeth or tummy. In this situation, the child needs help. In extreme cases, he is given painkillers. But this should be done only with a clear cause of pain;
• Mother's peace. We have repeatedly mentioned that the baby has a very close relationship with the mother. Therefore, a woman should monitor her emotional state. All your nerves, irritations sooner or later begin to act on the baby. The same goes for insomnia. No matter how difficult it is, the child should not feel it. Be always affectionate with him, smile more often, try to restrain your negative emotions. Thanks to your efforts, the baby's sleep will be strong and long.

How to put down a baby at 8 months

Lulling an infant

When the child woke up at night and then stays awake for a long time, try to lull him. Our great-grandmothers also rocked children who could not sleep. While rocking, the baby relaxes, becomes calmer and falls asleep.

You can download in several ways. For example, you can put the baby on top of you and gently rock it until you fall asleep. Children are perfectly rocked, sitting in the arms of their mother. So he understands that he was surrounded by a dense protective ring, as it was in his mother's tummy.

These methods of dealing with insomnia are absolutely safe for the health of the baby.

When the baby is still breastfeeding, it is easier to rock him. Take the baby in your arms, give him a breast, gently shaking, vilify around the room, sing a song. Do not be afraid that he will get used to it and will fall asleep only in this way.

Night sleep next to mom

Babies are too closely related to moms. They can be calm only when they feel nearby her maternal warmth, her smell, her voice. An eight-month-old toddler cannot feel safe without the dearest person, which is why he begins to act up when his parents try to put him to sleep in a separate bed.

If there is a problem with sleeping at night, try putting the baby next to you.

This is especially convenient for lactating women. As soon as the baby is capricious, the mother can immediately give him a breast, hug, lull him.

After a certain time, as soon as the capricious plunges into a deep sleep, he is transferred to the crib. That is, the baby falls asleep under his mother's wing, and spends the second half of the night on his own. Or vice versa, you need to look at the situation.

The older the child becomes, the stronger and longer his sleep becomes. He rarely wakes up to feed. Over time, when breastfeeding ends, you need to teach the little man to sleep on his own.

Preparation for sleep

It is not bad when the same rite of preparation for sleep is traditionally used in the family. Daily observance of this order creates an atmosphere of calm and relaxation of the baby before a night's sleep:

• water procedures. It is very good when the baby is accustomed to bathing before bedtime. And it's not just a matter of hygiene. So the baby is well relaxed. Important! If bathing for the crumbs is not a very pleasant procedure, it is better to carry it out at a different time of the day.;
• Creating a pleasant environment. In the room where they are preparing for bed, it is necessary to remove all extraneous sounds long before the baby is laid down. The light should not be too bright;
• Making contact before bed. When preparing for bed, hug your child, talk to him, tell him something pleasant;
• Fairy tales. In order to read fairy tales or nursery rhymes at night, you do not need to choose a particular age. Kids always love it. Reading not only soothes before sleep, but helps in the intellectual development of the child;
• Songs for the night. Only the deaf have not heard about the magical properties of lullabies. From time immemorial, children fell asleep to the sound of their mother's song. Now you can not only sing, but also turn on any light, lulling melody before going to bed;
• After your baby has fallen asleep, put him in a comfortable position, cover him with a blanket. If he has fears of dark rooms, turn on a nightlight in the bedroom.

For an infant, sleep is one of the best assistants in stimulating growth and development. It is good if the child falls asleep on his own by 8 months and does not wake up at night. But the opposite situation also happens. Then it is important to find out why he does not sleep well or often wakes up. Dr. Komarovsky has his own thoughts. They are useful to know for any parent who is faced with similar problems.

natural causes

First of all, it is necessary to find out its physiological features. From them and should be repelled. 8 months is a rather difficult period. The baby wakes up for many reasons, the main ones are two.

