When to wean a child from motion sickness in his arms. Why does baby sleep better in arms? Arguments for and against motion sickness

25.04.2019

touching picture when mom cradles in her arms baby, often represents the tender period of childhood. Warm intimacy with mother calms the baby, creates a feeling of absolute security in him, but grows, puts on weight, becomes more active. Time passes, and by 6 months the woman realizes that cradling in her arms is overgrown with some problems: there is not enough time for household chores, her back starts to hurt, the whims of the crumbs intensify. Involuntarily, the thought comes of how to wean a child from motion sickness and make him fall asleep on his own.

Realizing that it's time for the baby to learn to sleep without motion sickness, you should be patient. Abrupt interruption of the process familiar to the child can adversely affect his psycho-emotional state. What to do, how competently from motion sickness before going to bed?

Some mothers turn to their friends, grandmothers for help, wondering how they coped with similar problem. However, do not forget that every baby is a person, even if he is only 3 months old. It should also be taken into account the physical state baby and his health.

Child psychologists advise parents to be flexible in the process of abandoning motion sickness. Start from the following principles:

keeping calm;
show confidence;
stock up on patience;
install at the same time.

If your child gets used to a clear regimen, then by the time of sleep, the baby will involuntarily fall asleep, which will make it easier for you to wean yourself from motion sickness. The main thing is not to succumb to children's tricks, to carry out your plans confidently, without nerves and unnecessary fuss. Take a closer look at your treasure, find out what gives him pleasure, how he reacts to your absence. Try trusting another family member to put your baby to sleep without motion sickness, or use useful advice professionals.

Pediatricians believe that The best way is to abandon motion sickness in the arms in the very early age, preferably in 3-4 months. If time is lost, and at 6 months he does not want to go to bed on his own, parents will have to resort to tricks. Take a look at some helpful tips:

When preparing your baby for sleep, give him a massage so that he calms down, relaxes, and falls asleep quickly. Stroke the baby's back, arms, legs, tummy, talk to him, sing a quiet lullaby.
A stroll in a stroller will help prepare your baby to sleep without motion sickness at 6 months. Choose the time for the walk so that it falls on daytime sleep. Having gone out into the street, the baby will already be ready to fall asleep, and in the stroller, under its measured movement, and on fresh air, he will fall asleep without motion sickness in his arms.
After putting the baby in the cradle, sit next to him, but do not touch him. Just talk to him quietly and wait for him to fall asleep. When leaving the room, you can turn on the night light so that the baby is not afraid of the dark.
Trying to put your treasure to sleep without motion sickness, equip it sleeping place in the form of a nest. It is important for a baby under 1 year old to feel secure in bed before he falls asleep. Can be hung over the bed bright toys distracting the child from thoughts about mom.
Do not try to immediately stop motion sickness, wean your little treasure from them gradually. So, in order to put a baby to sleep at 4 months without motion sickness, take a pillow and rock the baby on it, maintaining the same pace as it was when rocking in your arms. If the child falls asleep on the pillow, put him in the crib. Gradually reducing the pace, you will teach your baby to fall asleep on a pillow without rocking, and then you can transfer to the crib.

How to stop baby rocking in the crib?

The problem with the child's habit of motion sickness in the crib is no less acute for parents than motion sickness on mother's hands Oh. As a rule, by the age of 1 year, babies move to sleep in their own bed, but often retain the habit of motion sickness. How to wean a child from motion sickness at 1 year old, what needs to be considered, and what methods to use?

Babies at 1-2 years old are more difficult to give up their habits and experience any changes more painfully. At this age, a character pattern is formed in children, and the baby becomes stubborn in his desires and actions. It is difficult to cope with the habit of a child falling asleep under motion sickness in a crib at 2 years old, but it is possible if you again have patience and act wisely.

What can help?

