Newborn babies need constant contact with their parents. In the first months, babies sleep a lot, which is necessary for their growth and full development. Therefore, it is good when babies rest calmly and sweetly. Motion sickness will help you quickly fall asleep. This is a great way to relax and calm your baby. Later, when the baby grows up, parents begin to think about how to wean their child from motion sickness in their arms. This should be done smoothly and gradually, teaching the baby to fall asleep on his own.
Baby
Pros and cons of baby motion sickness
There are positive aspects to rocking a baby:
- An emotional connection is established with parents. A baby needs hugs and touches for a comfortable and calm life;
- The child relaxes and falls asleep faster;
- If a baby is teething and suffers from colic, he calms down in his mother's arms. This is a kind of pain reliever for the baby;
- The vestibular apparatus of the baby is trained.
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A newborn baby weighs little, so rocking him in your arms is not difficult. But he grows quickly, gaining kilograms, and by six months it is no longer so easy for the mother to hold the baby in her arms, waiting for his eyelids to close. A woman may experience back pain and problems with posture. The child gets used to falling asleep precisely under light motion sickness, so he cannot go into the world of dreams any other way. This is no longer a necessity, but serves as a habit, part of a ritual.
Note! Rocking helps your baby relax and feel safe. These are the sensations required for comfortable sleep.
Baby in mother's arms
The baby can adapt to rest while moving, so at the moment when he is transferred to the crib, he senses something is wrong and wakes up.
Long-term motion sickness greatly tires the mother:
- she gets tired physically;
- becomes mentally exhausted, angry and irritable;
- a woman may unconsciously switch to sudden, rapid rocking, which is especially dangerous when the baby cannot yet hold his head up.
Therefore, you should not teach your child to use his hands; it is necessary that he knows about other ways of going to bed.
The disadvantages of rocking include the fact that a child who is used to falling asleep only with the help of rocking will often wake up during the night. Children may open their eyes as sleep transitions from one phase to another. They seem to check if everything is okay, and if nothing bothers them, they close their eyes and continue to rest. If the baby does not know how to fall asleep on his own, then at this moment he may wake up completely and require his mother’s attention.
Diversity of reactions to different situations and trusting relationships
As the baby grows, the parent's repertoire of interaction with him should expand. Instead of rocking a six-month-old baby, and even more so after one year, you can hold his hand, tell him soothing stories, while stroking his back.
Your baby may have a favorite toy that will make it easier for him to fall asleep. First you need to watch the child: there is probably something other than mother’s hands that can calm him down
It is important that the child feels that you are nearby and ready to respond to his needs.
By the way, about needs. Often mothers continue to rock (or, rather, shake) a sleepless and crying baby, without trying to understand what the real reason is and eliminate it. It could be teething, colic, or the fact that the child has not eaten well, is thirsty or wants to go to the toilet, his clothes are rubbing, or some sounds, lights, or smells are bothering him...
There can be many of these reasons, and a sensitive mother learns to carefully observe the baby’s behavior and respond adequately to his needs and causes of concern. And sometimes persistent difficulties with sleep and falling asleep can signal tone that is difficult to see with the naked eye, or other serious problems for which it is better to consult a specialist.
When to stop motion sickness
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A newborn cannot do without motion sickness; after the child reaches two months, you can gradually move away from them. The sooner the baby learns to fall asleep on his own, the better for him and his parents. This does not mean that you need to leave him in the room alone and not respond to screams. First you need to sit next to him until the child falls asleep. It’s good when it is possible to place the baby’s crib next to the parent’s bed. This way the baby will know that his parents are nearby and will come to his aid at any time.
Convenient crib location
If at 4 months your baby still falls asleep exclusively in your arms, this may affect the quality of his sleep. It is at this age that the deep phase becomes longer, and the child does not fall asleep as quickly as before. It takes more time for the baby to plunge into the world of dreams and not react to extraneous noises, even monotonous ones. In addition, the baby becomes dependent on motion sickness; he cannot imagine any other way to calm down and feel protected.
If the baby was born premature or weak, then you can extend the period of going to sleep in your arms. Such children require more attention, care and parental affection. In any case, experts recommend giving up motion sickness by six months. It will be much more difficult to do this later; patience and perseverance will be required.
Note! After a year, it is difficult for a baby to give up his usual actions.
The main thing is for parents to clearly understand their intentions and not deviate from the intended plan, and not doubt the correctness of their actions.
Which uses are normal and which are not?
The normal daily intake of water for a child depends on age:
Up to 6 months - when breastfeeding, the need for water completely disappears.