1. Specific "architecture of sleep". At 8 months, a baby's superficial sleep is much "stronger" than deep sleep. Waking up frequently at this age is normal.
2. The need to feed at night. Just at 8 months, it is especially pronounced. All breastfed babies can wake up. For babies on artificial mixtures, less applies.

Above are only the so-called physiological causes of awakening. There are other situations that can lead to sleep problems. They can be called "situational".

What can interfere with sleep

It will be possible to name many situations when sleep becomes sensitive. According to Komarovsky, many of them can be eliminated fairly quickly and without much effort. But parents need to pinpoint exactly what the problem is. In the event of the described situation, Komarovsky advises paying attention to such most fundamental points.

1. Lack of proper sleep and rest. By the age of 8 months, the regimen should develop completely in a child.
2. The wrong place to sleep. The absence of parents next to the baby worsens sleep.
3. Excess sleep during the day. Some children sleep during the daytime.
4. Illiterate choice of feeding time. It is not necessary to feed at night. If the baby wakes up to attach to the mother's breast, it is necessary to reconsider the diet.
5. Lack of sufficient physical activity during the day.
6. uncomfortable conditions. The reason also lies in improperly selected humidity, inappropriate temperature in the room. Of great importance is the quality of the mattress used diapers.

These are the main cases when the baby wakes up. Komarovsky's recommendations will allow you to teach your baby to sleep well.

What should parents do

The rules for healthy sleep for an eight-month-old baby are clear and easy to follow. Komarovsky asks parents to rely on the following recommendations.

1. Before going to bed, the baby should be well fed. Then at night he will not get hungry.
2. At 8 months, the child is even better to put in the same room with their parents. It is harder to sleep in a separate room.
3. Before going to bed, you should ventilate the room to avoid stuffiness. The optimum air humidity is 60%.
4. It is necessary to provide the baby with daily loads.
5. During the day, it is not recommended to put the child to sleep if he clearly does not want to. Otherwise, he will often wake up at night.
6. The child must be taught to alternate periods of sleep and rest. Gradually, he will get used to night sleep, the problem will disappear.

There is nothing difficult in following such rules. In general, Komarovsky recommends first of all to pay attention to the presented aspects. It will be possible to survive the age of 8 months without much nerves. Over time, sleep improves. After a year of life, the baby will begin to sleep much stronger, and mom and dad will not have to put him down several times. The right approach to this issue will allow you to educate a full-fledged and developed person.

Normally, an infant should always sleep in a calm, sound sleep. But at different periods of life, normal sleep is disturbed and a series of restless nights follows, which exhaust the parents so much. This is primarily due to age-related changes through which the baby goes through every 2-3 months. An 8-9-month-old baby is just entering the next important stage of development, and therefore begins to sleep poorly.

What's happening

By the age of eight months, most babies sit up on their own in the crib and even try to move around on all fours. What scope this creates for the active research activity of the child! If earlier he could only reach out to things interesting for himself with his hands, now he is trying to crawl to them himself.

Once again, the child's sleep pattern is changing. Night rest still goes up to 10 hours, and the daytime period is significantly reduced. The baby is already quite enough to sleep for 2 hours twice a day. But two daytime rests are obligatory, otherwise by the evening the fragile nervous system is so overloaded that the child of 8 months does not sleep well at night.

At this age, even breastfed babies should already be receiving complementary foods. New foods are constantly appearing in the child's diet, which must be introduced very smoothly. If you immediately feed the baby with a standard portion of unusual food for him, the digestive system will immediately react with a malfunction. Already forgotten colic, cramps, gases will begin, which can keep you awake all night.

The psychological burden on the baby is enormous. He learns new things every day, like a sponge absorbs new words, struggling to repeat individual sounds and syllables. It gives him great pleasure to communicate with loved ones. He violently shows emotions and reacts very sensitively to the slightest changes in the mood or intonation of his mother's voice.

