What to do if your baby does not sleep properly (0-3 months)
If your baby is between 0-3 months then you must read this article to know how many hours should your baby be sleeping throughout the day, factors that might be impacting your baby sleep & what you can do to identify these issue and fix them.
► ये आर्टिकल इंग्लिश में है, हिंदी में जानकारी के लिए "Read More" पे क्लिक करें और आर्टिकल के अंत में दिए गए हिंदी वीडियो को देखें. वीडियो में ये जानकारी हिंदी में दी गयी है....
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Let me start by saying that your baby will not start to sleep for 8 hours straight through the night anytime soon, my son Kabir started sleeping through the night without feed or diaper change when he was around 3 years old. Sleep in babies evolve with time as they grow older and is dependent on many factors which may or may not be in your control. This article will help you understand what to expect when it comes to sleep for a 0–3-month-old baby, factors that might affect your babies sleep and things you can do as a parent to ensure a peaceful & adequate sleep for your child.
Newborn babies are expected to sleep for an average of 18-20 hours a day, however don’t be surprised or stressed if that has not been the case for your baby. 0 to 3 months is often referred to as the transition phase for newborns, the environment outside the womb is totally different and so are the physical needs.
Though your friends & family have already prepared you for sleepless nights however the real experience when it happens can be quite exhausting & emotionally draining for the new parents. It’s always better to be prepared for what’s coming, so you are ready to course correct whenever the journey goes in an opposite direction to your expectations. That being said let’s try to understand why our newborn babies have problems related to sleep.
Between 0 to 3 months babies do not have a set pattern or routine, they feed on demand and sleep on demand & finding the right balance between the two is what we as parents have to figure out for ourselves as each baby is different. So, if you find yourself in a situation where the baby is feeding well however is not sleeping enough then as a start make note of the following factors:
Hunger ► Your baby didn’t have to make any effort in the womb to fill their tummy, once outside they have to make an effort to satiate their hunger. This effort of sucking is quite tiring for them, making them fall asleep either immediately after or often while feeding. Not getting adequate milk on the other hand can keep them awake. Many new mothers are unable to produce sufficient quantity of milk, this happens due to many factors. In my case I realized after a few days that my body is not producing enough milk in the evening to satisfy by babies’ hunger, which was making him cry constantly and impacted his sleep considerably. My recommendation will be to feed your baby for at least 15 minutes on each breast and try to keep your baby awake and sucking during this duration of time.
Gas/Colic ► Due to inconsistent feed, lack of adequate milk supply, introduction of baby formula and many other factors, newborn babies have to deal with gas problem. Discomfort caused by gas/colic can impact your baby’s sleep. In case of low supply your baby can suck in a lot of air while making an effort to feed, this air can cause gas problems in their tummy. Burping your baby immediately after the feed & doing it in the right manner can help reduce the chances of baby forming gas.
Diapers ► I have nothing against cloth nappies or baby diapers, parents can prefer one or the other as there are many variables at play when it comes to using cloth nappies or diapers. You may have noticed that babies are not very comfortable with the nappy/diaper change process. Normal diapers do allow for a couple of pees compared to a cloth nappy which must be changed after every pee. So, depending on your babies sleep pattern you may want to make the right choice as per your babies needs.
Environment ► The womb was a safe, quiet and warm environment. It’s important to keep these factors into consideration when you are making your baby sleep. Don’t under or over dress, my pediatrician always suggested one additional layer compered to ours and this became a rule of thumb for the first one year. We kept the AC temp in the room almost at the same level which suited our needs with our baby wearing one extra layer of clothing compared to ours. We also ensured we give our baby a quiet and peaceful environment to sleep in, you will be amused how babies can sleep even when there is a lot of noise around. That however should not encourage you to consider its okay to do that. When it comes to sleep it’s always better to create a quiet night type environment that your baby can grow used to over time.
While these are the major factors which can impact your baby’s sleep and for each of these factors, I have shared my best practices which worked with my baby, there are still many other aspects which you can consider to ensure a proper sleep for your child.
♥Swaddling– it works on most babies especially in the 0-to-3-month period. Swaddling is wrapping up your baby with a swaddle cloth in a womb like position and make them sleep in the swaddle as per their sleep pattern.
♥Awake Time– do not try to adjust your child’s routine as per yours, instead you should adjust your routine as per the child. Typically, your baby will be awake for 45 mins to 1 hour before taking another nap. Utilize this time efficiently and do not let anyone stretch this time. This will require some planning and adjustment with your baby’s feeding and other needs but within a few weeks you will be able to figure out the sleep pattern.
♥Do not wake up a sleeping baby– as mentioned at the starting of this article, we have to strike the right balance between making our baby sleep and making our baby feed. We are often told that it’s important to wake up the baby for a feed every 2 hours, this is not to be considered a mandate as sleep is equally important if not more. It’s okay if your baby sleeps for 2-3 hours during the day, and similarly 4-5 hours in the night not going beyond that.
♥Massage– we have been massaging our son Kabir every day since his umbilical cord fell off and have done so till he completed 3.5 years age. This daily massage worked like magic and helped make him have a great nap each time. A massage relaxes their body and helps regulate blood flow, works on adults and even better on our little ones.
♥Routine– not referring to your baby’s routine here, I’m actually referring to yours. After the first couple of weeks, you would know your babies feeding pattern, make sure you are ready to feed your baby within a minute of demanding. If you are bottle feeding then keep the bottles sterilized, water & formula ready. A bottle warmer really helps here as it makes your milk lukewarm within 30 secs or so.
If you want more details on this topic or want to this information in video format then you can watch the video posted below. Don’t forget to write your query or feedback in the comments section and also share this article on your Social Media handles like Facebook to help your friends, family and other parents worldwide with their parenting journey. Thank you for reading this article by MomComIndia (Parenting Simplified)
♥♥ इस आर्टिकल में 0-3 महीने के बच्चों में सोने से जुड़े प्रोब्लेम्स और उनके सोलूशन्स के बारे में बताया गया है, आप ये सारी जानकारी हिंदी में भी जान सकते है नीचे दिए गए वीडियो को देखके ►
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