Active Baby? Have You Heard of This?

Hi M.-

My son was like that as well. He would stay awake and plot to see how he could get his sister's things. He would fall asleep for a few minutes and then something would wake him up, and then he'd be up for the day. He also didn't sleep through the night until 19 months so it was really hard on me. BUt I'm happy to report that he did outgrow it, THANKFULLY!! He's now 10 and still wakes up early, but he's great in school, all-stars in soccer, and is a nice, fun, mischievious kid!
Good Luck!

My 21 month old son is not a great sleeper, and the lack of naps is an issue here too. I recommend "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy child" by Dr Mark Weissbluth. It is not an interesting read at all, but the advice is solid and explains that different ways that babies and toddlers sleep.

My son is 8 months old and has been a cat-napper for a long time. He's perfectly healthy, happy, and smiley. I figure this is just how he is! He does sleep for 10-12 hours at night (I know I'm very lucky), but then only about 3 30-minute naps during the day. Even when he was only sleeping 8 hours a night, though, he always was a cat-napper. I wouldn't worry if your daughter is meeting her milestones and seems happy.

That is hard if she's catnapping. My seven month old did that too until recently. I saw how cranky and exhausted he would become and how he really needed the sleep, so when he would wake up after 30 minutes, I chose to wait and saw that after a bit of crying, he would go back to sleep fairly quickly since he was so tired. I would take your cues from her. If she seems totally fine, happy, healthy, despite the lack of sufficient naps, then she's allright. I wouldn't worry about the mental development since many babies, as you can see from the other posts, survive just fine on lack of sleep. But your baby may be getting a lot at night- 12 hours? Try leaving her in a quiet room away, as far as possible, from the other kid's noises (I notice my baby will wake easily from outside noise) and see what happens if you don't pick her up after the 30 minutes. Maybe she'll return to sleep. If she doesn't and seems totally happy, not cranky or tired, then just leave her alone. Good luck!

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I feel for you! I guess my second baby, born at the end of last February, would be called an "active baby". She rarely sleeps more than half an hour at a time during the day, and she takes 1-3 naps. She usually goes down to sleep about 7-7:30, and sleeps until 6-7, so she gets a fairly good night's sleep. I am amazed at her ability to stay awake, too! Like your daughter, my little girl is happy and healthy! She hasn't grown out of it yet. I guess the pediatrician means that eventually she will grow up enough that her need for sleep will lessen! Even when my daughter was a newborn she didn't sleep nearly as much as our first daughter. In fact, I see now what a great sleeper our first daughter was! I never knew! :) For us, I stay at home, so I am able to try and maximize her sleeping during the day. But even considering that, we do need to go and run errands and go to various places, and she still doesn't get a lot of sleep many days. Since you have to work, maybe a noise machine at the in-home day care would help? That helps my baby a lot, I think. It drowns out some of that excess noise that can keep them awake. But maybe this is just how our babies are, and we just trust them to the Lord, and I guess realize that they may not need as much sleep as other babies. I don't know, because it makes me kind of crazy, too! God bless you!

unless she isnt hitting the developmental milestones (and some kids hit them a little later and still are fine) I wouldnt worry. As for napping at daycare, is there any way she could put in something with white noise, a fan or anything to help drown out the sound of the other kids? Our dd likes a fan when she's sleeping, as does my husband, just for the noise.

My son was the exact same way when he was a baby. He always had the hardest time napping, even when just a few months old he just wouldnt sleep unless I was holding him and to get him to sleep I had to pat his butt hard until he would fall asleep. I tried everything to get him to nap and when he would finally fall asleep he would wake up 30 mins later or sooner. It really stressed me out, I was so upset all the time and worried that he wasnt getting enough sleep. I worried too much and was always looking for some miracle solution and never found it. He would also wake up so early in the morning around 5:30 or 6am. He never got the recommended amount of sleep. I had to put my son in daycare at 6 months old and he hardly slept there, sometimes I would pick him up and they would tell me that he just wouldnt fall asleep. When I put him to bed and to nap, I had to make sure that nothing was in his crib or around for him to see or play with because it would just keep him awake. I just tried to do the best routine I could with him in the weekends and at night and eventually when he was about 14 months old things started to get better, he was with older kids at daycare who all slept at the same time so it was quieter during nap time, this helped a lot. He is not 2 1/2 and takes great naps of two hours or more and sleeps 11 hours at night. Finally!! And he is so smart and healthy... Its hard but, do what you can and it will get better as your child gets older. Always made me feel better to know I wasnt alone :)