Not yet able to control his own overwork, the baby, having received many even positive impressions, can become sharply capricious, become restless, and start crying a lot. This means only one thing - the child is tired and needs rest. Mom needs to try to control the psycho-emotional state of the baby in order to prevent severe overwork.

The physical activity of an 8-month-old baby increases significantly. He learns to play with toys, most of the time he sits, many children get up, holding their hands on the side of the crib. This requires huge energy costs, and the appetite of the crumbs increases dramatically. Sometimes you even have to return to night feeding, especially when breastfeeding, otherwise a hungry child does not sleep well at night - he tosses and turns all the time, often wakes up.

Sleep phases by 8 months become the same as in an adult. That is, babies also have superficial sleep most of the night.

And if earlier it was possible to wake a sleeping child only with the roar of a cannon, now he began to fall asleep longer and sleep more sensitively. This means that it is necessary to accustom him to falling asleep on his own, since now it is unlikely that he will be able to put a dozing baby into the crib without waking him up.

The following signs indicate that there are indeed problems with sleep:

• the baby categorically refuses to go to bed at the usual time;
• the duration of falling asleep increases to half an hour or more;
• the child wakes up 2-3 times a night;
• after a night awakening, the baby does not fall asleep for 1.5-2 hours;
• the baby constantly tosses and turns in a dream, sometimes screams or moans through a dream;
• there are sudden awakenings with hysteria.

There are many reasons for the appearance of such problems, and age-related changes are only one of them, more related to the psychological aspect of the development of the child. All the rest can be divided into physiological and pathological.

And problems with children's sleep can be provoked by the parents themselves with their wrong actions.

Physiological causes

The physiological reasons why a child of 8 months falls asleep for a long time and sleeps poorly at night, mostly lie on the surface. They are very easy to identify and eliminate, you just need to carefully observe the situation and your actions and, if necessary, make appropriate adjustments to them:

It is also interesting that by about 8 months the child begins to clearly realize when the mother is going to leave somewhere. Each new separation is a real tragedy - after all, the baby does not yet understand that she will definitely return and he does not have a sense of time.

Therefore, you should not leave him to fall asleep alone - for the time being he cannot do this. At a minimum, sit next to him, but rather provide tactile contact so that the baby feels protected.

Pathological causes

When a child is sick, he always sleeps badly at night. It is quite easy for even an inexperienced mother to identify colds and respiratory diseases - snot, cough, and fever appear.

But there are other pathological reasons that prevent the baby from sleeping soundly:

It is always necessary to treat infants under the supervision of a pediatrician, even if the child does not need hospitalization. Therefore, if you suspect that the reason why the child did not sleep well is a disease, then you should not try to make a diagnosis yourself - go to the doctor and be sure to undergo an examination.

Most diseases detected at an early stage can be easily cured. Advanced diseases can greatly affect the further development of the baby.

To sleep better

Mom always has the opportunity to make sure that the baby sleeps better. Here are a few proven simple tricks that significantly improve the quality of children's sleep at night, regardless of what caused the disorder:

And remember that in the absence of pathologies, sleep problems will improve in a couple of weeks. Therefore, it is very important to remain calm and not spoil the nerves of yourself and your child, being irritated due to sleepless nights and long falling asleep.

Try to rest more, do not hesitate to ask for help from loved ones. Then the period of sleep regression will pass quite quickly and painlessly.

Daytime sleep of the baby is no less important than nighttime sleep. Moreover, the lack of daytime sleep and accumulated fatigue lead to worse nighttime sleep. And about the influence of children's daytime sleep on mother's well-being, you can write a separate novel! Therefore, today I will tell you what to do if the baby does not fall asleep well during the day, refuses daytime sleep, or sleeps little during the daytime.

Find out the objective numbers

Before answering the question of why a child does not sleep well during the day, it is important to understand how much he actually sleeps over a period of 24 hours and how this sleep is distributed. So for 3-5 days, write down all your baby's sleep intervals, including those that usually "do not count" - 10 minutes of sleep in the car on the way from grandma, 20 minutes of sleep in the stroller, etc.

