8 Month Old Sleeping Too Much?

No I think he's sleeping great! My son slept that much too. He;s just growing while he sleeps. No worries, enjoy it while it lasts.

Sounds like my son-including the weight and the laid back personality. I would enjoy what you have. He is who he is.

No, he is not sleeping too much. My son started sleeping through the night at 3 months and my daughter at 5. This is a good thing.

Hello M.-

I've been working with children for more than 16 years, as a Nanny and parent coach and babies do sleep a lot!! When a baby sleeps, their body is actually growing. I had a child who quite literally out grew his outfit during a nap!!

As for the amount of sleep an infant needs, it's between 13.75 & 14.25 hours a day, that includes night sleeping and naps. Most infants still take a morning & afternoon 2 hour nap each day until about 14-18 months old, then they transition to 1 nap a day. Most infants can sleep through the night around 4-6 months old, not needing the night time feedings.

So long story short, you son sleeping through the night & for long naps is GREAT! You will have a happy and alert baby.

R. Magby

No, don't worry a bit! Those numbers are just averages, so what each baby needs is different. Enjoy it!!

It sounds like your little one is just like mine. She sleeps a lot too. I believe my duaghter started sleeping through the night around 6 months or so and she had two naps. Consider yourself lucky :)

Definitely do not worry. That is totally normal sleeping for an 8 month old. That is how much my now 2 year old slept at that age. Just love it! He could also be growing in which case it will only last a week or two and then he will sleep less but like I said for the time being just enjoy it!

Anytime you worry about anything at all I would say ask your pediatrician just to be on the safe side.
I do, however, remember my oldest sleeping alot like that when he was little without waking up in the middle of the night to eat and I breast fed him till he was about a yr and 3 or 4 months old. To this day he is a good sleeper and he is 23 now. I never worried and the dr told me that different kids will all sleep differently.

No!!!...at 8 months he does not need to wake in the night for a feed , I assume he is on solids aswell? 12 hrs at night plus 2 naps during the day is where he should be at.

Sounds totally normal.

Congratulations! He is finally sleeping through the night and getting exactly the right amount of sleep (and hopefully, so are you). Babies, toddlers, and even young kids NEED a lot of sleep. Fifteen hours for an 8 month old is absolutely normal - only 12 hours would be borderline too little but still within normal range. It partly depends on the child. Other variables may be that he is going through a developmental growth - either true growth spurt or physical, emotional, mental, social developmental growth. General rule of thumb is "don't wake a sleeping baby" and don't worry about it if they are sleeping more than they have been or than you think they should. Babies and kids are much better about regulating themselves and listening to their bodies' needs than are adults. If your baby is sleeping more, he needs it. Now, sleeping on the order of 20 hours a day might be something to worry about, especially if it happens more than once. Even then, I would say call your pediatrician's office and talk to the nurse and/or doctor to see if you should be concerned. My four year old daughter still takes a nap most days - she gets about 11 hours at night (though if we could let her sleep until she wakes up naturally it would probably be closer to 12 hours) and gets at least 45 minutes, sometimes a 2 hour nap. I don't think she gets enough sleep and have just said to my husband that I think we need to move up her bedtime to an earlier time to help her get more sleep. You can see it in her behavior that she's not getting enough.

Good luck!!!

NO!

Leave him be and go with it! It wont be like this forever...

Nope! My 2.5 year old sleeps about 16 hours a night and it's perfectly fine. He's getting the sleep he needs. He has a lot of developmental growth happening right now and just needs to sleep to process it all and be ready to go again when he wakes.

