A 2 month old baby sleeps little during the day. Why does a child sleep poorly during the day and what to do?

Healthy nutrition and normal sleep are key components to the successful growth and development of an infant. However, it is not always clear what to do if the baby refuses to sleep during the day. It is important to find the cause of this problem.

Why is it important for your baby to sleep during the day?

For normal development, a 2-month-old child needs to sleep 15-16 hours a day. In this case, night sleep should last from 8 to 10 hours, and daytime sleep – 5-6 hours.

If a child at 2 months does not sleep during the day, this is a cause for concern.

Please note that the waking time should be no more than 1 hour 15 minutes in a row. During this time, you need to have time to feed and, if necessary, bathe the child, give him time to play, prepare him for bed and rock him to sleep. Remember that lack of sleep interferes with the active brain development that occurs in the second month of life. The baby’s nervous system suffers, and this can cause problems in its development.

Why does a child not want to sleep?

Here are the main reasons why the baby does not fall asleep during the day, despite all the mother’s efforts:

Teeth are being cut. This is a rather painful process that prevents him from falling asleep. Ask your pediatrician to prescribe a special gel or ointment to relieve pain.
Too little time passed from feeding to going to bed. The baby swallows air along with the milk while sucking. He needs to be allowed out. If this is not done, the baby will suffer from gas.
The biological clock has not formed. In this situation, the child confuses day with night and his sleep is disturbed.
The child is uncomfortable. He may be hot or cold.
It was too tight in the room. Be sure to hang thick curtains in the children's room.
The baby is thirsty. This happens especially often during the hot season.
Loud extraneous sounds are disturbing. Teach your family to be quiet during the baby's sleeping hours, turn off the music and TV at this time.
There is no sleep mode. The child does not sleep all day because he is not used to falling asleep at the same time.

Eliminate the cause of the problem, and then it will be easier for you to get your baby to sleep.

What to do to help your baby sleep

In a child, just like in an adult, sleep can be deep and superficial. At the stage of shallow sleep, any little thing can wake you up. If you are used to rocking your baby in your arms, wait until he enters the deep sleep phase, and only then transfer him to a crib or stroller.

I often receive letters from you with similar questions. Why isn't he sleeping? After all, in theory, the first month has passed, the baby should already adapt to new conditions?

Well, not really. Quite often, a 2-month-old child does not sleep during the day precisely because he has not yet become accustomed to his new environment and needs his mother’s help.

Although there are other reasons. At this stage, everything matters. Let's figure it out.

What does the baby need?

So, the first thing we must remember when talking about the problem of sleep is that the baby’s adaptation is now ongoing.

For 9 months he was in completely different conditions (it was dark, humid, cramped, muffled and noisy, it rocked all the time);
In addition, in his mother’s tummy he is used to the fact that she is always nearby, he constantly hears her breathing and heartbeat. These have always been the best sedatives for a child.

And now he was deprived of all these sensations. But he has not yet learned to live with it: he still needs his mother as a source of peace and serenity.

It is difficult for a child’s immature nervous system to adapt to all the “new things” in the world around him as quickly as we would like;
Add here the fact that the rhythms of day and night “do not tell the baby anything” yet: his own sleep hormone will begin to be produced only after a couple of months;
The child’s nervous system now practically does not control these processes; he can easily “confuse” day with night. Here are several reasons why a 2-month-old baby does not sleep during the day.

But what about others - why do their children sleep? - you ask.

All children are different. Perhaps the other baby had a better pregnancy, the birth took place with minimal interventions, there was no separation from the mother...

They adapted faster, someone’s nervous system works a little differently, or they have enough of everything that your baby lacks for normal sleep.

What else can prevent a child from sleeping?

There are many more quite banal reasons why a 2-month-old child does not sleep during the day. Among them:

Hunger;

The baby's stomach is very tiny, so he needs to eat often. If you feed your baby by the hour, he may be hungry and therefore not sleep.

By the way! Children of this age perfectly combine sleep with breastfeeding. Yes, this is not very convenient for you, but it is an important need and necessity for an infant.

