How to accustom a newborn baby to the regime of the day and feeding: routine for infants
It is needed not only for the baby for healthy mental and physical development, but also for the mother to relax or do all the household chores while her baby is sleeping.
How to accustom a child at 1 month to sleep and nutrition
Before you ask how to accustom a child to the daily routine, you should find out at what age you can do this. Many parents believe that their baby is still too small to build a clear daily routine, and for this he still needs to grow up a little. However, you should know that children get used to a certain schedule very quickly, so over time, at an older age, it will be much more difficult to accustom him to a different regimen.
Indeed, if the baby was born weak or premature, you should not rush to establish a regimen, and the pediatrician will help you determine the right time for this. Experts believe that babies born on time, without any developmental abnormalities, can already get used to a certain sleep and feeding schedule from two months.
Some parents are in a hurry and rush to find out how to accustom a month-old baby to a sleep schedule so that they thus have more free time for household chores. In fact, it is not entirely correct to reorganize the daily routine of monthly babies, because the first month after birth, the child's body adapts to a new life, so it is already under stress. If we are talking about nutrition, then knowing how to accustom a child to a feeding regime at 1 month is necessary for those mothers who have chosen the method of breastfeeding not on demand, but by the hour. It is necessary to accustom to such a schedule immediately after the birth of the crumbs.
Many mothers want to know how to teach a baby to a regimen because a correct and clear daily routine is endowed with many advantages. Following a specific eating and sleeping schedule has the following benefits:
1 Mom immediately has more free time, she can now plan her household chores in advance, because every day the child sleeps, walks and eats at the same time.
2 An infant who sleeps well and is full at the same time feels better and has a predominantly good mood. With such children, you can not only calmly walk on the street, but also play educational games.
3 The baby develops a correct sense of time, he can recognize day and night by his well-being.
4 The correct mode facilitates the process of education in the future. A child who went to bed on time and had a good rest at night will wake up easily in the morning and be happy to go to kindergarten or school, without tears and tantrums.
Rules for accustoming a newborn child to the regimen
There are conditional rules on how to accustom a newborn child and older babies to the regimen for their healthy development and well-being:
1 Try to feed, bathe and put your baby to bed at the same time every day. In order not to forget or miss the time, make yourself reminders or set an alarm. The same daily actions at the same time will develop a habit in the child's body, and the baby himself will already want to sleep or eat.
2 Give preference to feeding your baby by the hour. Many modern experts consider feeding on demand a more acceptable option. In their opinion, the child himself knows when he needs to eat. In fact, there is nothing wrong with feeding by the hour, provided that the diet is chosen correctly.
3 The diaper also needs to be changed on time, because the dryness, cleanliness and comfort of the child are the key to his good development. However, if you see that your baby is sleeping, but it's time to change the diaper, you should not wake him up, wait for the baby to wake up naturally. A diaper change can also be part of a newborn's day routine. As a rule, babies go to the toilet before or shortly after feeding, mothers should determine this time and try to ensure that their child falls asleep in a dry and clean diaper.
Follow these tips on how to properly accustom your child to the daily routine:
- a newborn baby should sleep at least 11 hours at night, based on this feature of the development of the baby, and you need to build a schedule of sleep and wakefulness;
- the daytime sleep of the baby should last from 1.5 to 3 hours three to four times a day;
- morning washing and evening bathing of the child should become mandatory components of the daily routine;
- walking outside with a baby in good weather should be twice a day for an hour and a half each time;
- the time of wakefulness of the newborn should not exceed 5 hours a day.
How to accustom a child of 2 months to the daily routine
Do not rush to learn how to accustom your child to the feeding regimen of a newborn baby. First you need to decide how exactly you will feed your baby – by the hour or on demand, that is, at his first cry.
Feeding by the hour is far from a new technique and has been practiced for a long time. It began to be applied in Soviet times, when women were forced to go to work soon after giving birth. If you feed your baby by the hour, over time, a certain feeding regimen will be developed that is most suitable for your baby and convenient for you.