Sounds like my daughter at that age... My daughter slept 12 hours through the night by about 6 months, plus two naps. She was a big baby, too... He's good! :)

Keep in mind that children grow in their sleep. Because of this, some children have very noticable changes in sleeping habits (and eating) when they go through a growth spurt. My son who requires very little sleep, at 10 is still good for a 12 hour night here or there. And I can just about guarantee I will be buying new pants soon!
Also take into consideration that some people simply require a lot of sleep. My husband and two of my kids are bears unless they get 10 hours/night. Myself and my other two can function with no problem on 6 hours/night.
But, no matter how much sleep they naturally require... they will sleep more during a growth spurt.
I would not worry about it at this point... see what happens in another 2-3 weeks.

Actually 15 hours is what is healthy and normal for the age. Be thrilled that he sleeps 12 hours at night, that is great! He may be a bit extra tired if he is growing. Anyway, don't fret, be happy :)

12 hours is less than my almost 3 year old sleeps in a 24 hour period of time. At 8 months she was sleeping 12 hours at night (she started doing that at 2.5 months) and had similar daytime sleep pattern as your son so it sounds totally normal to me. You do not have to worry about oversleeping. Babies sleep a lot, toddlers sleep a lot. Some sleep more than others, and at 8 months you will probably start to see a slowing in weight gain as well, it is normal and not associated with the amount of sleep your child is getting. If your son it happy, growing normally then he is getting the sleep he needs.

Enjoy it! My daughter did the same thing but had about 2 hours total in naps -- until her teeth hit at 7 months and then it was up every two (or less) hours which we got into a routine of night feedings to survive, which was a hard one to break. So my advice is, enjoy it and count yourself lucky and know that it may not stay that way. Hope that helps. T.

Growth spurts and learning new things (crawling/cruising, etc) makes them tired. I thought 15hrs was "average" for that age. Sounds normal to me.

I believe 12 hours is the AVERAGE number of hours of sleep, some need more, some need less. If your baby is happy when he wakes up and growing/developing well (sounds like he is) consider yourself lucky you have such a good sleeper!

Hi M. - your baby sounds a lot like my son. He was always a great sleeper and even now will take 3-4 hour naps after sleeping a full 11 hours at night. (He's almost 4.) As long as he is growing well (as your son obviously is) I think it's great that he's getting so much sleep. It will help him with all the developmental milestones coming up - crawling, walking, talking, etc. Plus, it probably will only last for a little while since he'll have some growth spurts coming up when he will need to wake for feedings probably. Great job mama!

Sounds perfect to me. My 4 yr old still sleeps 12 hrs a night and takes a nap sometimes! All three of my kids slept just like yours and switched to one nap at about 18 months, and now at 4 my son can go without a nap most of the time.

Sounds like a normal growth spurt to me! If it lasts more than a few weeks and you get worried take him in, but I bet it will pass and you'll notice a change in appetite too!

Hi M.,

Don't be worried. At that age they're still growing so much that sleep is a good thing. :)

One word: nope.

Children sleep at all different ranges, and my son tended to sleep more or less depending on growth spurts, teething, and other factors. If he seems happy when awake, he should be fine. My son is 5 1/2, and though he doesn't nap, he sleeps at least 12 hours/night. I have to put him to bed early to make sure he gets enough sleep before going off to school.

My daughter didn't get 12 hours at a year old. She sleeps around ten now, and is very rarely tired. Even adults need varying numbers of hours of sleep. My husband would thrive if he had ten, but I can't make myself sleep more than 7-8.

Perfectly normal! My son did the same thing.

I have always heard that 12 hours at night is normal for that age. Even with a couple lighter naps (1-2 hours is light in my book). Neither of my kids slept well at all, boy I sure wish they had!

Enjoy it !!!!!!!!
My 2 boy he is a light sleeper and is hard naps no more that and hour and bed time he woke up every 4 hrs, so is a lot of work and more when a have another one 2 1/2 years old ...that when he was a baby at 3 weeks old he started sleeping for 10hrs i was worry and call the doctor and he told me this enjoy it!! He is a big guy and maybe he doesnt need to eat as much....and after that he was sleeping 12 hrs and 2 naps .....still now he sleep 12 to 14 hrs ....so i dont think is any problem with that, some babies sleep more some dont like mine now ,
so enjoy it and sleep for me....