It is much easier to teach your baby to fall asleep in a crib without motion sickness if, before this step, wean him from motion sickness in his arms. As life shows, parents come to such a decision closer to the year of the child. Try to act like this:

Put some of your things in the crib so that the baby can smell the mother. Scarf, a warm sweater, the mother's cap should be in the field of view of the baby. If your son or daughter takes a pacifier, leave it in the crib.
Sit near the crib, wait for the baby to fall asleep. Talk to him quietly, sing a lullaby.
If the baby is worried, wrap him in a blanket, hold his hand. It is important for the baby to feel your closeness.
It is easy to teach a child to sleep without motion sickness at 1 year old if you load it during the day useful information, games, reading books, slightly increasing their intensity closer to bedtime. A tired baby will fall asleep quickly and without motion sickness.
Lay the baby with his beloved soft toy. With her, he will not feel lonely and abandoned.
Turn the baby's crib into an interesting place for him. Fill it with toys, use a fun baby linens.
Turn going to bed into an exciting ritual. Choose a fascinating fairy tale for reading before going to bed, place a night-light projector near the child's bed, an electronic mobile projecting the baby's favorite characters on the ceiling and walls. Thus, you can teach a child to fall asleep at 1 year old without motion sickness.
To relax your baby before a night's sleep, taking a scented bath with soothing herbs will help.
At 2 years old, when a child has some fears, he can easily leave the bed, parents need to be persistent, but attentive. Lay the baby down, turn on his night light, leave the room and listen. If the child is worried, cannot fall asleep within 5 minutes, return to the room, talk to him gently, leave the room again.

When weaning a child from motion sickness, do not wait quick results. All children are different, someone will agree with your decision in one week, and someone in three weeks cannot do without the presence of their mother. Stay with the baby until he falls asleep, but stop rocking him.

When should you postpone weaning?

No matter how much parents would like to teach a child to fall asleep on their own, it is impossible to refuse motion sickness in moments of life that are disturbing for him. If the baby is teething or has a tummy ache, he doubly needs his mother's care, and the motion sickness process helps him calm down. Postpone your decision until the time when the baby is healthy and in good mood.

For children older than 1 year, the transition to independent going to bed is more difficult. Perhaps we should start by putting the baby in the mother's bed, but without the mother. Sit with him, stroke, tell interesting story, but do not insist if the son or daughter starts crying when you leave. It is much easier to cope with the situation for those parents in whose family there is already an adult child. The example of a brother or sister has a beneficial effect on the baby, he quickly weaned from motion sickness.

In this article:

The most common way to put newborns to sleep is by rocking. Mom's warmth and smell soothe the baby, and the monotonous rocking movements have a soporific effect. At first, this way of lulling seems to be a lifeline for mom. But when the baby grows up, and the habit of falling asleep in this way remains, it becomes more and more difficult to put him down. The child becomes heavier, and it is not easy for the mother to carry him in her arms for a long time. Then questions arise: how to put the baby to sleep differently, how to wean it from motion sickness?

The difficulty lies in the fact that universal way No, just as no two children are the same. It will not be possible to develop an algorithm of actions that will help every kid. But it's worth trying to summarize some of the recommendations and figure out how to put your baby to sleep without motion sickness.

The benefits and harms of motion sickness on the hands

Pediatricians and parents still have not come to consensus about whether it is harmful or not to rock the baby. Each side has its own arguments.

When mom takes the baby in her arms, he calms down, feeling the smell and warmth of the body, hearing the beating of her heart. The baby relaxes and falls asleep. Opponents object that the vestibular apparatus of the newborn is poorly developed, so this method of laying can provoke dizziness and feeling unwell him to the point of losing consciousness.

The positive aspects of rocking a child in his arms:

ensuring close bodily contact with the mother, necessary for the baby to grow self-confident;
the baby calms down, because motion sickness reminds him of the conditions in which he was in the womb, when it was warm and comfortable;
the baby relaxes, distracts from the pain in the abdomen or discomfort during teething.

Negative sides:

the need for the constant presence of the mother when the child falls asleep;
the baby grows, it becomes physically difficult to rock him in his arms due to the increasing weight (as a rule, for this reason, most mothers try to give up motion sickness when the child is 1 year old);
when growing up, the baby can learn to manipulate his mother and be capricious, then you will have to lull him in this way not only in the evening, but also during the night;
motion sickness becomes a physiological need, a habit, without which it is difficult for a child to imagine his life.

