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4 month old baby cries before falling asleep. Baby's Sleep: It's Normal for Your Baby to Cry Before Sleeping

According to statistics, about 30% of young children suffer from sleep disorders. How does it manifest itself? It is difficult for the baby to fall asleep; his sleep is short and intermittent. The reasons that a child cries before bed can be different, so the task of parents is to identify them as quickly and accurately as possible in order to help the baby.

Why does a child cry before going to bed? First of all, we need to talk about the main characteristics age development. Typical for babies light sleep. Up to six months, sleep is biphasic. It begins with a restless phase, and is replaced by a calm one. In adulthood, the order of sleep phases is different. During the first phase, the baby may open his eyes, turn from side to side, frown his eyebrows and forehead, etc. Therefore, if your child is 3, 4 or months old and cries before going to bed, there is no need to worry. At this age, such sleep is normal.

Important point - infants they don’t know where it is day and where it is night. As a result, they may sleep a lot during the day and cry and refuse to sleep before going to bed at night. This is why babies cry before going to sleep. Only at the age of 1.5 months does the baby gradually begin to become attached to daytime. For quick mastery of work biological clock, communicate and play with him as much as possible during daylight hours. At night, create silence, do not play games with him if he wakes up, etc. By the way, the fact that the baby confuses day and night is the reason that they may cry before naptime. But you should take into account other causes of restless sleep.

A few more reasons why a child cries a lot before going to bed:

Colic. This trouble bothers many kids. During colic, the baby unconsciously presses his legs to his stomach to remove discomfort. The baby calms down quickly if you put him on your stomach. You can give your baby anti-bloating medications that will eliminate painful gas and help you fall asleep. Fennel tea also copes well with this task. .
Teething. This common reason that a newborn cries before going to sleep. How do you know if your baby is worried about his teeth? You need to take a closer look at your gums. If they are inflamed and swollen, the first teeth will appear soon. To eliminate this cause, you need to purchase an anesthetic dental gel or drops (some recommend). It will be useful to find out at what months the first teeth appear in children -.
Mental stress. If the nervous system cannot cope with the load it has received throughout the day, it begins to fail. This manifests itself in the fact that before bedtime the baby begins to be capricious and scream. Screaming helps him relieve unnecessary stress.
Lack of regime. If parents believe that their child should sleep whenever he wants, then they may be faced with constant whims of the baby before bed. Doctors still advise disciplining the child in terms of rest. This provides stability and peace of mind.
Uncomfortable clothes. Perhaps sleepwear causes discomfort for the baby, and he is capricious. It is enough to simply change the set to a more convenient one.

What to do?

Follow the regime. If your baby goes to bed every day at different times, then falling asleep will be extremely difficult for him. Therefore, it is important that the child gets used to the regime: eats and sleeps at the same time. Great value have special rituals that help children fall asleep faster. One option is a bath with medicinal herbs. Create a sequence of actions that you will perform before each fall asleep. For example, swimming lullaby, swaying.
Minimize changes in environment and too active games.
Remember that small child emotionally connected to mom. He very quickly and clearly adopts her mood and emotions. That is why young mothers need to carefully monitor their emotional state.

Komarovsky

What does Dr. Komarovsky advise if a child cries before bed? The famous pediatrician recommends that parents develop a daily routine, adjust the feeding process, ventilate the room before bed, ensure the required level of humidity in the children's room (50-70%), and choose a bed made of natural fabrics.

Many young parents face problems with their babies crying before bed. Up to 30% of babies may scream and cry for seemingly no reason before falling asleep, day or night. What are the reasons for difficulty falling asleep and screaming if the child is healthy, dry and fed? Some babies cry before going to bed in the evening or at night when they wake up and then have difficulty falling asleep, or it is difficult to put them to sleep. day dreams. What are the reasons for such crying, is the help of a doctor always needed or can parents cope on their own?

Baby crying: is it normal?

