How does a child’s routine change at 11 months and is it necessary to follow a clear routine?

Dream

Often, children from 11 months begin to switch to one nap during the day; this is the most significant change in the routine compared to the previous month. For normal rest, the child should sleep from 3 to 4 hours during the day; it is preferable to go to bed after lunch between 12-30 and 14-00. This will help gradually prepare your baby for entering kindergarten.

There are times when a child is not ready to switch to a single nap and this happens only at the age of one and a half years; he should not be rushed. All children are different, and what is normal for one is still very early for another. It is recommended to give your baby the opportunity to sleep twice a day at the following intervals:

• 10-30 — 12-00;
• 16-30 – 18-00.

At this age, children no longer need to feed at night, so most often they do not wake up during the night. You can come up with a special ritual that will prepare the baby for going to bed, for example, changing into cozy pajamas, listening to a fairy tale while lying in bed. In addition, the mother can play a soft lullaby for the baby.

The baby's night sleep lasts 10 hours, daytime sleep lasts 4. The total duration of wakefulness is 10 hours.

When the baby turns 11 months old, you can safely begin to build a clear time schedule. This means that getting up, sleeping and waking can be organized based on numbers. As a rule, by this age, children already regularly sleep two naps and the day becomes more predictable. But things don’t always go so smoothly for all babies; there are times when sleep and wakefulness are still unpredictable. We will look into why this happens below.

Norms of sleep and wakefulness at 11 months If we take average values, then the waking time of an eleven-month-old baby can vary from 3:30-4:30 hours. Such a wide range is given precisely because each baby can have its own figure and tie children to one interval time will be wrong.

Daytime sleep usually lasts about 2:30 hours on average. In this case, you can divide the dreams in half, or make one longer and the second a little shorter. If a child sleeps more, 2:30 hours, and at the same time his night does not shorten and its quality does not deteriorate, we can safely say that your baby’s individual norm.

The duration of night sleep can be from 09:00-11:00 hours. Do not forget that at this age the baby is actively learning a new walking skill, which can spoil the quality of the night for some time.

It is also worth mentioning that there are children who switch to 1 nap during the day at 11 months. The main sign of the transition is that the baby walks for 05:00-05:30 hours every waking hour without overwork and overtime on an ongoing basis. It is not worth initiating a transition for the sake of transition. Better to wait and save more dreams for as long as you can.

Reasons why a baby sleeps poorly At the age of 11 months, many babies sleep all night without waking up, especially if their feeding schedule is excellent during the day. But, as mentioned earlier, not everyone sleeps well, let’s look at several common reasons for the deterioration in the quality of the night:

• Growth spurt . The child has a new skill, it worries him, the baby is restless throughout the day. This means that stress hormones can prevent a child from sleeping soundly throughout the night.
• Physical discomfort . Teething is still a concern at this age. The baby feels especially pain during sleep, as he is in complete peace. Physical discomfort also includes various diseases that can in one way or another affect your baby’s sleep.
• Poorly organized sleeping conditions . These include: noise, light, heat/cold, uncomfortable clothing, dry air, hunger.
• Incorrectly selected balances of active and quiet wakefulness . The child does not have enough load, or, on the contrary, there is too much load.
• The rhythm of the day does not suit the baby , or he is not organized at all.
• False refusal of a second nap . The child resists sleep in every possible way, although the time of wakefulness for one sleep is not yet long.
• There is a strong association , without which the baby cannot fall asleep or prolong its sleep.

Where to start improving your sleep?

It’s worth starting to improve your sleep with the proper organization of your day. Only by having a stable and predictable rhythm can you make your baby's sleep better.

So where should you start:

• Make sure your child gets up at the same time every day. The most comfortable time for waking up is considered to be the period from 06:00-08:00 in the morning. • Give your baby the opportunity to splash out his strength and get a little tired in order to create sleep pressure.
• Do not forget that before going to bed it is important to organize a quality, calm wakefulness. This is necessary, first of all, in order to slow down the baby’s nervous system and prepare him for a peaceful sleep.
• Come up with and carry out a ritual for all your dreams. A ritual is a certain sequence of actions, after which sleep occurs. At the age of 11 months, the duration of the ritual ranges from 8-9 minutes. Be sure to include voice and tactile support in the ritual.
• Monitor the number and duration of daytime naps. Day after day they should be consistently the same.
• If your baby has a false sleep reset, analyze the situation. Perhaps the child's waking time has increased and he needs to go to the second nap later.
• Make sure that the external conditions comply with the standards. Download the “COMFORT AND SLEEP” CHECKLIST for free and check each item.

In order for the rhythm to become stable and predictable, it must be observed every day. Only when all processes are fully established: sleep, food, wakefulness, walks, bathing, games. Only then can we say that with a single violation of this very rhythm (trip, guests, force majeure), the overall picture of sleep will not change.

There are children in whose regime it is necessary to look for balances in more detail, and only after that the sleep becomes stronger and better quality. But it’s not always possible to do this on your own. Whether working on a course or in an individual format, you will always have the support of a consultant. And the consultant, having extensive experience, will always be able to tell you which direction to go and which hypothesis to test. Write to us and we will select the optimal tariff for you.