When should a child be weaned from motion sickness?

When and how to wean a child from motion sickness, only the mother determines based on the needs of the crumbs and subject to the readiness of both for change. There is no universal answer to this question, because each mother-baby tandem is unique.

Of course, it is better not to accustom the child to motion sickness from the very beginning. But if this has already happened, then, most likely, it will be problematic to influence the situation in the first six months of a baby’s life. Too much Small child may not be ready for such changes. This will cause stress for both him and his parents. Therefore, it is better to try to put the baby to sleep without motion sickness after 6-8 months.

If such an attempt is unsuccessful, pediatricians recommend postponing it until the baby reaches the age of one and a half years, when he is already able to give up this habit and do without motion sickness. Sometimes a child cries during motion sickness, making it clear that he does not like it, even if before that he fell asleep only in this way. Mom will definitely notice such a moment, then weaning will pass without any problems.

How to wean a child from motion sickness: methods and features of the process

If the mother nevertheless decided to cancel the motion sickness of the child before bedtime, she will have to be patient.

Replace motion sickness in your arms with laying in a bed or stroller.
Teaching a child to fall asleep independently in a crib without motion sickness.

At the first step, a cradle with motion sickness will become a faithful mother’s assistant, which will allow you to unload your hands when laying your baby down. On the street during a walk, a stroller will become such a replacement. But even a very tiny child is able to distinguish warm mother's hands from the cradle. Fear, resentment, anxiety, most likely, will cause him a loud protest.

If the mother is determined to wean the baby from motion sickness, then she should not take him in her arms at the first request. You can shake the crib, sing a song, gently massage the back or legs. In most cases this helps. It is very important for a baby to feel that his mother is near.

After overcoming this step, you should try to teach the child to fall asleep on his own. The second stage is usually much easier than the first, because the baby is already a little prepared. To help him, you can imitate the smell of mom in the crib by putting some of her things there, such as a pillow, a sweater, or a small towel. The child can be turned to this thing and given a pacifier if he sucks it.

Be sure to sit next to the baby when he falls asleep. His mother's voice will soothe him, for example, a lullaby. In this case, it is desirable to avoid physical contact. In the future, when the child learns to fall asleep completely without motion sickness, it will be possible to turn on a night light that will help him feel calm and safe, and go out immediately after laying down.

For the mother's actions to be successful, the child must have a comfortable bed in which he will feel comfortable. It is recommended to hang bright toys above the crib to help him distract from his mother.

You can not make changes in the habits of the child if he has a stomachache or teething. For innovations, you need the baby to be healthy and in a good mood. On average, it takes about 10 days for a mother to teach a baby to sleep on her own.

But do not forget that every child is unique. someone without special work will rebuild and adapt to the new requirements of the mother, and someone will protest loudly and desperately.

Then mom needs more patience and time, and it doesn’t hurt to know some tricks:

before going to bed, you need to take a walk with the child: fresh air and impressions will tire him and help him fall asleep easier;
warm baths before bed will help the child relax;
In order for the baby to sleep well, he needs to be fed tightly before bedtime.

After a year, a child can be offered to fall asleep with his favorite toy or read a fairy tale to him. Such a ritual develops a conditioned reflex in the baby to fall asleep after these actions.

In what cases should a child not be weaned from motion sickness

A child should not be weaned from motion sickness if:

He is unwell: the child has a fever, teething, runny nose or stomach ache.
Mom is quite satisfied with this way of putting to bed. Its harm has not been proven by science. If motion sickness is quite acceptable for a mother-child tandem, and this does not interfere with mother, then there is no need to change an established habit just because someone advised to do it.
The child is categorically against the new rules, refuses to sleep differently, the daily routine is violated, the peace of the whole family has disappeared. In this case, it is worth postponing the attempt for a while and returning to this venture later. It is possible that the baby is simply not yet ripe for such changes. Most children by the age of two prefer to fall asleep on their own in a comfortable crib over motion sickness.