At the same time, it is important for you to note not only how much the baby slept, but also at what time of the day he fell asleep - for convenience, you can use this form.

Once you have an objective picture, compare it to the recommended sleep allowances that are appropriate for your child's age. Keep in mind that every child is different, and as such, the age at which you stop napping varies greatly. This can happen at 2.5 years (rarely) and after 6, and here it is especially important to compensate for the transition period by organizing an earlier bed.

Correct the situation

If you have come to the conclusion that your baby is short on daytime sleep, this can and should be corrected. However, be aware that daytime sleep is always more difficult for children, and therefore some effort will be required from you. So, let's look at a few possible causes of poor daytime sleep and how to correct them:

Problem 1: Wrong daily routine

Modern sleep scientists are so advanced in the study of sleep that they tell us exactly when the child's body is ready to fall asleep in order to sleep longer and get better quality sleep. There are cyclical periods when the hormonal background changes and makes it easier to fall asleep. At this time, the body temperature drops, and metabolic processes slow down, and if there is a need and a certain degree of fatigue, the body easily falls asleep. Of course, you can fall asleep at other times (and this happens if you are already at the limit). But, remember that sleep in this case is more difficult. You don’t get a restorative effect (remember, you seem to have slept, and your head is buzzing so that it would be better not to lie down), and some children may even wake up crying because this dream didn’t really benefit.

Solution

If your baby is having a hard time falling asleep during the day, estimate the time you start putting him to bed. The optimal time to start daytime sleep is 8-30/9 and 12-30/13 days. At the same time, it is important that the morning rise is no later than 7 in the morning, so that the baby has time to accumulate the necessary degree of fatigue by the time his body automatically begins to go into hibernation mode. If the child is not yet 6 months old, consider the optimal duration of wakefulness in order to prevent a state of overwork that will greatly interfere with falling asleep even at optimal hours. We will analyze in great detail the features of building a child’s day regimen at the next one, we will talk about how the baby’s regimen changes from birth to 2 years.

Problem 2: abrupt change of activity

Our children are very active and curious. It is not surprising that for them the daytime hours are a series of discoveries, running, tears, laughter, games, songs and fun. And children are still just learning to manage their emotions, including switching them. This is a difficult task! Therefore, when the mother suddenly gives the command “time to sleep” and tries to curtail all the fun by putting the baby to bed, he protests and does not at all tune in to a sleepy mood.

Solution

Make sure you form a consistent and consistent ritual, including nap time. Of course, it will not be a long procession of bathing, books, pajamas and kisses, like at night, but some elements should be transferred to daytime sleep. Remember, children don't understand the concept of time and are sequencing so they understand what's going to happen next and adjust their expectations accordingly. A clear and consistent routine before each sleep will be a signal of what to tune in to, as well as help avoid disappointment and protests. And one more thing - after 3-4 months of age it is very important for children to sleep in the same place in most cases - this is also part of building the right expectations.

Problem 3: Light and noisy in the sleeping room

At the beginning of the article, I mentioned that daytime sleep is always more difficult than nighttime sleep. The reason is that the environment is very stimulating to wakefulness - the sun is shining, life is noisy outside the window, and the just completed walk did not set you in a sleepy mood. Children, like adults, find it easier to sleep in a dark and quiet space with a comfortable temperature. Many mothers specifically “teach” children to sleep during the day in the light: “so as not to confuse day with night”, “it will be easier to fall asleep in the garden”, “the child should know that it is day”. Doing this is not worth it. Light entering the optic nerve sends a signal to the brain that now is the time of wakefulness and the brain stops the production of the hormone melatonin, which puts our body to sleep. No melatonin, no sleep. Even if the child falls asleep, it will be difficult for him to sleep and he will not oversleep for long. Noise outside the window is another factor that can seriously interfere. It distracts when falling asleep, and can wake up a child who has already fallen asleep.