Crying is universal remedy for the baby’s communication with the outside world, and especially in order to send signals to parents and surrounding adults about the baby’s problems. There can be many reasons for a child’s dissatisfaction, and it all depends on the specific situation. It is important to understand that you cannot ignore a child’s crying, following harmful advice that you need to let him cry out and calm down, associating it with spoilage and the habit of being held. You should not think that periods of crying can pass on their own; the child will outgrow them. The baby signals for help in this way, and if you do not pay attention to such signals, in the future this will lead to serious disorders sleep and problems of emotions and psyche.

By its nature, a child's cry is a kind of universal mechanism, given by nature due to the fact that the child cannot speak, but at the same time it is important for him to convey to adults certain information about his ill health, discomfort or serious emotional problems.

Screaming and crying in children is formed for reasons various types inconvenience, and not always these are problems of physical well-being. Crying can often be caused by external stimuli and problems with emotions that are beyond the control of even a baby due to the immaturity of the nervous system, as well as in a similar way fear or protest against other people's touches and contacts, fear that the mother is not around may be expressed.

The nature of crying: how to recognize the signals

Based on characteristics baby crying, it is quite possible to draw certain conclusions about the child’s health and well-being.

Please note

If the newborn is weak or sick, he will cry quietly and pitifully, whining and moaning. If the screams are demanding and loud, which attract attention, this indicates sufficient nutrition and a satisfactory state of health.

When crying in the form of a physical need, if the baby is suddenly cold or wants to eat, the crying will stop after his need is satisfied - he was put to the chest or given a bottle, given a drink, wrapped warmly, etc.

If the reasons for crying are emotional overexcitement, problems with the nervous system or other factors, then the baby will calm down only after the excess tension has been released, the screaming or crying will be relatively long, in different tones and sounds, with active waving of the legs and arms. This will be a way to relieve stress.

Crying before bed in a baby

At an early age, baby sleep is extremely important for general condition his health, and especially for the full maturation of the nervous system. Night and day rest is one of the most complete methods of restoring strength that was actively used up during the previous period of wakefulness. Child early age actively grows during sleep, his immunity is formed, matures and strengthens, his nervous and endocrine system, and the brain actively assimilates and digests the received data from the surrounding world.

It is important to know that the number of dreams and their quality characteristics significantly affect the child’s behavior during wakefulness.

If a baby at such a young age systematically lacks sleep, this will have an extremely negative impact on his daytime behavior and activity, well-being and mood. He will be less able to assimilate the volumes of information that come to him, he will have difficulty latching on to the breast or sucking a bottle, he may actively demonstrate his negative mood, he may cry and scream, and be capricious. Often it is the frequent whims in daytime may indicate that the baby is not sleeping well and is not getting enough sleep. Therefore, it is extremely important to strictly observe the sleep and wakefulness regime from the first days of life, and absolutely the whole family needs this. It is worth performing the same sleepy rituals every day, putting the baby to bed so that he gets used to the regime. Constantly maintaining a consistent daily routine helps the child develop better. If there are problems with the regime, discomfort or overwork, imbalance of the nervous system, this threatens crying before bed and difficulty falling asleep.

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Causes of crying: physical factors

If a child does not fall asleep for a long time and constantly or periodically cries, you should not immediately panic and think that something has happened to him. Parents need to pull themselves together without showing irritation and hysterics, and identify real reasons child's anxiety. Most often, such reasons are objective physical factors.

Child's hunger. Often, children may refuse to sleep due to the fact that they are hungry, not full of mother's milk (if they are rarely fed, they are limited in their stay at the breast), they incorrectly calculate the volume of formula for feeding, introduce it late, and incorrectly calculate the amount of nutrition for each meal ( if these are children older than six months). Often, such crying of children and poor sleep may in the early period in infants indicate the manifestation of problems with lactation. Then you need to make every effort to increase the volume of milk, put the baby to the breast more often. Often, such problems arise during the period of so-called growth spurts (previously they were mistakenly called lactation crises), and then it is important not to switch to formula, but to stimulate the release of a larger volume of milk. Lactation consultants, a pediatrician, or more experienced mothers can help. For children born artificially, you can try changing the formula.

Please note

Hunger cries usually start as a whimper that progresses to increasingly loud and demanding screaming and crying. In this case, searching behavior with shaking the head in search of the breast, smacking lips or sucking the edge of the diaper will be noted.