I don't think i'd worry about it, especially if your kid is normally active and alert when he is awake. 12 hours may be the average, but that doesn't mean that is what every kid needs.

My daughter was much like your son, but dropped down to one nap early. So, remember, this 15 hours a day thing may be pretty temporary, too - while your son is growing or learning something big. I think he'll self- normalize if you follow his cues.

My son was almost 10 pounds at birth and had very similar sleep patterns to your son. He is now 2 and only takes one nap but still sleeps really well at night. He is happy and healthy. I wouldn't worry . . . count your blessings that you have a baby that sleeps so nicely!

That's fantastic! He's right on schedule and many parents aren't that lucky. ;-) I REALLY recommend the book called Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child (by Marc Weissbluth). Here's a link to it on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345486455/ref=pd_lpo_k2...

Skip all the data and focus on the sections that go by age. It was a God-send for us when our daughter was a baby. :-D

This is a great schedule and then your little one isvery happy. He does not need to nurse at this time, so let him sleep. All three of mine slept about that much and then as they get older their needs decrease. 12 is not enough for his age at all. I would say between 14-15 is enough. Bless you that you got him on this schedule and that he can be happy and healthy! And then you get time with your hubby at night. Enjoy this time!

Don't worry, M.. Dr. Sears says the average for that age is 14-16 hours of sleep a day. And remember, these are just averages. Your baby is unique and doesn't have to conform to a statistic. My son was and is the same way: he loves his sleep. Your son is sleeping the amount his little body needs to grow. Just sit back and enjoy it while you can. :)

Actually you should be thanking your lucky stars! They need a lot of sleep. 12-15 hours is what is recommended. Now you have a lot of sleep-deprived mamas very jealous. : )

Heck no don't worry! :) He's probably in a growth spurt- which requires a TON of sleep time. Don't be surprised if you wake up one morning and your little guy is an inch taller!
Congrats on the sleeping baby. :)

He's not oversleeping. Be thankful that he's getting a good amount!

That sounds like heaven! My first daughter was the same way (she is now 5). Babies sleep patterns will often change, but as long as they are hitting normal milestones and happy then there is nothing to worry about. Enjoy it.

My son has always been a good sleeper too! Our pediatrician said that all babies are different and they all have different needs. That 12 hour recomendation is just an average and there is a huge range of what is concidered normal. The most important thing to remember is that a baby's body is "preprogrammed" to know how much sleep and food they need. You shouldn't mess with their instinctive needs.

That was my first child...by 6 months he was sleeping 7-7 and taking a 3 hour nap a day. He is 2.5 and is still a great sleeper. He is super active when he is not sleeping, but goes down without a fuss. My 14 month old is a whole different story!! Enjoy it :-) It is such a blessing.

Your baby is absolutely NOT sleeping too much. The average for his age is a total of 14-15 hours in a 24 hour period (scroll down here: http://www.pantley.com/elizabeth/links/PantleyNoCryBookle..., besides, he won't sleep more than he needs. Sometimes babies/kids don't sleep enough, but they never sleep too much. You are just lucky to have a baby who is such a sound sleeper. : )

No. He's weaned off the nightly feedings and is growing great. Growing is a tiring work!

No, you shouldn't worry. I slept through the night at 2 weeks. Be grateful you don't have to do the "make him sleep through the night because you're exhausted and can't function anymore" routine like we did with both our kids around 10 months!

Yeah!!!!

That's good, he might be in a growth spurt. They tend to slow on eating during the growth period and gorge prior to.

Happy sleeping,
D.

i don't think you should worry, you just got lucky. i think you should enjoy waking up each day well rested! :)

my son slept like that - he is four, still naps once a day (almost every day) and sleeps 11-12 hrs at night...he is really bright, and very active! My daughter on the other hand...11 months and doesn't sleep well at all...so, enjoy it!