Solution

Darken the room as much as possible while sleeping. Now there is a wonderful invention - cassette blinds with black out fabric. This design is made according to the size of the glass in your window, and the opaque sheet fits snugly, not letting the bright sun inside. An added bonus from such blinds is that the room heats up less from external heat. If there is no way to install such blinds, be creative - fasten a blanket, tape black construction garbage bags to the glass, hang the most dense woven curtains.

With the noise of the street (and household) will help you fight ... white noise. This is the name of a group of sounds that are generalized in their monotony and cyclicity. You can choose from a great variety - static noise between radio stations (classic white noise), rain or surf noise, heartbeat, etc. Experiment, make sure that the sound level is not too high (this is not how it works) and run it cyclically for the entire period of sleep. These sounds create a background that absorbs background noise, pulls the baby back to sleep on light awakenings, and they are absolutely not addictive. Those. neither adults nor children form attachments to noise as a prerequisite for sleep. Remember - music (including classical) is not white noise!

Problem 4: Premature transition from two naps to one

The transition to the mode of one daytime sleep occurs on average between 15 and 18 months. At such a moment, many mothers notice that morning sleep comes very easily and lasts 1.5-2 hours, but after dinner it is not possible to put the child to bed. The problem arises when the baby is forced to stay awake for 8-10 hours from the moment of the last sleep - he is very tired, naughty, hardly fits at night and may start waking up at night or trying to get up sooooo early in the morning. If a child is not ready for this change (and some may try to make this transition even at 9-11 months), then his body simply cannot physically withstand such a load, and a variety of difficulties can begin - from worsening daytime behavior to loss of appetite and lethargy, frequent falls, etc.

Solution

Offer your child two naps for as long as possible. If you begin to notice that morning sleep “interferes” with afternoon sleep, then limit the first interval to an hour so that by lunchtime the baby is ready to fall asleep again. In this case, if necessary, it is appropriate to slightly shift the bedtime from the ideal 13:00 to 13:30, and this sleep does not need to be limited. Often, children aged 9-15 months go through huge developmental leaps - they begin to walk, speak their first words, fantasy develops rapidly, conceptual thinking expands - all this temporarily disrupts sleep. However, usually in a few days the new skill settles down and no longer has such a negative effect on sleep, so before deciding to give up 2 times a day sleep, it is important to continue offering the old regimen for at least two weeks from the moment the difficulties began.

Problem 5: Negative associations with sleep

In the first days (and months) of a newborn's life, mothers do everything to make the baby sleep, and rightly so, because. the nervous system of the baby is often up to 4 months is not able to easily adjust to sleep. However, such habits are addictive, and many mothers find that even by 8 or even 18 months, the only way to put the baby to bed is to roll it in a stroller, hold it all the time in her arms or on her chest. And in this case, sleep is very superficial and short-lived. This problem is the most difficult. The fact is that such children (and often mothers) simply do not believe in their ability to fall asleep differently, without relying on such a familiar “crutch”. Of course, because their whole life went exactly in this order - rocking = sleep, arms = sleep, chest = sleep, stroller = sleep. They never had the opportunity to fall asleep on their own. And this is where you have to teach the child that he himself can cope well with the task of falling asleep, without relying on such “helpers”.

Solution

There are two approaches to solving such problems - cardinal and gradual. Few mothers can decide on the “cry-sleep” method (although when used correctly, this has been proven to be a harmless, fast and effective method), so go straight to more delicate options! Mom will need perseverance and patience to achieve results. In addition, all the previous conditions must be met - sleep must be organized at the right time, in a well-darkened room and after the usual ritual. In most cases, you will have to gradually reduce the impact of your specific association - not to pump until you fall asleep completely, but to a deep sleepy state, for example, and then just hold it in your arms without moving to begin with. Then gradually pump less and less, holding it in your arms, at some point - put the still awake baby in the crib, etc.