If the baby is on artificial feeding, then it should be supplemented. This is because formula is richer than breast milk and can make you thirsty.Be sure to drink in hot weather, when teething or at elevated body temperature. It will be enough to give up to 100 ml per day.
- From 6 months to one year - 130-200 ml of liquid, including water, juices or compotes. In summer, when it is hot, the norm can be increased to 500 ml.
- From 1 to 3 years – 700-800 ml, which includes soups, tea and juices. Of this volume, 500 ml should be clean boiled water.
- Up to 7 years – from 2 to 2.7 liters (together with food and other drinks). At the same time, there should be at least 800 ml of clean water.
At night, the child should not drink a lot of water.
100-120 ml is enough for a baby, and 200 ml for those over a year old. It is not advisable to often give your child sugary drinks to drink - they increase thirst.
How to wean a child from motion sickness
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The child should forget about motion sickness gradually. The task of parents is to show patience and perseverance. If the mother periodically abandons her own intentions and takes the baby in her arms before going to bed, rocking him slightly, the process will drag on and become more painful for the baby. Children sense adults’ doubts, read their emotions, and begin to worry, which affects the quality and duration of sleep.
How to stop rocking your baby in your arms and teach him to fall asleep on his own:
- Buy a bed with a mechanism that allows the cradle to rock. This will not require physical effort from the parents, but will allow the baby to relax. The mother should be nearby, petting the baby, talking to him, singing lullabies or telling stories. Gradually, the child will get used to doing without his mother’s hugs, after which he can refuse touching, leaving only the rocking of the crib;
- Hold the child in your arms during wakefulness and play. The baby must understand that this is a time of activity. It's good when sleep is not associated with being held. It is convenient to use a sling, which allows you to move with your baby while doing daily activities. At the same time, if the device is used correctly, there is no load on the spine, the hands remain free;
- Place the child in the bed next to the pillow, a thing with the mother's smell. There are special comfort toys that can be used from birth. They are lightweight, made of soft fabrics and absorb aromas well. At the same time, at first the baby still needs to hear his mother’s voice. A lullaby will help the baby fall asleep faster;
- Organizing rituals are actions that are repeated day after day. The baby will know that after the bath he will change clothes and eat, then say good night to the toys, listen to a fairy tale and go to bed. Having already remembered the sequence of events, he will wait for the next one and calm down;
- Buy a soft mattress - topponcino. You can carry your baby in it, painlessly transferring it to bed. He will not notice the changes and will not wake up, the baby’s sleep will not be disturbed. This mattress is usually used until the age of five months.
Topponcino
In the crib
To start weaning your baby from rocking in the crib, you need to offer him an alternative way of relaxation, for example, giving him pieces of fabric with different textures. He will sort through them and begin to calm down. The main thing is to remove them from the crib when the baby falls asleep.
In order for a child to fall asleep quickly, he must spend active time during the day:
- Play with parents;
- Be outdoors every day;
- Communicate not only with mom and dad, but also with other relatives.
Difficulties in weaning off motion sickness
Children who are used to falling asleep while being rocked will resist weaning. Especially if this happens after 6 months. For a child, this is stressful; it is not so easy to give up a habit that allowed you to relax, and in some cases, relieve pain. There is no need to do this abruptly and it is better to choose the right moment. The child should not be sick or experience any discomfort. At the same time, you cannot doubt your actions and take steps back. The baby must understand that mom and dad are serious, but feel their attention, care and love.
Note! Once parents decide to stop rocking their baby at bedtime, bedtime may increase. That's why it's important to think of other ways to help your baby feel safe.
You need to take care of comfort:
- Ventilate the room before going to bed;
- Make sure that the baby does not freeze and is not hot;
- Change the diaper in a timely manner;
- Buy bed linen and underwear only from natural fabrics.
To understand how to painlessly wean a child from motion sickness, you need to know what it does to the baby. If the baby has been falling asleep exclusively in his mother’s arms for a long time, then it will be extremely difficult for him to refuse this. Therefore, parents must be patient, surrounding the baby with affection and love.
If all else fails
There are situations when parents try all the proposed methods, but none of them turns out to be effective. In this case, psychologists advise retreating and postponing attempts for a while. The fact is that some children need constant tactile contact with their mother or another loved one.
It is important to let the baby satisfy his needs, otherwise he may grow up to be a fearful and restless child who does not know how to trust people and is afraid of his own desires. Children who:
Children who:
- are developmentally delayed;
- have pathologies of a neurological nature;
- rarely see their mother in the first months of life (for example, if the mother went to work immediately after giving birth).
Important! Under no circumstances should you push away a child who reaches out to his parents and asks to be held. This behavior can disrupt the emotional bond between mother and baby and cause misunderstandings and other problems when the child gets a little older.