How to teach a child to eat by the hour? Everything is simple here: you must apply the baby to the breast at the time specially allotted for this. The best option between feedings for an infant aged 2-4 months is 2-2.5 hours. With the growth and development of the baby, the interval between feedings can be gradually increased by consulting with the pediatrician.
At night, the break between feedings can be up to 6 hours.
Feeding on demand is seen by many as a kind of new trend, which modern mothers adhere to. In fact, this method of feeding a baby is older than feeding by the clock. Feeding on demand is also called breastfeeding, when the baby receives breast milk as needed. There are no difficulties with this method of feeding, there is absolutely no need for a regime, because the child receives his mother's breast at the first cry or cry, and she has as much as he wants.
How to teach a child to sleep, first of all, depends on the age of the baby.
So, if you follow the recommendations of experts, you should choose a method that allows you to accustom the baby to the daily routine, should not be earlier than two months of age. How to accustom a child of 2 months to the daily routine so that it benefits both mother and baby? At this age, the baby should be fed 8-9 times with an interval of 2-2.5 hours if you have chosen the method of feeding by the hour. Wakefulness between feedings should be 1-1.5 hours. The baby sleeps at this age four times a day for 1.5-3 hours.
How to accustom a 3-month-old child to the regimen?
If you do not know how to accustom a 3-month-old baby to a regimen, the following recommendations will be useful for you. The child needs to be fed 6 times a day with a time interval of 3-3.5 hours.
With free feeding, a break between feedings at night can have some options: some babies sleep all night and do not eat for 10 hours, others wake up at night with the same interval. Children 3-6 months old must sleep 4 times during the day with breaks for wakefulness lasting 1.5-2 hours.
How to accustom a child to a regimen at 4,6 and 9 months
Do not know how to accustom a child to a regimen at 4 months old, if until that time you did not adhere to a certain schedule of feeding, sleep and wakefulness? The regimen of a 4-month-old baby is exactly the same as at three months.
How to accustom a child of 6 months to the regime, mothers of six-month-old babies are interested. Children of this age who are breastfed eat 5 times a day with breaks of four hours and nightly intervals of 10-11 hours. Daytime wakefulness increases to 2-2.5 hours, daytime sleep time – 2 hours three times a day. This daily routine should be followed for three months in a row until the baby is 9 months old.
The daily routine of a baby from 9 months of age to a year changes slightly. The number of feedings is the same – 5 times, with breaks of 4-4.5 hours. From 9 months, the baby should be transferred to 2-time daytime sleep for 2-2.5 hours, the night remains the same – 10-11 hours. The time of wakefulness between daytime sleep is 3-3.5 hours.
How to accustom a child to a regimen per year: daily routine
The daily routine of a one-year-old baby in many respects has something in common with the routine established in kindergartens. Therefore, having taught the baby to such a correct regimen from the age of one, it will be much easier for him to adapt to the conditions of the kindergarten. If you want to learn how to accustom a child to a regimen per year, adhere to the following daily routine:
- 08:00 – rise
- 08:30 – breakfast
- 10-12 – walk
- 12:30 – lunch
- 13-16:00 – daytime sleep
- 16:30 – afternoon tea
- 17:00-18:30 – walk
- 19:00 – dinner
- 21:00 – night sleep
For children under the age of one and a half years, feeding at night should still be on demand. It should be understood that this daily schedule for a one-year-old baby is approximate and may vary slightly. For example, it is acceptable that the baby will wake up not at 8:00, but at 9:00, and sleep during the day will not be 3 hours, but two. It all depends on the individual characteristics of the child's body.
There is no point in arguing about the benefits of a clearly defined daily routine – sleep, wakefulness and feeding. It is the key to good physical and psycho-emotional development of the baby, as well as the calmness and well-being of his mother.