When your baby doesn't sleep at night, review your day care routine

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Posted by Master, Doctor Mai Vien Phuong - Gastrointestinal Endoscopy - Department of Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Central Park International General Hospital

Sleeping day and night is a very common condition in the early stages of babies. This long-term situation not only makes caregivers tired, but over time can form bad living habits in children.

1. The importance of sleep for children

Newborn sleep can be hindered by a lot of reasons why babies are born tired, fussy. To put an end to this situation, parents need to find out the reasons why children lose sleep so that they can take timely measures.
In addition to the nutritional factor, sleep is the foundation to help the baby grow healthy and smart. Newborns need 16 hours of sleep or more a day. Getting enough sleep will ensure that children are healthy and develop well. While the baby sleeps, the pituitary gland in the brain secretes growth hormone that helps the body grow.
Therefore, when children have insomnia or have problems with sleep disorders, they will not be able to grow up and be as healthy as their peers, even affecting problems related to cognition, behavior and Children can also experience obesity due to hormone disorders.

2. Pay attention to the child's daily routine

In order for children to live and sleep on a regular basis, parents should set up a routine for their children, which may be difficult, but you need to understand and persevere in applying it to see results.
Although it is called a schedule, you should not be too rigid and force your child to follow a certain rule, you need to learn, based on the child's personality and characteristics to make appropriate adjustments. The easiest way to establish a routine is to focus on your child's morning wake-up time, meals, movement, bedtime, and bedtime activities. As your child gets older, you'll likely incorporate additional activities into your daily routine.
2.1 Morning Wake Up Time It is very beneficial to establish a consistent morning wake-up time and associated routine. Because if the time to wake up in the morning is consistent, it will help increase the child's ability to nap.
By increasing this sleep motivation or pressure, babies can nap longer during the day. As an infant enters toddlerhood, an established morning wake-up time will help avoid resistance to naps and maintain a reasonable bedtime.
When your child wakes up for the day, create a simple routine so they understand it's time to start a new day. Start by walking into the room with a bright greeting, "Good morning!" Then open the curtains, turn on the lights and pick up your baby to hug and change diapers.
Setting a consistent morning wake-up time also helps provide some day-to-day predictability for parents and caregivers. After the first few weeks of life, natural morning waking times will likely stabilize between 6 and 7 a.m. This works best with your child's natural circadian clock and helps ensure a reasonable bedtime is no later than 6 to 8 pm.

2.2 Baby's Meals Even before your baby starts eating solid foods, you should establish a pattern of what happens before and after breastfeeding. When you start adding solid foods, try to offer meals at roughly the same time each day, just in case. For example: wake up, feed, playtime, solid feeding, playtime.
A simple routine for giving your baby solid foods can start with the announcement, "It's breakfast time!" Then you put them down in the chair with bibs and feed them while talking and making eye contact. You might end up showing off and talking during the cleaning process.
Mealtime routines provide a great opportunity to bond and connect with your child, making for a more relaxed transition to nap time.
2.3 Toddler Physical Activity All young children need regular physical activity for normal learning, growth and development. Your baby needs tummy time and regular rolling exercises.
As babies become a toddler and they learn to walk, it becomes even more important to build regular physical activity. Regular exercise isn't just important for your child's health, it's also important to make sure they're tired enough to rest. Let your child exercise, be active for about 15 minutes a day and should exercise outside for the benefit of supplementing vitamin D through light.
2.4 Bedtime routine When the day has passed and you look forward to your child going to bed at night, don't forget the bedtime routine. A solid bedtime routine provides the whole family with a good night's rest.
Make sure you have allotted enough time for all the steps that need to be completed before starting your bedtime routine by “working backwards”. For example, if your child's bedtime is 8 p.m. and a bedtime routine usually takes you 30 minutes from start to finish, then you know you'll have to start the routine by 7:30 p.m., then you can Make a plan to ensure that outdoor play and dinner time are both completed well in advance. Try to keep activities that take place right before bedtime as calm and relaxed as possible. For all age groups, this may include playtime with a quiet game or toy in a room with partially drawn curtains.

Here is a sample bedtime routine:
5pm outdoor playtime 5:20pm indoor playtime 5:45pm dinner 6:15pm, quiet indoor playtime 6:30pm go to bed at 7 p.m. go to bed In fact, 2017 research has shown that establishing a bedtime routine can improve sleep outcomes and increase sleep time in as little as 3 nights . It's best to establish a bedtime routine of 5 to 10 minutes as soon as your baby is born, increase this time to 20 to 30 minutes around 3 months of age, and try to maintain the habit until the baby is toddler.
The bedtime routine is individual and unique to each family. However, there are some key building principles that you can incorporate into your own family bedtime routine at any age. Whatever process you follow, make sure you're completing your routine steps in roughly the same order each night to help increase predictability. Consider the following options:
Massage: Both babies and toddlers can benefit from a gentle nightly massage. For babies, try belly massage or hand massage. For toddlers, try a back or foot massage. Books: Reading a book every night in the same sequence provides comfort and familiarity. This also helps children familiarize themselves with books, creating a premise for later literacy. If your baby seems fussy when you read to them (a common phenomenon in babies), simply give them a book or other toy for them to hold as you read. You can also read or tell stories while walking around the room with your child. Songs: Singing the same songs every night in the same order serves the same purpose that is more comfortable and familiar to the child.
If you're having any trouble with your baby's sleep, it's really worth it to make sure you've established a consistent and predictable routine both during the day and at night.
By helping your child learn your family's rhythms and life patterns, you are also helping them know when and how they are expected to fall asleep. This will absolutely lead to the best sleep for your baby in the long run.

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References
Arlinghaus KR, et al. (2019). The importance of creating habits and routine.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6378489/
Blumberg MS, et al. (2014). The development of sleep-wake rhythms and the search for elemental circuits in the infant brain.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4062979/
Gradisar M, et al. (2016). Behavioral interventions for infant sleep problems: A randomized controlled trial.
pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/137/6/e20151486
Iacovou M, et al. (two thousand and thirteen). Infant feeding: the effects of scheduled vs. on-demand feeding on mothers’ wellbeing and children’s cognitive development. DOI:
10.1093/eurpub/cks012
Mindell JA, et al. (2017). Implementation of a nightly bedtime routine: How quickly do things improve?
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28985580/