For babies who are used to sleeping on their mother's chest, feeding and sleeping should be separated in order to move away from this kind of addiction. It is worth feeding 15-20 minutes before bedtime, not before falling asleep, and then just put the baby to bed, separating food and sleep, for example, by changing a diaper.

A small child needs good sleep, which stimulates his growth and development. Almost all parents have gone through nighttime sleep deprivation associated with intestinal colic in a newborn baby. Babies are debilitated by the pain that makes it difficult for them to sleep. Frequent awakenings during this period exhaust not only children, but also their parents. But by about 3-4 months, the work of the digestive system gradually returns to normal, respectively, sleep is getting better.

It would seem that finally, parents can relax and breathe a sigh of relief due to the end of nightly sleep deprivation, as another problem appears - an 8-month-old child sleeps very badly at night. He can cry, wake up, turn around in search of a comfortable position. This seriously affects the psychological state of the baby and parents. Exhausted by nightly concerts, dad and mom are trying to figure out why an 8-month-old baby does not sleep well at night, because of which he cries and is naughty.

At 8 months, the baby shows its individual characteristics, which are the first signs of independence. He observes the world around him with interest, everything seems mysterious to him. During this period, the child increasingly uses movements, facial expressions, gestures and thus expresses his feelings. He can fiddle with toys for a long time, examine them and taste them.

Despite the fact that children are different, there are still certain general criteria in their development that are considered normal. For a baby at 8 months, the following indicators are characteristic:

An eight-month-old child gives parents sleepless nights: what to do?

A child at 8 months does not sleep well at night, often wakes up for various reasons. It is not always possible for parents to deal with this issue on their own. It happens that without the help of specialists it is difficult to cope with the task. Each person is individual. What is typical in behavior for one is categorically unacceptable for another baby. But there are certain points that are almost the same for children. For example, all 8-month-old babies have approximately the same time for rest and sleep.

Attention! Small deviations from the norm are imperceptible, but if the child is 8 months old. he sleeps badly at night all the time, and there are no visible reasons for explaining his behavior, you can’t turn a blind eye to this. It is necessary to find out what is the matter, and try to normalize the sleep-wake mode.

Hours Allotted for Sleep at 8 Months: Standard Views

The average amount of time allotted for sleep at 8 months ranges from 13 to 15 hours a day, of which 10–12 are at night. During the day, children at this age should sleep for at least 3 hours. The baby is awake at eight months for about 3-4 hours a day.

It is known that the reason for the awakening of children under 6 months is hunger, thirst, wet diapers, fear, nervous strain during daytime games.

After the second half of the year, little has changed. But children are less likely to wake up at night to eat, and gradually join a certain daily routine.

The "strike" of the baby and its manifestations

The sleep of a baby at 7-8 months old can be disturbed for various reasons. A baby sleeps restlessly if something disturbs him. For example, a stomach ache or teething. The baby can toss and turn all night, spinning in the crib trying to sleep. If this happens often, parents should pay attention to the general condition of the baby and his health.

The "strike" of the baby manifests itself in the following behavior:

• It is difficult for a child to fall asleep at a certain time; his sleep cannot be called strong and calm.
• He can doze off and wake up frequently.
• During a night's sleep, the baby can constantly whimper and toss and turn, act up and spin.
• The child may scream hysterically at night for no apparent reason.

The concept of sleep regression in children

Babies at the beginning of their lives experience several stages of sleep regression, which is a completely normal phenomenon associated with the physiological and mental development of the baby.

The mobility of children is most evident at 7-10 months. Crawling, standing up, sitting, the first attempts to walk are at this age. All these activities require increased work of the child's brain. The environment is a subject for research.