It's never too late to start working with sleep. Once you find the optimal balance of sleep and wakefulness, stress and relaxation, the result will not be long in coming. But remember that children are growing rapidly and very soon, you may have to change the current rhythm a little. But you will gain skill in working with sleep, so any changes will no longer be scary for you.

Author: Tatyana Kremneva.

Catering

When planning the daily routine of an 11-month-old baby, it is very important to correctly create a diet and plan feeding times. At this age, the child needs to eat 5 times a day, the pauses between “meals” are 3-4 hours. Feeding more often is strictly not recommended, as this will cause excessive stress on the digestive system and lead to excess weight. The baby still needs breast milk or formulas that replace it; he needs to be given at least 220-250 ml of one or the other per day. Most often this is done in the morning after waking up (first feeding). Some babies begin to ask for the breast before bed, but often the reason for this is not hunger, but a desire for contact with the mother, so you can take the baby in your arms, offer a milk drink or thin porridge.

Disturbances in the daily routine of infants

Possible violations include the following:

• Refusal of one of the daytime dreams;
• The child gets up in bed, learns to stand and walk;
• The usual methods of putting the baby to sleep cease to work;
• The child confused day and night;
• The baby wakes up frequently and sleeps restlessly.

If the baby refuses one of the daytime naps, you need to continue to follow the previous regime. If morning sleep interferes with lunchtime, you need to reduce its time to an hour. You can also move the time of the second sleep forward half an hour.

If the baby begins to get up in the crib, then you should show him how to lie back down. It is also necessary to devote more attention and time to daily training of walking skills.

As a child grows up, he stops responding to the usual ways of laying down. This means that he wants to fall asleep without outside interference.

Poor sleep can be caused by:

• Stuffiness in the room;
• Complete darkness or too bright light;
• Improper feeding;
• Teething;
• Uncomfortable bed;
• Uneasy atmosphere in the house;
• Uncomfortable clothes.

Eliminating these factors and providing comfortable conditions will allow the child to quickly and easily fall asleep and have a good rest during the night.

If your baby has confused day with night, the following methods will help return the routine to normal:

• Wake up the child early in the morning;
• Don't let him sleep during the day;
• Provide favorable conditions for night sleep;
• Stop active games 1-2 hours before a night's rest.

The routine of an 11-month-old baby will make every day of the baby useful and eventful, allowing him to actively develop and feel happy.

Diet

At this age, children eat a large number of “adult” foods, but it is important that the food is not only balanced and healthy, but also safe. Therefore, the size of the pieces must be determined in such a way that the child does not choke.

An 11-month-old baby can and should be given:

• vegetables (carrots, beets);
• fruits (apples, pears, peaches, bananas);
• meat;
• fish (salmon, mackerel);
• eggs;
• pasta, cereals;
• fermented milk products (cottage cheese, yogurt, children's kefir).

Vegetables and fruits are peeled, cut into medium-sized pieces and given to the child strictly under the supervision of an adult. If the baby still has very few teeth, you can boil the vegetables and make the pieces themselves smaller.

Fatty meat and fish are included in the menu no more than once a week: in the form of cutlets, meatballs or boiled. It is necessary to give soups, both pureed and regular. For babies up to one year old, chicken, vegetable, with meatballs or cooked in weak meat broth are suitable.

Pasta for children is selected small in size, from durum wheat. The drinks are very diverse: these include fruit drinks, juices (only diluted), and compotes (both from fresh fruits and berries, and from dried fruits). In the evening, you can offer your baby tea with chamomile and linden blossom - it will help you relax and set yourself up for a good night's sleep.

The following products are prohibited:

• Citrus fruits and guests from the tropics (kiwi, pineapples, mangoes, oranges) - they can cause allergies.
• Berries (black currants, raspberries, strawberries) - for the same reason.
• Soups with beans, peas, beetroot soup, borscht, mushroom.
• Nuts.
• Candies and chocolate.
• Sausages, sausages and sausages.

An approximate diet for a baby is presented in the table:

Please note that the menus for breastfed or bottle-fed children do not differ from each other.

To make the baby understand that he is about to be fed, you can use a ritual by dressing the baby in a bright, beautiful bib, which will become a kind of signal for lunch or dinner. At 11 months, you need to teach your baby to eat with a spoon and drink from a cup, which, of course, will not work the first time. You should prepare for the fact that the child will drop pieces of food, get dirty himself, and contaminate the floor, table, and clothes. It is important to be patient and use a light mug, always one that the child likes.

Possible causes of poor sleep

There are many reasons for poor sleep, the main thing is to identify and eliminate them in time. An eleven month old baby may have difficulty sleeping due to:

• Nasal congestion;
• Intestinal colic;
• Worms and other parasites;
• Elevated temperature;
• Too much rest during the day.

How often to bathe a newborn baby up to a month old

Recommended and necessary conditions for daytime and nighttime rest for a child aged 11 months are lights off, complete silence in the dark. Before putting the baby to bed, it is recommended to take a walk with the child (in the warm season) and ventilate the room in which the baby’s bed is located for fifteen to twenty minutes. You should not dress the baby too warmly at night; for example, in the summer the child should not wear pajamas. A T-shirt (T-shirt) and shorts are enough.

