Sleep characteristics of infants from 0-3 months

This is an automatically translated article.

The article was consulted professionally with Master, Doctor Phan Thi Cam Van - Neonatologist - Department of Pediatrics - Neonatology - Vinmec Danang International General Hospital.

1. Why do 1-month-old babies sleep a lot?

Newborns sleep an average of 16-17 hours a day. However, the duration of each sleep is quite short. During the first 3 months, a newborn's sleep should be no more than four hours, day or night.
There are many reasons why a baby's sleep is very erratic and difficult to predict. The first can be mentioned because babies have not yet developed a sleep/wake circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm is a physiological clock in the body that cycles at regular intervals between sleep and wakefulness. Because babies have not yet developed circadian rhythms, babies cannot distinguish between day and night, the time they sleep at night will be equivalent to the day.
Between 6 weeks and 3 months, core temperature and melatonin (a hormone that helps regulate sleep cycles) will begin to develop, helping babies begin to develop sleep/wake cycles and recognize the difference between day and night.
Another important reason why 1-month-old babies sleep a lot is due to their nutritional needs. At birth, the baby's stomach is still very small, the amount of milk sucked each time is small, so the baby gets hungry very quickly. In the first month, the interval between feedings is only 2-3 hours. Your baby will constantly wake up to ask for a feed. Through the second month, the time between feedings can be extended, about 3-4 hours the baby will wake up to feed once.
The child's short, erratic sleep will not last long. For most children, sleep will settle down by 3-4 months.

2. How are the sleep characteristics of infants different from those of adults?

Newborns' sleep is much shorter than adults' sleep, but it is also divided into REM (rapid eye movement) sleep called rapid eye movement sleep and non-REM sleep, known as no-noise sleep. rapid eye movements.
During REM sleep, babies often twist their bodies, whine, move their eyes under their closed eyelids, and their breathing is often irregular.
Stage of REM prematurity, the child lies still, does not sleep actively, sleeps deeply, difficult to wake up. In infant sleep, half of the sleep cycle is REM sleep.
As for older children and adults, the duration of REM prematurity is much longer than that of REM sleep. Studies have shown that the prolonged REM period in infants helps the baby's brain development, and at the same time, the baby is easy to wake up, so it helps to protect the baby from the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). SIDS syndrome).

3. Should babies be put on a fixed sleep schedule?

You don't need to put your baby on a fixed sleep schedule, especially in the first few weeks. It is normal for a 1-month-old baby to sleep a lot, stemming from the baby's natural physiological needs. However, mothers can research and arrange a schedule of scientific activities for their children.
When the 2-month-old baby's sleep, the 3-month-old baby's sleep begins to rhythm and gradually stabilizes, the mother can feed, sleep, schedule activities, gradually train the child to follow good sleep habits.

4. Should the mother wake the infant to feed?

In most cases, the mother does not need to wake the baby from sleep to feed. A 1-month-old baby sleeps a lot, but he wakes up on his own when he's hungry. However, please consult your doctor about nighttime feedings in the first month if your baby shows signs such as:
Not growing and gaining weight steadily. Do not wake up to feed after sleeping for more than 4-5 hours. Babies feed less than 8-12 times per day. Less than 4 wet diapers and less than 3 bowel movements per day.

5. Some good sleep habits mothers should teach children

Here are some healthy sleep habits that you can practice in your baby:
5.1 Let your baby sleep often 1 month babies sleep a lot this is normal physiology. During the first 6-8 weeks, most babies can't stay awake for longer than 2 hours. If your baby stays awake for too long, he will get tired and have trouble falling asleep. Therefore, the mother should pay attention to the baby to sleep regularly.
5.2 Teach children the difference between day and night Some babies will wake up frequently at night and will sleep a lot during the day, which is extremely stressful for parents.
During the first few weeks, there's not much you can do to change this. However, when your baby is about 2 weeks old, you can start teaching your baby the difference between day and night. During the day, when your baby is awake, you can play with her more, keep her house and room bright, and expose her to background noise. At night, you need to keep quiet, turn the lights low, limit talking, playing with children, ... so that children begin to realize that night is the time to sleep.

5.3 Recognizing the signs of sleepiness in the child Recognize the signs of sleepiness such as the baby rubbing his eyes, crying more than usual, looking tired,... When you see the child showing these signs, put the child to sleep as soon as possible. Because the more tired the child, the harder it will be to fall asleep.
5.4 You can create some bedtime routines You can create some bedtime routines such as: breast-feeding or bottle-feeding, turning off the lights, giving your baby a pacifier, singing a lullaby or let your baby listen to music, read books, pat your baby before sleeping...
When the baby is 6-8 weeks old, when the baby's sleep is 2 months old, the sleep for the 3-month-old baby has gradually stabilized, you Try putting your baby in the crib when it's time to sleep, even though he's still awake. Gradually train the child to follow a fixed sleep schedule. If this doesn't work, try again when the child is a little older.
Many mothers wonder when their baby will sleep through the night, this varies greatly between babies. Some babies can sleep long nights at night as young as 3 months old. But most babies will be able to sleep for 8-12 hours at night by 6 months, they may have brief awakenings without needing to feed.
If the baby has difficulty sleeping or does not sleep deeply, the influence of the disease is not excluded. Parents need to continue to monitor and observe their children's other symptoms to actively take them to the doctor's office early if they see any abnormal signs.
You can take your child to the Pediatrics Department at Vinmec General Hospital for advice and examination by experts. Here, based on the diagnosis results, the doctor will have a treatment method for each specific case to bring the best effect.

Please dial HOTLINE for more information or register for an appointment HERE. Download MyVinmec app to make appointments faster and to manage your bookings easily.

Reference source: babycenter.com