In any case, the mother should understand that weaning from motion sickness is not an easy undertaking that requires great patience and love. If certain recommendations are followed, the child will soon learn to fall asleep on his own. If the process is not as easy as we would like, you should not be upset. In any case, this should not become an end in itself. If the baby is categorically against it, then it is better to postpone this venture and repeat it later.

Useful video about rocking a child

When the baby cries, adults take him in his arms and begin to swing, hugging him. These actions are intuitive, they seem to be recorded somewhere in the subcortex. After a while, the child calms down and begins to snore peacefully, falling asleep. He is well and calm. If so, why do parents seek to wean from motion sickness? And when is it not only possible, but also necessary to do? Let's figure it out.

Cons of motion sickness

Let's start with the main one. What pushes adults to wean children from this, it would seem, natural way falling asleep?

A young child is growing rapidly and gaining weight. It's one thing to download 2-4 "kilograms of happiness", and quite another - 8-10. It's bad for mom's health, especially for the spine.
Motion sickness requires a lot of time, which could be spent sleeping, resting, doing business, or a beloved husband. This is harmful not only for the health of the mother, but also for psychological climate in family.
It is believed that children who are accustomed to motion sickness develop sleep disturbances: it becomes intermittent, restless and superficial. In addition, the child loses the ability to fall asleep on its own.
It is very difficult to wean from motion sickness, which creates additional difficulties for parents.

Despite the obvious disadvantages, motion sickness has its advantages:

The development of the vestibular apparatus while maintaining a calm but constant rhythm (it is worth noting that vigorous swinging or erratic pace, on the contrary, is harmful, causing dizziness).
Light rocking calms the baby, gives a feeling of comfort and security.
You can comfort your baby and help him fall asleep in almost any place and environment.
This is a good help to survive hard moments in the child's life (diseases, teething, stress).
In the process, not only the child calms down, but also the mother.

What to remember before weaning

Breaking ingrained habits takes patience and the right timing. The bad points are:

teething;
vaccinations;
illnesses and ailments;
changes in habitual way life;
nervous stress.

Parents should be prepared to:

Most likely, the baby will resist. And this is absolutely normal. He will cry, show discontent with his whole appearance and demand that everything be returned to its usual course.
Weaning takes a lot of time. It usually takes at least 2 weeks. If every day it becomes easier and the child gets used to falling asleep without motion sickness, then the parents have chosen the right tactic. If the result cannot be achieved, the wrong method or the wrong moment may have been chosen. Or maybe the child is just not ready yet, and you need to try again later (in 1-2 months). The main thing is to remember that it is impossible to drastically change the conditions of falling asleep. Smoothness and delicacy are the best you can choose.

During the weaning period, all family members need:

focus on results;
act in concert;
do not make indulgences and do not respond to provocations;
at the same time, to prevent violence against the child (neither psychological, nor even more so physical);
always remember that the main objective- save the child from not very good habits and make it more independent.

All activities should be aimed at benefiting him. He will get used to it, he will sleep more calmly and sleep better.

Suitable age for weaning

The best option is not to accustom to motion sickness at all. But even for those who consciously strived for this from the very beginning, it does not always work out. The reasons can be very different. For example, in the first months of a child's life, colic is often tormented. To make it easier for him, mothers often take babies in their arms, press their tummy to their stomach and shake them a little.

Thus, the child gets used quickly and almost always imperceptibly. If this happens, the first attempts to combat motion sickness are best taken at 6-8 months. In children younger than six months, weaning can cause very severe stress and will not lead to the desired result.

If parents are not ready to wean so early, believing that it is too difficult for the crumbs, experts advise to postpone the process until the age of about 1.5 years. At this time, children become more conscious and new order perceived with inner readiness.

Weaning techniques

1st way. The whole process is divided into 2 steps. First you need to wean the child from motion sickness in his arms. To do this, you need to start laying the baby in a cradle or pendulum-type crib and rock it slightly.

The peanut, of course, at first will show discontent and anxiety, reporting this by crying. It is important here not to take it in your hands immediately. Instead, mom can stroke him gently, talk sweetly, or sing a lullaby. The baby should feel the presence of the mother nearby. After a while, he will fall asleep, although laying down will be longer than before.