Wet clothes, filled diaper. Often children experience severe discomfort from wet clothes and skin irritation, filling the diaper and skin contact with its contents. In this case, they groan and cry, loudly and demandingly, kicking their legs and arms, jerking their whole body. After changing the diaper, washing and changing clothes, the problem usually goes away.

Crying due to discomfort and pain. Often when pain or discomfort occurs, discomfort on the part of the body, children cry pitifully and painfully. Often, such screams and sleep problems are accompanied by, and even if the teeth have not yet appeared, there is itching and unpleasant pressure in the gum area, tension, which can intensify in evening time due to fatigue. This can lead to irritation and crying of the child. Special teethers, gum massage, or the use of painkillers and soothing gels can help.

Influence external factors, objectively interfering with sleep. Often children may cry if they are tired and want to sleep, but cannot fall asleep due to the influence of various external factors on them, which can be either on the street or in an apartment or nursery. These may include loud noises from operating equipment, passing cars or repairs from neighbors, bright light from a window or lighting fixtures, as well as too cold or, conversely, hot air in the house. It is important to eliminate irritating factors as much as possible, especially temperature and those located in the apartment. The fact that a child is too hot can be indicated by his sweating and redness of the face, increased body temperature and screams; in a room that is too hot and poorly ventilated, he may not sleep well, and the presence of dust and bad smell, infrequent cleaning can also provoke irritation of the mucous membranes and even allergic reactions. Crying may occur due to the discomfort of the position and prolonged stay in it, if the baby does not yet know how to toss and turn. Rubbing or tightness can cause no less disturbance. uncomfortable clothes, if folds, clasps or seams are pressing.

Attention

When a child falls asleep, there should be no sharp or loud sounds, but you should not accustom him to absolute silence either. It is important that the baby can fall asleep to the sounds of monotonously working ordinary household appliances and the quiet voices of family in other rooms. This will help you sleep better and all other family members can lead their normal lives during the dream period, without causing the baby to immediately wake up.

Special cause: colic

From about three weeks to the fourth month of life, reasons for crying may include: special problems kids - . This is a problem functional nature associated with dysregulation of intestinal tone and motility. Colic manifests itself in the form of painful spasms and bloating of the tummy, which makes itself felt by screams and high-pitched cries, pressing the legs to the tummy and calming down after passing gas or stool.

Please note

Usually peak intestinal colic falls in the evening, from about 5 to 8 p.m., and many parents mark this period as the “hour of crying,” during which the baby is inconsolable, screams almost continuously at high notes, somewhat weakening the screams as the spasm decreases. Often the screams last in a row for up to an hour or two, while the fists are clenched, the legs are brought to the tummy, the face turns red.

As the spasm passes and the child gets tired, he usually falls asleep and sleeps for quite a long time, but not all parents are able to endure such cries without any assistance, so there are several tips for relieving colic. They are not universal, and you often have to try several of them to find those that are most effective for your baby.

The most popular and effective, according to parents, are:

Carrying your naked baby tummy to your warm belly for warmth and comfort
Applying a warm diaper or heating pad wrapped in a diaper on the tummy
Massage the tummy with your fingers, in a circular motion, stroking the tummy in a clockwise direction
Using a warm hairdryer with a jet directed at the baby's tummy (it is only important to choose a mode so that it does not burn), the monotonous buzzing also calms.
In the absence of stool and bloating due to colic in extreme cases A gas outlet tube or a rubber bulb with a soft tip and a cut off bottom can help. After the gas passes, it usually becomes easier.

Often, to eliminate colic or reduce its activity, various folk recipes and medications, both for the nursing mother and for the child himself. Their effectiveness is also controversial; for some they help a lot, but for others there is no effect at all. So, for nursing mothers, teas are offered, and for children - a decoction of dill seeds (), as well as plant-based or synthetic-based drops, they reduce intestinal excitability, have a calming effect and collapse gas bubbles. But often similar drugs give a temporary effect or create an allergy, so they need to be selected individually.

