The Need For A 4-6 Month Old Baby To Sleep
It is perfectly normal for a small child to wake up several times during the night, and this continues until the age of 4-6 months. However, it must be remembered that all children are individuals, and each baby’s need for sleep is different.
The need for sleep in a 4-6 month old baby
A young child’s sleep rhythm is essentially related to eating, and where a baby wakes up at the age of less than two months to eat twice a night, over the next two months this will happen only once a night. The majority of four-month-olds do without night feeding.
From four months to about eleven months of age, a child needs 14-15 hours of sleep a day. Thus, a four-month-old child can sleep for as long as eight hours in a tube without waking up from time to time to eat. At the age of five months, a child may sleep up to 10-11 hours at a time.
As we already mentioned, each baby is unique and there is no need to worry if your own child sleeps a little more or less than the averages suggest. It is important to respect the child’s natural sleep rhythm.
Is it time to move a child to sleep in their own room?
Some parents move the baby to sleep in their own room at about the age of six months, when this one sleeps already nights without waking up to eat. This again gives parents their own, private space to sleep and smooth out their sleep rhythm without distractions.
However, many parents want to wait longer than half a year before the child sleeps alone. Once again, it is an individual decision made by the parents themselves. Moving a child to their own room to sleep is influenced by, among other things, the personal needs of the parents, the size of the apartment and the amount of attention the baby needs.
Some parents want to move the baby to their own room out of sheer exhaustion. One of the parents may initially move to sleep with the child if deemed necessary. Constant feeling of exhaustion can lead to even serious problems such as depression. Waking up tired every morning is not easy for anyone, but unfortunately familiar to most parents.
Creating child routines
For a baby’s sleep rhythm to develop, parents need to create routines and follow them on a daily basis. The baby needs to feel confident and know what to expect. This will help him get a better night’s sleep. That is why it is extremely important to set a sleep schedule for your child and stick to it. Routines should be created as early as early childhood.
As the child’s internal clock begins to return to normal, parents will notice how this begins to detect bedtime approaching. Rubbing sleepy eyes and yawning tell of the approaching bedtime.
Taking the child’s naps into account
As mentioned earlier, babies already separate night and day. Therefore, it is good for the baby to sleep in a partially bright place rather than in total darkness. It is also not necessary that during the nap the whole house is mouse quiet. Of course, you should avoid excessive noise that your baby gets peace of mind.
In this way, even the babies’ inner clock learns to reinforce the idea of what time of day it is and that it is not yet time for an uninterrupted, long sleep of the night.
It is important to remember to let your child sleep as much as he or she wants during his or her nap. Again, children are individuals, some need more sleep than others. Never wake your child from nap to eat, for example.
Let your child enjoy their sleep for as long as they need it. Babies take naps during the first months of their lives whenever they need to. They also learn to regulate their hunger as well as it because they have eaten enough.
Signs of baby drowsiness
For 4-6 month old babies, it is important to learn to recognize signs that they are ready to go to bed. This will help you create healthy sleep rhythms for your baby and make him or her happier.
Here are some examples of how babies show their drowsiness:
- They have an empty look in their eyes or they stare at one point for long periods of time
- Yawning
- Rubbing the eyes
- Loss of interest (towards people or toys)
- Irritability
- Crying
- Nervousness
All of these can be signs that your baby is sleepy and needs sleep as soon as possible. It’s important to keep an eye on these signs so you know during the day when your child needs a nap and when it’s time to go to bed.
As you learn to recognize the signs of drowsiness in your baby, you can help her regulate her sleep rhythm.
You will also be able to better understand when your baby is tired or wants to sleep and when it is time to stay awake.
This will allow you to predict when is the best time for your child to go to bed.