How does you act? Is she always cranky? Is she crying a lot because she is so tired but won't sleep? If not, I wouldn't worry. My daughter didn't sleep, either. She took two 45 min naps until she turned one and then took 1-1hr nap until about 2.2. That's it. It was a bummer for me, since I needed that time to do laundry and such but for her... it was all she needed. She was a very happy baby. Do you know some adults who LOVE a catnap and others who think it's a waste of time? Your daughter seems to think it's a waste of time. (By the way, my daughter is now a fantastic, bright, academically gifted 4th grade child - nothing mentally fragile about her)
Now if your daughter has mood issues, you need to figure out how to get her to sleep but you didn't mention any.
Just wait, once you figure this out, she'll change something else to insure you continue to worry! ;)

My son was the exact same way. He was in the 90% for height and weight, but would cat nap as well. but at 8 months he grew out of it. He ment every milestone perfectly. He is a very active baby, he runs and plays all day long. He is now 1 and take two one hour naps a day and is sleeping 12 hrs at night. You can not believe everything you read or hear, every child is different, I wouldn't be concerned she'll grow out of it.

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My son was the exact same way. He was in the 90% for height and weight, but would cat nap as well. but at 8 months he grew out of it. He ment every milestone perfectly. He is a very active baby, he runs and plays all day long. He is now 1 and take two one hour naps a day and is sleeping 12 hrs at night. You can not believe everything you read or hear, every child is different, I wouldn't be concerned she'll grow out of it.

This totally describes my now 17 month old son. He has always had problems sleeping, and even when he was only a couple of months old wouldn't sleep for more than 30 minutes at a time, and normally only once a day. He now has no naps, unless we are driving and he is totally exhausted. I try and he really needs it sometimes, but it's not like I can force him. Anyway, I have always tried to put him every day, and he has gone through phases where he has actually slept for up to 2 hours, but he always goes back to no naps, or one 30 minute nap. I wouldn't worry about her mental development, my son is doing fine on his lack of sleep, has great motor skills, communicates pretty well, very curious and has way too much energy. I think some babies just don't need as much sleep, help her to get as much as she can, but don't worry too much, hopefully she will grow out of it.

I was talking to someone just the other day about sleep and she told me that supposibly there was a study done that babies who don't want to sleep and are always inquizative have higher IQ's!!! I guess that can kinda put your mind at ease. I agree totally with the noise maker thing. We use a air purifier for my sons room and I even have a fan in my room to help me sleep. Try something with white noise and see if that helps to extend the sleeping. Good luck.

our daughter is now 5. for the first year, if she slept 2 hours consecutively at night we rejoiced (severe gas/digestive problems). She slept maybe 15 minutes at a time during the day. . . .4 to 6 times. sometimes only!
We were severely sleep deprived and took turns to get up with her so one person could function.
She was lactose intolerant along with being severely gassy.

fast forward through time. ..
She started eating EVERYthing at about 13 months. She still does.
Gas problems slowly went away (no mylicon after about a year)
She hardly ever napped at home or at daycare or preschool or even the first 8 weeks of kindergarten
She now sleeps 7 to 9 hours a night although generally wakes once, around 1 am. We walk her back to her bed.
She is absolutely at or ahead of her peers physically
She is above average scholastically and verbally
She exhibits no ADHD symptoms at all - will sit and work or read for hours, literally. This was a major worry for us.
She naps occasionally on the weekends still - half an hour or so.
She has always been a smiley baby/happy child.

My mom says I was similarly not inclined to sleep, by the way. She would put me in my crib with books and say that SHE needed me to 'rest'.

best of luck and don't worry too much!

As long as she's reaching all of her milestones you don't need to worry about the lack of sleep impacting her cognitive development. It must be very difficult for you, as you have very little "down time" and she's always up, but this will eventually even out. If she's not cranky and irritated, then she's getting the sleep she needs! Every baby is different... remember that "average" means that 1/2 of kids don't fall within any given range. As long as your little girl is growing and not showing any outward signs of sleep deprivation, take a breath!

i dont know what to say. my 2 year old is like that i have to litterally wear her out or fight with her for an hour for her to sleep. but what i can suggest (and i dont know if anyone did or not) is to try white noise. simply record static noise on a tape and play it while she is down for a nap to help block out the other noise.

Often times the trip down the birth canal (remember those contractions pushing her into your pelvic wall?) can cause misalignments of some of the bones in the spine, causing the baby to not be able to rest or be confortable. You would be amazed at what a gentle, specific, scientific chiropractic adjustment could do to releave the stress on the spine and nervous system to help the baby relieve and assume a normal sleeping pattern. I would recommend finding a local chiropractor who specializes in treating babies. We have had incredible results at our office. For more information or a referral to a chirporactor near you, see my web site: mccollumwellnesscenter.com, or email me at ____@____.com

My son took 3 naps a day around 30-40 minutes until he was 8 months old. Then he started taking longer naps. I've heard this from other moms that it isn't until they are a little older that they start napping longer. I would encourage a routine before naps like reading a book or doing something calming. A dark quiet room if possible. Noise makers can help a lot.