The kid is interested in everything, in the full sense of the word. This situation leads to the fact that sleep becomes the last place for the baby. The preoccupation with new tasks, the continuous training of one's skills, the analysis of new impressions captivate the little person so much that he is simply not interested in sleeping.

There are signs by which you can determine that a child has a sleep regression:

• The kid categorically refuses to sleep at the usual time for him.
• If he falls asleep, then his sleep lasts 30-40 minutes.
• During bedtime, the child is distracted, begins to look for a bottle, reaches for toys, does everything possible not to sleep.
• During a night's sleep, the number of awakenings of the child increases significantly. Sometimes he wakes up to 10 times.
• The baby's sleep is characterized as poor. The child tosses and turns, cries, groans, screams or sobs in his sleep.
• Sometimes he wakes up in hysterics.

Important! Such moments cannot be called "special strikes" of the baby. He, like his parents, has a very difficult time during periods of sleep regression. It is difficult for a small body to cope with new loads. Therefore, parents should not be angry with him in the first place. It is important to understand him in these moments and try to help.

Other Prerequisites for Problems: Dangerous and Not So Dangerous

By eight months, the baby's sleep is gradually getting better. But it cannot be called completely stable. Sometimes there are signs of poor sleep that cause concern for caring parents. It is worth noting the following reasons for these problems:

Reflection of lack of sleep on the state of the child

Babies during their development need a healthy diet, fresh air and good sleep. Insufficient rest hours lead to improper production of cortisol, which is the hormone of awakening, and melatonin, which is the hormone of sleep.

With a violation of the sleep regimen, not only the child's immunity begins to suffer, but also its organs and systems.

Interesting to know! Thanks to research, it became clear that those children who did not sleep well until the age of five have worse brain activity at the age of five than those who had full sleep in infancy.

Poor sleep is a shattered nervous system, disorders of which are fraught with nervousness, hysteria. In addition to all this, the poor quality of sleep is reflected in the work of the baby's digestive tract.

Reasonable actions of parents

There are many methods by which caring parents manage to ensure and normalize a child's sleep. One way or the other is suitable for every case. In order for the baby to fall asleep quickly and not toss and turn in his sleep, you must follow these recommendations:

• Find the cause of his overexcitation and try to eliminate it.
• It is necessary to spend enough time with the baby in the fresh air.
• When bathing a child in the evening, use herbs that soothe. Chamomile and valerian have proven themselves well in this regard.
• The child should not be allowed to starve. Only a well-fed baby can sleep peacefully.
• As your child gets older, their sleep patterns need to be re-evaluated. If earlier the baby fell asleep at 21 o'clock, then with age he may need more time to stay awake. In such cases, it is better to move a night's sleep for half an hour or an hour.
• It is important to maintain a normal microclimate in the room.
• In the presence of urticaria, which wakes the baby with itching, it is necessary to eliminate this skin problem.
• During teething, it is advisable to use special means to anesthetize the baby's gums.
• Mom should try to be less nervous, her mood is transmitted to the child.
• Falling asleep and waking up a baby should be accompanied by a smile and gentle words. Such an environment has, the child does not experience fear of loneliness.

There are times when a baby’s nighttime awakenings do not cause problems and do not cause a serious illness. It all depends on how often it happens. If very often, then it is better to show the baby to the doctors immediately.

Advice! Experts recommend parents from the first minute of a baby's life to adhere to the correct daily routine. It has been proven that the development of children who live according to a schedule from birth is much better, they are less likely to get sick. Parents with their care and attention should protect children from fears and worries.

There are times when a baby confuses day with night. You can correct the situation if you give him less sleep during the day. Thus, it is gradually possible to normalize the biological clock of the child.

Conclusion

The famous doctor Komarovsky advises: if parents are worried that a child is not sleeping well at 8 months, you should monitor his condition and well-being. Noticed alarm signals should be the reason for a visit to the doctor. Do not delay with this, because the health of the baby is the most valuable and important thing in the world.