Newborn Day Regimen

The daily routine plays a big role in the life of the child, especially during the first year of his life. A clear, well-adjusted regime of the day of a newborn baby is, of course, very convenient for his parents. But all the children are different, and it is unlikely that your baby will eat and sleep when it will want you. Let's discuss how you can set the regime for a newborn baby.

Accustoming the crumb to the regime

1. First of all, it should be borne in mind that every baby has his desires and needs that must be taken into account. During the first month of his life, the baby basically eats and sleeps, and he can sleep up to 20-22 hours a day! Before you try to change anything, observe its natural mode. To be able to plan your affairs throughout the day, try to paint the approximate mode of the newborn's day by the hour. Your child is individual, and only you know how often he is used to eating, how long he sleeps and how actively he is awake.
2. Since the sleep of the crumbs alternates with the feedings and depends on them, the optimal mode of food intake should be established. For artificial babies it is much easier to do this, since feeding with a milky mixture, as a rule, occurs at regular intervals. If you are breastfeeding, do not forget that the concept of "feeding on demand" includes the requirement of both the child and his mother. The infant feeding regime should include a night rest of at least 4 hours. In the afternoon, feeding can occur every 2 hours (in the first three months of life crumbs), then every 3-4 hours (3-6 months). These figures can vary (plus or minus an hour) for each individual child and in different situations (travel, illness, stress, malnutrition or lack of sleep).
3. Strong night sleep of a child is a pledge of his active behavior during the day. Provide the baby with the conditions necessary for a healthy sleep. Let the air in the room be cool and damp: to do this, ventilate the room (this is convenient to do during the evening walk), practice regular wet cleanings and use an air humidifier. Let the child during sleep be dressed as easily as possible, as the temperature in the room allows.
4. Day mode can not be set at once, in one day. The process of training a newborn baby to the regime should be gradual, so as not to harm the fragile child organism. At the same time, you seem to average your and his daily routine, making your general regime as comfortable as possible for the whole family. Be sure to pay attention to the needs of your crumbs. If he does not want to sleep at the moment, do not force him. Give him a little time, and the kid himself will begin to be capricious and rub his eyes. To help the baby fall asleep, shake it in a cradle or on his hands, or just stroke it, in a quiet calm voice tell the tale. Nothing, that to him only couple of months from a sort, much more important is your presence, your voice acting on the child soothingly.
5. Also, one should never persuade and force a child to eat. In the body a reflex is built, working like a clock: if the baby is hungry, he will definitely let you know about it by crying or crying. And the food will only be well absorbed when the children's organism is ready to accept it, that is, there will be a feeling of hunger.

So, let's sum up. To set the day mode for a newborn baby, you need:

• Observe his natural regimen and needs;
• correctly alternate between sleep and feeding;
• provide the baby comfortable sleeping conditions;
• observe the principle of gradualness;
• Do not force the child to eat and sleep when he does not want it.

Observing these conditions, you can set a daily routine for two or three weeks, suiting both you and the baby. But be prepared for the unexpected!

What if the newborn is awake at night and sleeps during the day?

It happens that newborn babies confuse day with night. Often this happens when, after a sleepless night, a child exhausted with colic is sleeping sweetly during the day, and by the evening wakes up and starts to active. Of course, such a regime is unacceptable for parents and should be returned to normal. You can swap the day and night for a newborn if you wake him up a bit early in the morning, try to take as much of his attention during the day. Night rest should be made more comfortable, taking care that the air was fresh, the bed - warm and cozy, and the child - full and satisfied. Also, from an early age, accustom your child to rituals. Before retiring to bed, practice bathing, socializing, reading a fairy tale or singing a lullaby. Such rituals have a positive effect on the baby's nervous system.

The regime of the day of a newborn child is a complex mechanism, inherent in nature. But parents can and should correct it, directing in the right direction. Help your children become healthy and happy!