7 Month Old That Won't Sleep...

My son has never needed more than 12 hours of sleep within any 24 hour period. Even when I added up all the mini-naps he took as an infant, his total sleep time was always about 12 hours. The sleep averages you see published everywhere are just that....averages. Some kids need more, some need less. As long as he's not cranky, he's getting the sleep he needs. That doesn't make the situation any easier on you, but I think you can consider his sleep "normal."

I think you are doing things just right with your son. He seems to be getting all of the sleep he needs. 10pm to 5am is GREAT for that age! Perhaps he needs a bit less than the average amount of sleep, but I'm sure he is within the normal range for his age. Also, he seems pretty excited to check out his new skills! Though you are tired, at least you have a happy, healthy baby.
Amy

Oh my God, this sounds like a carbon copy of my house. My son won't sleep either and he is 7 months. He laughs and plays all night and day and he is not cranky at all either. He is driving me nuts as well. The only thing I can say is it will get better. In the afternoon, block off everything and make sure there is nothing he can get into AT ALL. lay with him and you take a nap, of course you won't sleep sound, but you can get some quality rest for a little while. That can help out alittle. good luck

Is he cranky? Does he seem tired all the time? If not that may be all he needs. If he does seem cranky all the time you may be putting him down too late. I would watch for signs of tiredness, which I am sure you know about since you have three kids. When my son is over tired he does not sleep well at all. His signs of tiredness are glazed look, ear pulling, and then eye rubbing. Once he whines/cries I have started to miss the window and he starts to get overtired. It seems that 10 is way too late for a bedtime. Sleep begets sleep, so if he gets good sleep during the day he will sleep better at night and visa versa. Since your other kids slept better maybe he needs a bit more help. Do you have a nap/bedtime routine? Is his room dark? Maybe a sound machine would work? You may want to provide a bit more info so that others can share ideas with you.

I am responding again. My son is now crawling etc and it seems that he has a hard time transitioning from playing, crawling, laughing, etc to laying in bed and going to sleep. Therefore, we have a routine to wind down. We read him two stories (I read while I nurse and my husband reads and baby has a pacifier), we then turn off his light and turn on the sound machine, last we hold him in the dark and sing him a song or two. You can feel his body relax and sometimes he will put his head on our shoulder, then we put him in the crib. I know you have other kids and may not have time but maybe he needs a transition time from play to sleep. I hope you get some advice that will work for you and the family. Good Luck.