7-14 days is usually enough for the child to stop being afraid to fall asleep in the crib. When this happens, you can move on to the next step - weaning from rocking in the crib. This stage is easier because the baby is now much less attached to mother's arms and is prepared to fall asleep on his own.

To make him calmer, you can:

leave a thing with a mother's smell in the crib - a T-shirt or nightgown, put your favorite toy;
give a pacifier (if the baby is used to it);
sing a lullaby without rocking the crib.

First, the baby will need to feel the presence of the mother nearby, to hear her voice. After a week or two, you can try to leave the room immediately after laying down. Some children feel more comfortable and safer with a night light. Or when parents play lullabies at low volume. It is worth trying, and the child himself will choose the conditions in which he is comfortable.

2nd way. If the baby did not fall asleep at all before without mother's hands, you can teach him to sleep in a stroller for a walk. You should go outside when the child has played enough and is not averse to relaxing. So he will get used to laying down without hands during the day, and eventually at night in the crib.

3rd way. It is worth trying to rock the baby on the pillow in an unhurried rhythm. Soon, the pace can be slowed down, and then the baby can be laid simply on the pillow (but for now, keep it in your arms). Then the pillow with the child can be immediately put on his bed. You may need to hold the crumbs by the hand. And only after a while the pillow is removed and the baby is immediately placed in the crib.

4th way. When motion sickness on the hands, you can give a small plush toy. Then, a few days later, begin to put the child to bed with this toy, but in the crib. He will not be so scared and lonely alone.

5th way. Do everything so that the little one loves to be in the crib: pleasant bed linen, a soft warm blanket, toys, a multi-colored mobile. The child will be distracted by all this, and soon sleep will overcome him.

6th way. Lie down yourself, put the child next to your hand. Pat on the back or pope and quietly sing songs. Monotony and mother's warmth will put him to sleep.

7th way. Put the baby on the bed next to you and try to show and read books before going to bed, patting or stroking the baby on the back or shoulder.

It is impossible to predict which method will suit a particular child. It depends on his character and temperament, interests and preferences, strength of habit, depth of connection with his mother and many other factors. Trying and watching the reaction is the only way to success.

What actions will help you get used to the new conditions of falling asleep

Wake time to spend actively and interestingly. It not only promotes development. From a large number new information, the kids get tired, and laying down is easier.
Be outdoors shortly before bedtime. After a walk, you want to take a nap, especially if it was saturated.
A hearty dinner is a guarantee that the child will not wake up in an hour from hunger. Yes, he falls asleep well-fed child it is better.
Massage is good for physical development and tires the baby, like charging.
Baths with soothing herbs (melissa, chamomile, motherwort, mint, valerian) will have a sedative effect and help you get ready for sleep.
Compliance with the daily routine: the child should want to sleep by the time of laying down. And if he dozed a couple of hours ago, it is unlikely that it will pass without problems.

Nothing helps? Then, most likely, the child is not yet ready, and you need to postpone the attempt for more right time. This happens sometimes. Parents need to understand the following: if the current situation suits both them and the child, does not cause any concern, then nothing needs to be changed. Public opinion should not affect the way of life of a particular family (if it is only in it). The child's psyche will mature, and then 2 scenarios are possible:

either the mother will feel that the baby is ready to fall asleep in the crib on his own, and all that remains is to gently push him to this;
or he will clearly make it clear by his behavior: he will ask for bed, point his finger at it and break out of his hands, instantly falling asleep, once in his sleeping place.

All that is needed is to be attentive and understand your child. Then motion sickness will no longer be a problem.

All newborn babies love it when loving parents they carry them on their hands and at the same time rock them. Love for such dependence arises in children from their very conception. In the womb, the fetus is in a rolling state most of the time.

This happens when a pregnant woman is on the move or leads a normal lifestyle. Thus, while still in the womb, the child is already getting used to the state of motion sickness. Therefore, children get used to it, and subsequently fall asleep and calm down only during motion sickness. If a baby is pampered in this way, long time, it turns out that it will need to be rocked to sleep constantly. But the baby is gaining weight and it is quite difficult to carry it in your arms. To avoid addiction in a newborn, it is necessary to gradually wean him from this.