Please note

Sometimes other health problems may be mistaken for the manifestation of colic, which need to be treated more carefully. This may result in mixture intolerance, allergies, intestinal microbial imbalance, and even intestinal infection. This is especially likely when “colic” occurs older than three months, and physiological maturation the intestines are almost complete.

Therefore, in such questions and determining the cause of tummy problems, the best consultant will be a pediatrician who, after a careful examination and conversation, will determine the causes of discomfort and crying and suggest ways to combat them.

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Vitamin deficiency: rickets

Often the cause of increased excitability and problems with the nervous system, bad sleep and crying, the child becomes deficient in vitamins, especially because of which the metabolism of calcium and phosphorus suffers, leading to the formation. It is especially likely in children born from autumn to spring, living in regions with a deficiency solar activity and rarely stay in the open air and sun. They need additional vitamin supplementation during the first two years, especially during the period when natural sunlight few.

Vitamin D deficiency is replenished only as prescribed by a doctor and in a strictly defined dosage; self-medication is prohibited; an overdose of this drug is also dangerous.

The initial manifestations of rickets can be quite nonspecific symptoms - increased timidity of the baby, wiping and rolling the hairs on the back of the head, anxiety and crying, interrupted sleep, sweating. Typically, such first manifestations occur at the age of 2-3 months, gradually increasing without appropriate correction.

Emotional problems: baby crying

Often there are no health problems or defects in caring for the child, but he still cries before bed and may have trouble falling asleep. The reasons for this may be the immaturity of the nervous system and its overload.

So, often babies may cry in the evening due to accumulated fatigue and excitement (by analogy with adults, who may also be familiar with a similar problem). In this regard, it is recommended not to overload young children with emotions, not only negative, but also positive. The nervous system is not yet able to adequately “digest” all of them. Before going to bed, you should give up noisy games and activities; you need quiet activities, reading books, drawing and a calm environment around. Rituals that induce calm and sleep are important. Often good calming effect enjoy walking in the fresh air or staying in a stroller on the balcony.

Crying before bed is an outlet for energy due to excess fatigue (overtiredness). How younger child, the more new information he receives information about the world around him every day, he has new impressions and events every day. It can be especially difficult when there are mass arrivals of guests or relatives; the subsequent nights after such visits can become restless - children often cannot sleep for a long time or wake up in the middle of the night crying. Due to this behavior, excess tension goes away and calmness sets in. It is worth taking these cries adequately, calming the child and holding him close, stroking the back, speaking in a soft monotonous voice or humming.

Please note

On initial stage screaming may seem ineffective, but over time you will develop unique rituals that quickly and effectively extinguish such crying. The child will immediately “automatically” turn on the calming program when repeating the same events.

Neurological diagnoses or characteristics of children?

Up to 70% of young children (up to about three years old) are diagnosed by neurologists with increased excitability, and there is nothing dangerous or scary in such a conclusion. Children with similar features nervous system often cannot fall asleep without “yelling out” all the energy accumulated during the day, throwing out the excess in crying. They have shallow and very sensitive sleep, which can often be interrupted by bouts of crying. Sedative herbs and herbs often help, strict regime day.

Often, crying in babies becomes a form of protest due to separation from their mother and attempts to put the baby in their bed. If the issue of relocating the baby to its own separate place is finally resolved for parents, they will have to show a certain persistence in this matter, adequately responding to protests, but not succumbing to manipulation. If

A child has a tantrum before going to bed - this fact cannot please any parent, but difficulties with going to bed is a problem that almost every family faces. Why does a child cry or even scream before going to bed? Some parents think that their children simply need this in order to fall asleep. (“No matter what you do, he still cries.”) Is this so, and how to calm a child before bed?

Why is my child fussy before bed?

If we're talking about oh absolutely little baby, pay attention to his daily routine, his nutrition, his health. A baby who sleeps too long during the day may have trouble falling asleep. In addition, he may have a tummy ache, he may be too hot or, on the contrary, too cold.

