Sleep: habits and recommendations

Sleep in the baby is a topic that can upset parents. In fact, it is one of the most frequent requests for help and advice from parents in the pediatrician's office. They can manifest themselves in multiple ways and occur at any age; from the baby who cries all night, to the two-year-old who delays bedtime, to the preschooler who has night terrors and ends up in the parents' bed.

What disturbs the baby's sleep? Detect the reason

If the children do not acquire good rest habits, the parents end up resenting it. Weeks, months or years without a good night's sleep wears us down, makes us more irritable and the simplest of tasks becomes difficult for us. On the other hand, the child who does not sleep and does not rest enough can have a bad time, have a lack of appetite and greater irritability.

Sleep can be disturbed by various situations: the birth of a little brother, the mother's return to work, changes to the house, vacations, the start of daycare or family problems. Each child is different and the way of experiencing vital changes in certain children can cause sleep disturbances.

In other cases, the problem with sleep is a lack of routines. When a baby or child modifies his way of sleeping, it is important to be able to review what has happened in the last few days, to see if there has been a different or new situation that may have produced the change. Everything is reversible if we find out in time.

Not all are sleep problems ...

Before thinking that the child has a problem, certain situations that can disturb the child's sleep should be ruled out:

• Room temperature: It is important to objectively assess whether the child is hot or cold at night. The room should be at a comfortable temperature and the child should be covered appropriately for the climate. You need to make sure that there are no drafts in their room, especially during winter, as this wakes them up. Always make sure that it is well covered, although on many occasions, in order to prevent them from catching cold, they are too warm and this also contributes to making the baby feel uncomfortable. You can tell if the baby is hot because his face and neck may be flushed. To be sure, place your hand on his chest. The baby should be warm to the touch and not hot or sticky. If the baby is very hot, remove the excess coat and cool him by opening his clothes.
• Noises: sudden or constant noises can be the causes that disturb the baby's sleep.
• Light and darkness: Light can be a problem for babies who wake up early or have a hard time falling asleep. The first lights of dawn, street lights or television are the most common causes. To solve the problem you can put curtains that do not allow the passage of light at all. Darkness, on the other hand, can also make many babies uncomfortable, as they do not feel safe when they wake up at night. For these cases you can use a soft light that is placed in a socket in the room.
• The cradle: Your baby may not be comfortable in his crib or bassinet. Some move a lot in their sleep, bumping against the edges of the crib as they do so, waking them up. It can be solved by placing protectors on the bars.
• Pajamas: It should be comfortable, without annoying hooks or zippers or too wide legs that make the baby's legs get lost in the pajamas. Tags, synthetics, seams, and tight stockings can cause discomfort that prevents you from sleeping properly. You should check that their skin does not have reddish marks from the friction of their clothes and that the size of their clothes is adequate.
• Diapers: there are babies who are very bothered by a wet diaper and wake up. In these cases, the diaper solves the problem.
• Hungry: a child older than six months may be hungry in the evening if he only drinks milk. It is advisable if you wake up to eat many times that you give a slightly more consistent dinner, according to the guidelines of the pediatrician.
• Nasal obstruction: many babies suffer from increased nasal mucus that blocks the passage of air when they breathe. If this is the case, sleep improves by performing a nasal wash before going to sleep.
• Teething: Some babies may have discomfort, so if this is the case, the pediatrician may prescribe some remedy to relieve it.
• Colic: they are quite frequent during the first three months of the baby's life. To alleviate them, take him in your arms, rock him with an anti-colic posture (place him face down with your hand on his tummy), give him the breast or a little stroll in a cart.
• Illness: children with respiratory problems (bronchitis, catarrh, otitis ...), skin problems (atopic dermatitis, urticaria ...) or others may sleep poorly due to the resulting discomfort. Once the disease passes, sleep will improve.