Irritating factors (bright light, loud noises, many people around), overstimulating the baby’s nervous system;

Quite often a child does not sleep during the day because this is what bothers him;

Physical discomfort;

A stuffy nose, colic, fever, diaper rash or rash, pressing seams on clothes, stuffiness or cold, dry air in the room will also prevent the child from sleeping normally;

How to help a child with colic and gas, see the online course Soft Tummy >>>

Sleep cycles;

Children of this age sleep for 20–40 minutes, this is a variant of the age norm. Therefore, it is important to sum up the total daily sleep time in order to understand how much the baby actually sleeps.

Sleeping under the breast;

Many mothers think that the baby fell asleep when he stopped suckling. From this moment the time he slept is counted.

However, a child of 2 months suckles at the breast reflexively, even during the superficial phase of sleep, into which he plunges during feeding. Therefore, it may seem to a mother that her child does not sleep all day, while he manages to “get his own” under the breast.

Psychological state of the mother;

A baby at this age especially urgently needs his mother’s closeness. Hearing her calm, gentle voice and the monotonous beating of her heart, he quickly calms down and falls asleep, as the body produces the hormone of happiness, endorphin.

But if the mother is irritated, has a chronic lack of sleep, she is nervous, her emotions are involuntarily transmitted to the child. And then, instead of endorphin, the stress hormone cortisol “comes out”, preventing you from calming down and sleeping normally.

Correcting the situation

So, what to do if your child does not sleep during the day? Correct all the shortcomings that I mentioned above. In particular:

Feed your baby on demand. Firstly, it is very relaxing and calming, and secondly, it helps to establish lactation (the first two months are just the period of its establishment. Read the article on this topic: Successful start of breastfeeding >>>);
Provide your baby with conditions similar to those in the womb:

create darkness;
remove extraneous noise;
to eliminate the risk of the baby waking up from a sharp sound, turn on monotonous white noise (read the article: White noise for a newborn >>>);
warmth and tightness perfectly imitate swaddling and rocking a baby under the mother's breast. You can carry your baby in a sling to ensure constant body contact, rock him on a fitball, or go outside for a nap in a stroller.

Know! Don’t be afraid that your child will get used to these methods and will not be able to fall asleep on their own in the future. Children do not develop habits until 3 months of age.

Create a calm and friendly atmosphere in the family. Negative emotions and frequent screaming do not contribute to normal sleep, either day or night;
Give your child enough attention during waking hours so that he does not develop emotional deficits;
Ask your family to help you with household chores so that you have time not only for troubles with the baby, but also for yourself: for relaxation, beauty treatments, adequate rest;
Monitor your baby's waking hours and signs of fatigue. At this age, children get tired very quickly and if they are allowed to “overnight” (for more than an hour), their nervous system gets excited, preventing them from sleeping normally.

“Telling” signs may be an increase in the search reflex, constant clenching of fists, thumb sucking, dissatisfied “faces,” sudden throwing up of arms and legs.

Now you know what to do if your baby is 2 months old and does not sleep during the day.

Maybe you can easily find the reason that is preventing your child from sleeping, or maybe the situation is a little more complicated.

In this case, watch the online seminar on infant sleep to get a clear system for establishing a child’s sleep at this age: Restful sleep for a baby from 0 to 6 months >>>

A child’s proper overall development depends on adequate sleep. This is very important in the first year of life. And especially in the first months.

What difficulties have you encountered with your child's sleep?

Lyudmila Sharova, consultant on breastfeeding and children's sleep.

The child has been sleeping poorly for 2 months and cannot cope with everyday stress. Many parents are faced with the problem of establishing a “life schedule”, thanks to which the baby will not worry about lack of sleep, malnutrition and lack of attention. Hasty upbringing and excessive care can be the main causes of problems.

Thousands of parents have asked similar questions. Why can't a child rest properly? Is it impossible to do without qualified help from specialists? Of course you can!

It is worth paying attention to the following reasons for poor sleep:

Environment.
Family lifestyle.
Condition of the home.
The spiritual component of each “close” relative (living in close proximity to the baby).

By eliminating all possible troubles from the above, no one is exempt from force majeure circumstances. Remember: the body of any child also depends on the lifestyle of the carrier (mother), partly the character and stressful situations endured - the fewer of them, the less likely there is to have bad sleep.