For older people important role plays general atmosphere in the house, the relationship between parents, the attitude of parents to the child. Indeed, while crying, a child can provide himself with emotional relief if the parents:

they demand too much from their child (so the baby’s day consists of sequentially following the orders of mom, dad, grandparents);
on the contrary, they do not demand anything from the baby. You need to know that being “spoiled” often does not lead to meeting the baby’s needs (and calming him down), but on the contrary, excessive load on their nervous system. A child always needs boundaries.

How to calm your child before bed?

If we are talking about a newborn, first of all, it is necessary to eliminate the cause. Check the condition of the diaper, massage the tummy, ventilate the room well, and humidify the room. Talk to your child in a calm voice, do not get annoyed by his whims. Analyze how long your child slept during the day and how much time has passed since then. Interval between Day and night sleep should be 4 hours; if you try to put your baby to bed earlier, you are unlikely to succeed.

For an older child, the issue of regime is also important, however, in a slightly different sense. Grown-up children should be made to understand that no matter how they behave before bed, no matter how they demand to play and jump, when their parents say it’s time to go to bed, they should obey them. In order for the child to fall asleep alone, promise him that if he copes with his task, then after sleep he will receive the desired toy, a book, you will go where the baby has long wanted to go. But the request must be fulfilled, otherwise next time your arguments may not work. Do not shout or intimidate the child under any circumstances, as positive attitude It is precisely before bedtime that is of great importance for the development of a child’s personality.

Thinking about why a child cries before going to bed, any mother will first of all begin to suspect that he has some kind of ailment. Of course! There are so many of them, and the baby is so small and defenseless! But let's think without panic, is everything really that scary? Maybe the screams and reluctance to sleep are not explained by crumbs at all?

before bed? Komarovsky talks about the rules of getting ready for bed

Most famous doctor modernity claims that a healthy child must be ensured by creating a normal environment in the room where the baby sleeps. It means the following:

No dust accumulators in the form of rugs, pads, huge number soft toys in the children's room!
The air temperature in the sleeping room should not exceed 20°, and the humidity, accordingly, should not exceed 50-70%.
Heaters that dry out the air and warm clothes will not help your baby fall asleep; on the contrary, they will make his sleep anxious and difficult.

Only in normal conditions the baby will calmly fall asleep without signaling the “unintelligible” parents about his discomfort.

Why before bed? Down with

But not only the above factors prevent the baby from sleeping. Perhaps you taught him to fall asleep only in your arms (or rather, he taught you)? Thus, the instinct of the newborn came into force.

The fact is that his connection with his mother is very strong until a certain age. Without her, the baby does not feel protected. And he can realize this only by being held in his arms and feeling something big and warm nearby. And, succumbing to such a provocation, the mother only fixes this instinct more strongly.

In different children, by the way, this need is expressed in varying degrees, while sleeping in your arms will not become an acute problem if you do not support the baby in his demands.

The main thing is to make sure that screaming before bed is precisely the desire to be “safe.” It is clear that no pain goes away because the baby is picked up. If he screams in the crib, but immediately falls silent in your arms, be patient and wait out his violent emotions, consoling yourself with the thought that this will soon pass. But if the baby continues to cry after being taken out of the crib, you need to look for other reasons for your child’s anxiety.

Why does a child cry before going to bed: maybe he is sick?

May be trying to tell you about his feeling unwell: his stomach hurts, his nose is breathing poorly, his teeth are cutting, etc. But surely not only whims before bed will be symptoms of the disease. If you find that your baby is sick, contact your pediatrician. He will help you understand the problem and choose the necessary treatment.

Constant whims and reluctance to sleep can be a consequence and developing fears or phobias in your child. In this case, you need a neurologist.

The child cries in the evening before going to bed

For a sound sleep, of course, you need to take a walk on fresh air and get tired during the day. But don't overdo it! You shouldn't run or jump shortly before you go to bed - then you'll be guaranteed tears.

Towards the evening, keep your fidget busy with something calm, and when you put him to bed, try to stay with him for a while, holding the baby by the hand and quietly humming or telling a story. Perhaps this is exactly what the baby is trying to achieve.

Warmth in communication, love and attentiveness will help parents figure out why the child cries before bed and eliminate this problem.