How to rock a baby

For a newborn baby, it is very important to feel the touch of the mother's warm and gentle hands. The first time after birth, the baby will feel uncomfortable in the new world, so mother's hugs are something that can calm him down. To properly take your baby in your arms, you need to fold them in your elbows in front of you and take the baby. The baby's head should be in a bend elbow joint(there is a soft and comfortable place for the head). The baby is clasped with both hands under the back, and in this state, translational movements hands to one side and then the other. These movements are done smoothly, it is best to walk around the house or in the fresh air.

Is it possible to swing strongly in the arms of a baby

Most parents rock their babies at a fast pace. This occurs on subconscious level, if you pump the child slowly, and he does not fall asleep, then the parents begin to exert more effort and increase the pace. Is this swing good for a baby?

Sometimes parents ask such a question, but not finding an answer, they continue to lull in the same fast rhythm. The answer to this question is obvious - this cannot be done. Newborn children have a weak vestibular apparatus, which determines the coordination of movements in space. When parents, hoping to put the child to sleep faster or calm him down, begin to increase the rate and depth of motion sickness more and more. In it time is running incoordination, and dizziness occurs, which leads to pain. Often parents themselves observe this situation, how the baby will begin to cry and scream even more from strong lulling. Crying is a sign that your baby is experiencing discomfort associated with impaired coordination. Pediatricians say that severe motion sickness can harm not only the vestibular apparatus, but also harm fragile and delicate vertebrae. cervical and lead to concussions.

In order to develop a slow movement during motion sickness, it is recommended to purchase big ball(fitball). This ball is capable of supporting weights up to 150 kg. Therefore, you can safely take the baby in your arms and sit on the ball. Bouncing slowly, you will create a cozy state of motion sickness, in which the baby will fall asleep quickly and sweetly.

How to wean a child from motion sickness to a year old before bedtime?

Most often, this question is asked by parents whose baby falls asleep only under motion sickness. You can wean a baby, you just need to stock up on patience and nerves. It is much easier to wean a baby up to a year than to do it after a year.

When a baby is breastfeeding, this situation is easier, because in this case, he falls asleep during feeding. It is only necessary to transfer him to the crib after he falls asleep. The main thing is not to carry it in your arms for the entire period of sleep, because this is how children get used to motion sickness.

WITH artificial feeding the situation is more complicated. After all, the mixture ends quickly, and the baby does not have time to fall asleep in such a short period. When the mixture is finished, transfer it to the crib and shake it. If the crib does not rock, put him in the stroller. For a while, the baby will whimper, but eventually fall asleep. The main thing is to be patient, and not to break the rhythm of motion sickness before going to bed.

Most children are fed from their mother's breast, her warmth and heartbeat contribute to the speedy calming and falling asleep of the newborn. But situations arise when the baby falls asleep soundly, and when he is transferred to the crib, he wakes up abruptly. What to do in such situations, because not all children are able to sleep soundly? In such a situation, the following recommendations should be observed:

So that the baby does not wake up from any rustle, sing lullabies to him in parallel with motion sickness. The lullaby contributes to the complete relaxation of the child's body, as a result of which he will get a healthy sound sleep.
Do gymnastics, bathing and relaxing massages before going to bed, they help not only calm the body, but also its fatigue. A tired baby will always sleep soundly
Walk outdoors as often as possible. The baby's body will be saturated with oxygen, the eyes will see environment in other colors and patterns, and all this will cause the newborn to have a healthy sound sleep.

How to wean a child from motion sickness older

If a situation arose that for the entire first year you were nursing a baby, you rocked him all the time both before going to bed and while sleeping in your arms. And there was a problem, the baby is already walking, but still you need to rock him in your arms, and pump him all the time. Whether there is a solution for such problems, we will consider in more detail.