Sleep, a vital necessity

Sleep is a vital necessity and, as such, each baby is different. There are infants who barely nine hours a night and sleepy babies. The important thing is to respect the baby's rhythm, trying to establish a series of routines that facilitate rest. You can tell if a baby is getting enough sleep; if the rest has not been enough, the baby will be irritable, yawning and tired; He will not be able to enjoy normal activities for his age: listening to a story or playing games.

The newborn, due to eating very frequently, sleep is interrupted by the need to feed. It does not distinguish between day and night.

After three or four months, the number of night feedings is reduced, you spend more time awake during the day and the hours of sleep are reduced. From the age of five months, most babies sleep for about eight hours at night.

Sleeping alone or with someone

• Rhythm: it is important from the first day to help the baby distinguish day from night. During the day there is light, games, songs and he sleeps with the usual noises of the daily routine; On the other hand, at night the light is dim and there are no games or much movement. If at night he wakes up to eat, the breast or bottle is offered to him, turning on few lights, speaking softly and the essentials.
• Routine: Babies love to know what is going to happen. Anticipating the different activities of the day gives them a lot of security. Sleep and rest should also be a routine. Putting him to take naps at approximately the same times: after the walk, after eating ... and establishing a daily routine to go to sleep at night, helps the baby to prepare for this activity so important for its good development. If the same steps are followed every night before going to sleep: bath, dinner and lullaby (or story), children will be more willing to fall asleep. Bathing is an excellent opportunity to relax your baby before going to sleep. It is important to dedicate a little time to the child to do a quiet activity before going to bed: story, reflect on what he has done during the day, sing a lullaby or listen to quiet music. Then a kiss and a hug with a "good night" as a farewell until the next day. Many children need a pacifier or doll to be more calm at bedtime. Try to get the baby to sleep on his own in his crib or bed. This in many occasions is very complicated; with time and routine it will be achieved. We should not make bedtime a time of struggle or disgust for the child. It is recommended that during the day the same schedule is followed and that children go to bed between 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm. This can be a bit more flexible in the summer because the day is longer.
• The NAP: Young children use a lot of energy and it is very normal that they need to sleep for a little while during the day. Normally the baby takes a nap in the morning and another in the afternoon from four or five months. As the child grows, he will need fewer naps and you can start to consider shortening them or eliminating one of them. The morning one is eliminated first. The key sign that makes us think that we can now suppress it is the difficulty in falling asleep at the usual nap time or at night. Until the age of three or four, many children need to take a nap at noon after eating.
• Night awakenings: the most common is that babies do not fall asleep at a stretch, especially during the first months of life. In the first months it is normal for them to wake up to eat as they do not have sufficient glucose stores. Sometimes they can wake up without crying and, by themselves, fall asleep again. Most often, they cry because they miss Mom or Dad. They should always be cared for and reassured; It may be that just with the presence of the parents and a caress the baby will calm down, or they may need to be held in their arms for a few minutes to stop crying and return to the crib. When the baby or child is ill, they may wake up more at night or require the presence of the parents more often.
• Sleeping alone or with someone: During the first four months of life, when the infant wakes up more at night to take the breast or the bottle, it is possible to choose to put the crib in the parents' room. Each family decides what the upbringing of their baby will be like. It is recommended that you sleep in your own room from four to five months. Sleeping with parents in bed should be an exception. The transition from the bassinet to the crib can be a good time for a room change.
• The cradle: the baby must sleep in a crib with the approved separation between bars so that his head cannot pass between them. When it begins to move more, a protector should be placed around the bars so that it does not hurt itself. During the first year of life, the use of duvets or cushions is not recommended. The baby should not be overcovered. The ideal room temperature should be around 21 or 24º C.

• Not acquiring good rest habits causes irritability in parents and. Discomfort and lack of appetite in the child.
• When the way of sleeping is changed, it is important to review what has happened in the last few days to detect what different or new situation has been able to disturb the baby's sleep.
• Before thinking that the child has a problem, situations such as the temperature of the room, noises, light or darkness, pajamas ... that can disturb the child's sleep should be ruled out.

Pediatric Specialist