Basic facts should not fly out of the heads of adults - this is still a month-old child, incapacitated and dependent on his parents. His dream does not represent “nothing” - it is a process that defies explanation, directly repeating the lifestyle of those around him. If mom and dad sleep for 8 hours, enjoy life and do not disturb public peace, then the child will be sincerely happy (fortunately, he simply cannot hide his feelings at this stage). Despite full compliance with the “mother’s” standards, the baby will need professional advice.

Life is just beginning. A two-month-old baby continues to spend most of his life in deep sleep. His body adapts to real life. The child is two months old and does not sleep well - you need to carefully study the correct arrangement of rest days.
Any living organism adheres to a certain rhythm of life. The baby usually spends 6 to 8 hours sleeping during the day and 10-12 hours at night. Parents need to observe the frequency of sleep - dividing the total time throughout the day (several times an hour at a time will be great).

Of course, we should not forget about the development of mental activity:

within two months there is a sharp jump in development;
the world around us is perceived differently, slight changes in the structure of the head;
a massive influx of new information disturbs the baby and does not allow him to develop calmly.

The distribution of time for daytime and night sleep is the most important stages in the development of personality. If a child does not sleep well during the day, then the night must compensate for the emotional losses.

Finding himself in a completely new world, full of incredible things, the baby can perceive ordinary objects as something beautiful, or even terrible. Just a few hours ago he was sleeping peacefully, but now he is screaming for help. Unfortunately, it is not immediately possible to understand your loved one.

Based on your own experience, you need to consider:

Possible painful condition of the baby.
Possible release of harmless gases.
Providing maximum comfort.

If a person does not sleep well at night, then you need to seriously think about it. Sometimes, the problem can be the elementary light shining unpleasantly into a tiny eye. We sleep constantly, and in our adult years we also feel sleep deprived. A few days of certainty can save any situation.

Living in densely populated cities, parents are faced with the most important problem - their 2-month-old child does not sleep well during the day. As a rule, the main reason for daytime sleep in adults is lack of sleep at night. For kids, everything works out differently. Children need to be present in two phases, and if they were vigorously active at night, then it will not subside the next day.

The only solution is to find useful activities to eliminate unnecessary activity:

outdoor games;
unusual reading (with and without roles);
regular walks;
enhanced nutrition.

The process of original placement of an infant is especially important. You should provide the most comfortable conditions and re-enclose the bedroom from external life factors (road noise, sunlight, TV, and so on).

What needs to be done to ensure that the child sleeps peacefully, regardless of the time of day? Loving and educated parents need to draw up an action plan according to which the baby’s day will be rich and varied.

It is necessary to raise the bar from the very beginning, since with age the current routine will not represent anything special, and the regime will become stronger in the brain, and if properly observed, will never leave it:

A properly programmed routine is the main task of any conscious parent. Thanks to the regime (it is needed at any age), a person’s existence becomes much easier.

I sleep 8 hours - my baby sleeps 8 hours too!

Babies at 2 months still sleep a lot. Their nervous system continues to develop, and this requires long, high-quality sleep. However, its phases are still very far from those of “adults”; more time is allocated to shallow sleep, and it is during this that the baby’s brain develops. It is important that at this stage of life the baby gets quality and complete sleep, because it is during sleep that he produces growth hormone. If a 2-month-old child does not sleep well during the day, you must find out why this is happening and find a solution to the problem.

Baby's daily routine

A two-month-old child cannot yet roll over or sit up on his own; he only observes the world around him and gradually acquires the skills necessary for normal life activities. In total, the baby should sleep approximately 16-18 hours. In this case, night rest takes 8-10 hours, and day rest - 6-10. During the day, the baby sleeps 3-4 times for 30-40 minutes and 2 times for 1.5-2 hours. Such indicators are considered normal for infants of two months of age.

However, these data may be individual for each baby. Some pediatricians agree that healthy babies sleep as much as their body needs, and do not recommend adjusting the baby’s routine if he does not have any deviations in psychological and physical development.

If the deviation of the rest time from the regulations is more than 4 hours, then you should contact a specialist; in other cases, the situation is not dangerous for the child.