If your baby is naughty, you first need to reconsider his daily routine and nutrition. Children who sleep too much during the day have trouble falling asleep. Perhaps the baby has a tummy ache, is cutting a tooth, is cold or, conversely, is very hot.

If we are talking about an older baby, perhaps he is capricious before bed due to constant quarrels between his parents. The atmosphere in the house should be favorable. Also, crying can serve as a way for a child to unload emotionally if adults:

They demand too much from him (his day consists of constant nagging, following the orders of all the relatives living with the baby);
- on the contrary, they do not demand anything from the baby, and by crying he attracts attention to himself (thus, the lack of this same attention leads to excessive stress on the baby’s nervous system).

Ways to calm your baby before bed

The newborn will calm down only after you find the reason why he cannot sleep and is capricious. Carefully examine the baby to see if there is any diaper rash on his body. In this case, baby powder will help. Feel your tummy. If it is swollen, massage it and give it to your baby. necessary medications. It often helps a lot in this case. dill water and activated carbon.

Ventilate the room, see how many degrees there are in the room, perhaps the child is cold or hot. Calm the baby by speaking kind words to him, but do not get irritated under any circumstances. So, the child will feel your emotional state and will cry even louder.

Remember how much time your baby slept during the day. There should be at least four hours between daytime sleep and nighttime sleep. If you try to put your baby to bed earlier, you naturally won’t succeed. Why? Because the baby simply does not want to sleep and prevents this in every possible way.

For an older child, the daily routine is also important. The baby should be placed in a strictly certain time. For example, if every day the baby goes to bed at nine o'clock in the evening, he will not be able to fall asleep an hour earlier. Or, conversely, the baby will never go to the kingdom of Morpheus in an hour, as he will simply be overexcited. Even if the child throws a tantrum, do not yell at him or intimidate him under any circumstances. The main thing here is a positive attitude on your part, a smile on your face. This is the only way to calm the baby down, and for him, in turn, to fall asleep sound sleep.

From the very beginning life path little man announces the world with his cry. More for a long time Crying is a way for him to communicate to adults about his experiences. With age, the ability to cry gradually fades away.

baby crying

The baby will never scream just like that. There is always a good reason for his crying. He still cannot express his feelings in words, talk about his inconveniences and pain. If so, find the reason.

One of the most common causes of infant crying is pain and colic in the tummy. The body is just beginning to adapt to the nutrition it receives through mother's milk or artificial feeding. Each product is tested by the body. Appears on some of them negative reaction– indigestion. As a result, the baby cries.

A child may cry when he is not comfortable. He may need to change his diaper or diaper. Dampness quickly leads to irritation of delicate baby skin, which causes discomfort for the baby.

Crying can also be caused by hunger. The child grows quickly and needs more and more energy. Despite the feeding schedule, the baby may become hungry between meals.

If you are following a feeding schedule, give your baby water. Perhaps he is thirsty.

If your baby is crying in his crib, check his bed. Stray diapers and blankets can interfere with him. By crying, he makes it clear that he is uncomfortable. In addition, the child may be bored - by crying he demands attention. The presence of the mother or other close people gives the child a feeling of security and calm.

Children's whims

As a child grows, crying remains one of the means of communicating his desires. This largely depends on the parent's style of raising the child. With a permissive parenting style, the child attracts the attention of the parents with his whims. With their help, he achieves what he needs.

When adults show hyperprotection over a child, he gets used to the fact that all his wishes are fulfilled immediately. In the future, at the slightest delay or refusal to fulfill the requirement, the child begins to be capricious. For him, prompt fulfillment of requests is already the norm. He perceives refusal as a break in habits, to which he reacts with irritation and roaring.

Children's whims can also indicate fatigue. A child may get tired without realizing it, for example, when he gets too busy playing. Capricious behavior and lethargy indicate that it is time for him to rest.

Don't take your irritation out on your child. Take his position - this will help you understand your baby. His affairs and fortunes are as important as yours.

Ailments can also cause children's whims. If they appear, pay attention to the child’s condition and measure body temperature. Whims can indicate the onset of an illness.