So, in order to wean an older child, you need to gather your courage and stock up on endurance and patience. According to the method of the American pediatrician Benjamin Spock, it is necessary to rock children older than 8 months not in their arms, but in a crib or stroller. This will make it possible to wean them from being put to sleep in their arms, and thereby ease the burden for mothers. After all, pumping a child weighing 8 kg is not at all easy, and if at the same time it still needs to be carried around the room. Therefore, you need to shake him in the crib, while you can sing a lullaby, and when he falls asleep, let him go and leave the room. Perhaps when you stop swinging the crib, the baby will wake up and start moaning and crying. Show restraint and stand outside the door for five minutes, if he does not calm down himself, then go in, calm him down and continue the repetition in the same spirit. According to an American pediatrician, this is the only way to try to wean children older than a year from motion sickness in the arms.

Weaning motion sickness before bed

There are several tips on how to wean a child from motion sickness:

Lull him into a crib with a soft toy. So he will develop an addiction to sleep when this toy is nearby.
The use of aroma oils. These oils contain herbs that cause the body to calm down, and the baby will slowly go to sleep.
Read a bedtime story, with a daily repetition of such a procedure, a reflex will be developed, and the baby will fall asleep on his own when his eyes are closed.
Bathing before bed. It will also work when developing conditioned reflex. After bathing, there always comes a deep and healthy sleep.

Comfortable place to sleep

If you want to wean your child from motion sickness before going to bed, you need to make sure that the bed where he will fall asleep creates coziness and comfort for sleep. For this you need:

that the bed is soft and comfortable;
so that the crib is not located near the window, where there is a possibility of a draft, and the temperature in the room is not lower than 19 degrees;
bedding should not irritate the child's skin, thereby causing allergies;
the crib should be hung with toys so that attention is paid to them, and not to the parents.

When the baby should not be weaned from motion sickness

There are times when it is necessary to delay weaning from lulling. These include different kind diseases, colic and bloating, fever Or when teething. When symptoms of an illness are noticeable in a baby, you should not impose your idea of weaning from motion sickness during this period. All the same, he will be capricious, moaning and crying, and at this time he can only be calmed down by lulling him to sleep. Therefore, wean your baby only if he is healthy.

Every parent knows that the most reliable way to calm the baby is to shake him in your arms. Feeling his mother's closeness and warmth, the baby falls asleep faster, more calmly experiences painful colic in the stomach or teething.

Over time, the habit of falling asleep in your arms becomes so ingrained that it becomes more and more difficult to wean the baby from it. Meanwhile, it becomes more and more difficult for the mother to calm the child in this way, as the baby is actively gaining weight, and the process of falling asleep sometimes stretches for hours.

If you feel that the child has grown enough to try to fall asleep on his own, then it's time to introduce new rules into your family's way of life. But first, a few important points to be taken into account by parents.

What do you need to know before starting training?

Most likely, it will not be possible to wean the baby quickly

The process of weaning from motion sickness in a baby can take up to two weeks. Monitor the behavior of the child during this period. If every day the procedure for going to sleep without motion sickness becomes easier and easier, then you are doing everything right.

If the baby continues to fall asleep with tears, demanding the attention of parents, then most likely he is not ready for change yet. It will be possible to continue weaning it from pumping after a month.

Get ready for resistance

Babies are clearly aware that their mother is reacting to their cry, so they will desperately resist during an attempt to make them more independent and teach them to fall asleep without pumping. It will be important for parents to show stamina and not succumb to provocations.

You can not wean during the period of illness

If during the period of weaning from motion sickness the baby gets sick, it will be necessary to postpone the planned and wait until he recovers.

Be consistent and firm in your intention to wean your baby from motion sickness, while not forgetting that the most important thing for him is your love and care.

At what age to start?

In each family, the time suitable for weaning the crumbs from motion sickness is purely individual and depends both on the child and on the readiness of the parents for change.

The easiest option is not to accustom the baby to rocking in his arms before bedtime from birth. But, if it’s impossible to calm and put the child down in another way and the habit of motion sickness has already been developed, then you can try to influence the situation no earlier than 6-8 months.

Experts believe that earlier weaning from motion sickness will be too much stress for both the child and parents and is unlikely to bring the expected results.