If the baby asks to go potty on his own, he needs to be put out before being put down. Children who are not yet potty trained can wear a diaper. You should not give your baby a lot of water at night, otherwise, during rest, his bladder will actively work, preventing deep, restful sleep. These rules are simple, but very important for young parents.

Attention! Poor sleep at this age (eleven months) is often caused by teething. In this case, doctors recommend lubricating the baby’s itchy gums with a special cream. This will greatly alleviate the baby’s condition and help him sleep calmly and soundly.

Teething can cause temporary sleep disturbances

Young parents should remember that each child is individual, so there is no sleep standard as such. Some people sleep for a long time during the day, while others do not like quiet time, but sleep soundly and long at night. Also, 11-month-old girls and boys, like adults, are already at an early age divided into “night owls” and “larks”, who have different biorhythms. Therefore, in order to develop the right schedule, parents should observe their baby and, if possible, adapt to his needs.

Walks

At 11 months, it is necessary to gradually wean the baby from sleeping outside. If this is not possible at first, it is recommended to walk twice, one walk must be active. It is here that the mother will tell the baby about the world around her, introduce her to the animals, birds, and plants she encounters.

For the full development of the baby and the prevention of rickets, vitamin D is necessary, which can be obtained by walking in sunny weather. Experts do not recommend taking your child out into the scorching rays, this is harmful for him; it is best to take cover in the shade and breathe fresh air in safety. You can combine rolling your baby in a stroller with his independent steps, which need to be done with the support of his mother.

The duration of the walks is about 2 hours, which are recommended to be divided into 2 times. If it is cloudy, rainy or cold outside, the time spent in the fresh air is reduced to 1 hour. Don't underestimate the importance of a walk: children who regularly spend time in the fresh air sleep better and hardly wake up at night.

Water treatments

In the daily routine of an 11-month-old baby, special importance should be given to observing the rules of personal hygiene:

1. The baby takes baths every day. The approximate duration of bathing is up to 10 minutes. It is best to finish the procedure by rinsing with water, which is 1-2 degrees colder than in the bath; this will be an excellent way to harden.
2. Learns to wash hands independently (without reminder) after using the potty and outside, before eating.
3. He brushes his teeth (albeit with his mother’s hands for now).

Timely washing is mandatory; there is no need to use soap; it is enough to hold the child’s bottom under running water.

Physical activity

You should do gymnastics in the first half of the day, dedicating the evening hours to educational games.

You can read about dynamic gymnastics for kids here.

The exercises that can be included in a gymnastics complex for the little ones are quite varied:

• rotation of arms and legs (circular);
• flexion and extension of limbs;
• bends;
• squats;
• straight leg raise while lying on your back.

An 11-month-old baby is also given a massage consisting of a series of stroking and rubbing. However, if your child has any health problems, you should visit a specialist and find out if massage is allowed for him.

Games and entertainment

An 11-month-old baby already spends quite a lot of time awake, which is why parents should think about what they will do with it. There are many games:

• addition of a pyramid;
• building a tower from cubes;
• imitation of adults (kids love to feed toys, put them to bed), etc.

It is important to pay attention to the development of the baby, introduce him to the world around him, improve memory, attention, and intelligence. For example, mom can show him a picture and tell him what animals are depicted in it. And then ask to show one of them, for example, a cat. A set of frames and inserts for them will help develop an understanding of shape and size, as well as fine motor skills. The baby, of course, will not yet be able to put one into the other, but will happily play with the bright details.

For this age, it is acceptable to offer your child finger painting. He will have fun and will also develop fine motor skills; activities with kinesthetic sand will be useful.

Typical daily routine

We invite you to get acquainted with an example of a rational schedule for a child of 11 months. Parents can adjust it based on the individual characteristics of the child.

The baby’s adherence to the daily routine is convenient for both him and the parents, since the child is preparing for kindergarten, gradually learning to do everything by the clock, and the mother can plan her day taking into account the baby’s schedule. It has been proven that children who live according to a properly structured schedule are more developed physically and emotionally compared to those who live without a clear schedule.

Features of baby sleep at 11 months

Parents often ask how much sleep an 11 month old baby should have. However, it is difficult to give a clear and definite answer to this question. The duration of daytime and night sleep depends on many factors, in particular:

• The child’s health status, the presence or absence of acute (chronic) diseases;
• The home environment (the presence or absence of suitable conditions for the baby to sleep and rest);
• Duration of walks and time of year (in winter and autumn, children usually sleep longer than in the warm season, because cloudy weather contributes to increased sleepiness);
• Heredity (if parents are big fans of sleeping in the morning, then the child is unlikely to wake up early).

Also, the quality and duration of sleep largely depend on the proper organization of nutrition for the infant.

Attention! Too much napping during the day can cause your baby to have trouble falling asleep and stay up late at night. Therefore, if the quiet hour drags on, it is recommended to carefully wake up the baby so that he can stay awake longer during the day.

A soundly sleeping baby always pleases and touches adults