Signs of violation

Sometimes parents groundlessly think that a child has been sleeping poorly for 2 months. The fact is that mothers most often count down their rest time from the moment the baby is in the crib. This is completely wrong. The baby often falls asleep during feeding - out of the 30-40 minutes allotted for a meal, he actively suckles at the breast for only 10-15 minutes, the rest of the time the baby can simply sleep without letting the nipple out of his mouth. If you see that the baby’s eyelids are closed, his body is relaxed, his breathing is even, this means that he just fell asleep. This is a completely normal phenomenon, since children quickly calm down next to their mother, and a state of peace is conducive to rest.

However, there are times when the child does not sleep well, and the total number of hours is far from what is worth relying on.

If you notice that your child does not get enough rest, you need to record for 3-4 days when he is awake and when he is resting. This will help you find out in detail why the violation occurred and how to deal with it.

The following deviations are cause for concern:

the child does not sleep well at night;
the total amount of sleep is less than 14 hours;
the baby wakes up every 10-15 minutes;
The waking time between sleep sessions is 4 hours or more.

Causes of poor sleep

If, after observing, you notice that the baby slept less than expected, you need to find out the cause of the violation. It can be either completely harmless or require immediate medical intervention.

Let's consider the factors that prevent a child from sleeping normally:

Methods for solving the problem

In order for a two-month-old baby to fall asleep well and rest for the prescribed amount of time, you need to create the most favorable conditions for this. Children react acutely to negative environmental factors and deficiencies in care, so parents should make sure that the environment is conducive to quality sleep.

Let's look at what you need to focus on:

Drawing conclusions

The sleep of two-month-old babies is still quite restless, since the rapid phase predominates in it. If the baby does not get quality rest during the day, then you need to find out why this is happening. If the child does not have health problems, you can reconsider your behavior, organization of the baby’s life and care for him. If the insomnia of a small family member is accompanied by a deterioration in health, you need to seek medical help.

A two-month-old baby sleeps about 18 hours a day. His daytime sleep is divided into 4 stages. Two long deep sleeps alternate with a half-hour short rest.

Sleep is a process that you cannot do without. It gives strength, improves mood, well-being and health. A two-month-old baby has a huge need for sleep. Therefore, he spends most of the day in his crib. It is rare for a 2 month old baby to sleep all day.
The duration of sleep during this period is up to 18 hours a day. The constant presence of the mother, the correct regimen and breastfeeding on demand are the key to restful long-term sleep. Newborns do not have the ability to fall into deep sleep. Superficial sleep predominates, which sensitively detects changes around. So, a 2-month-old child sleeps little due to loneliness. The lack of mother's presence makes the baby's sleep anxious and short. A child is ready to sleep alone for no more than half an hour. While together with the mother, the duration of sleep increases to several hours.
In order to form the correct sleep and wakefulness pattern, it is necessary to take into account some points:

A 2 month old baby sleeps a lot during the day - this is an axiom. This is right and healthy, as it should be. If the baby's total sleep per day is more than 18 hours, there is no need to sound the alarm. Plus or minus an hour is normal. Activity, sociability, and a great mood after sleep give reason not to doubt the correctness of the conclusion. Lethargy, inactive behavior, indifference to the outside world after sleep is a reason to consult a specialist.
Daytime sleep at two months of age is divided into 4 periods. Two sleeps are long, two hours each. Two are short-term, intermediate dreams, lasting half an hour.
A breastfed baby sleeps well during the daytime exclusively under the breast. So give him this opportunity.
The interval between sleep and wakefulness should not exceed two hours. An overexcited child takes a long time to fall asleep at 2 months of age. And his sleep is restless and tense.

A schedule for sleeping and walking will allow you to calculate your bedtime quite accurately. After all, even a slight delay in time will provoke tension, in which the child falls asleep only in his arms for 2 months. And the laying time takes up to half an hour.
Night sleep consists of several stages. So, first the baby falls asleep for an hour, then wakes up and asks to eat. Afterwards sleep lasts about 5 hours. At the time of the first stage of night sleep, the mother should be nearby and feed the baby before he gets loose. If the baby manages to wake up, then you can forget about a restful 5-hour sleep that night.

The sleep pattern is formed up to the 6th month of life, so any attempts should not be carried out forcefully. If the baby does not want to sleep, it is useless to be diligent. This will only lead to unnecessary overstimulation, which will result in the child sleeping restlessly and crying in his sleep for 2 months of his life.