Parents who are not ready to go to radical measures and do not want to "torment" the child, pediatricians recommend not to stop motion sickness up to 1.5 years. At this age, babies are able to give up rocking before bed on their own.

Weaning the baby from the hands before falling asleep

If you do not know how to wean a child from motion sickness, then the conditional division of the process into two stages will simplify your task. Start with weaning from the hands. You can replace the “manual” motion sickness with a pendulum-type bed, which will help you move from one stage to another. Before going to bed, gently place the baby in the cradle, rocking it.

Children, even at a very early age, are well aware that a cozy cradle is not a mother. Many babies experience fear, resentment, anxiety, not feeling the usual mother's warmth, which they rush to inform the world about with a desperate cry.

Do not pick up the baby in such cases at his first signal. Leave your hand in the crib, stroking the baby with it, sing a lullaby, massage the back and legs. Feeling the presence of the mother nearby, swaying in the crib, the baby will be able to fall asleep, although he may need more time for this.

Practice hands-free rocking in the bassinet for at least a week, until your baby gets used to not being rocked before bed and begins to perceive the place to sleep as something familiar and safe.

How to wean the baby from motion sickness in the crib?

The next step on the way to the goal should be weaning the crumbs from rocking in the crib and falling asleep on their own. It will not be so difficult here, since the baby is no longer so attached to the hands of his mother and is subconsciously ready to fall asleep on his own.

Simulate the presence of the mother in the baby's crib, for example, put soft thing with your scent. It can be a small pillow, a soft sweater or a towel. If the baby sucks on a pacifier, you can give him a pacifier, turn to his mother's things and try to sing a song without shaking him.

Most likely, at first you will have to sit next to the baby, not physically contacting him, but calming your voice for a while until he gets used to the new rules.

As soon as the child begins to fall asleep on his own without contact with his mother, you can try to go out immediately after laying down. Musical toys with lulling songs, a projector on the ceiling or walls with cartoon characters and the dimmed light of a night lamp will help the baby fall asleep on his own with a feeling of complete safety.

What if the child does not accept the new rules?

There are children who easily accept new rules and get used to a new way of life. And there are babies who are stubborn or too attached to their mother in order to refuse the prospect of falling asleep in her arms or at least in the crib, but in her presence.

To wean such children from motion sickness will help:

active and eventful walks before going to bed;
soothing baths before dinner;
a hearty lunch or dinner;
mother's voice, recorded on tape, and subsequently reproduced on a tape recorder;
body massage.

If this does not help, the baby cries, does not sleep, the daily regimen gets confused and all family members feel exhausted and exhausted, then you need to abandon the idea of weaning the child from motion sickness for a while. Perhaps your baby is not ready and all you need to do is wait until his psyche is ripe for change.

Remember that by the age of two, most children are happy to fall asleep on soft pillow and they themselves refuse motion sickness in favor of their own bed. The main thing is to be patient and not miss the right moment.

Arguments for and against motion sickness

And in conclusion, a little about the pros and cons of motion sickness in a child.

Negative points

Motion sickness makes the baby’s sleep shallow and restless, and the child himself is deprived of independence.
The motion sickness process is unnatural and disrupts the functioning of the vestibular apparatus in a child. Enjoying a slight dizziness, the baby gets used to this feeling and it becomes difficult for him to fall asleep in the usual way.
Children who were rocked for a long time as children may, as adults, look for ways to get a dose of adrenaline by trying themselves in extreme sports sports.

Positive points

In the womb, the baby's vestibular apparatus develops and continues to develop during motion sickness, if a certain rhythm is observed.
Calm rocking calms not only the baby, but also the mother, strengthening the bond between them.
Rocking the baby helps him fall asleep faster in any place, including on the street or at a party.
Swinging makes it easier to deal with difficult periods in the life of a child when he is sick or especially naughty.

It is worth rocking the baby before bedtime or not, and when it is time to start weaning him from this habit is up to the parents. It can only be noted that if both mother and child like this way of falling asleep, without instilling any fear in this stage, then it is not worth changing anything until a certain time.

Every mother on an intuitive level will definitely be able to feel when the time will come teach the baby to live by the new rules.