Is My 8 Month Old Boy Overly Active??

Sounds just like my daughter :) She's 17mo, and my son was much the same way at 8mo. Some kids needs more physical activity than others - as is the case with my 2 (son - content with playing or TV, daughter - GO GO GO). I also read an interesting article that said that boys need more physical activity than girls, and I've found that to be true when it comes to sleeping. My guy sleeps SO much better when he's had tons of physical activity!! My daughter sleeps well regardless :)

Your baby sounds EXACTLY like my baby. So here's a preview as we are approaching one year old in a few weeks.

She flies around so fast I get tired going after her. Her favorite (new) thing to do is to squeeze herself behind the swing into a corner where I can't get to her, but don't want her. She climbs over furniture. If I try to physically redirect, she thrashes so hard I almost drop her.

Diaper changes? Hah. It usually takes a full five minutes, and three "start-overs" because she squirms and flings herself so hard I have to catch her from falling off the couch. I don't think we could even TRY a changing table.

She does eat well, sleeps well, and does like to read books...just like yours.

But is she an absolute joy? ABSOLUTELY!!! I love her huge smile, the way the yells at her toys and the bananas in the store (today). If I tell her to "hug the baby" she will go find her little doll, wherever it is, and tuck it under her chin and rock it. So sweet.

And my first? Total opposite. Barely moved until she could walk, would sit and play quietly for hours, would listen to 3-4 books at a time, never cried, etc. Now, she's much more energetic, and likes to talk nonstop and tell stories and has a crazy imagination.

Sorry for rambling.

I think your boy is just as big a joy as any other child!! He's just always going to keep you on your toes!

He sounds awesome!

Our daughter was very active and very alert from birth. The moment they laid her against my stomach and I said her name for the first time, she pushed her legs and then lifted her head and turned it towards me.. I knew we were in for a pretty amazing child.

She continued to be able to raise her head and turn it. She could roll over by about 6 weeks, still pushed her legs every time she was held. Crawled early and walked completely unassisted at 6 months. My husband had been the same.

She loved her walker, the doorway jumpy thing.. She could not be stopped. She would point and want the word and would try to repeat all of it. Her caregiver really tried to stop our daughter from walking saying it was not good developmentally, but I told her , "good luck trying to stop her".

Our daughter also loved the baby backpack. She loved looking over our shoulders.

Just follow your childs needs. People underestimate their kids sometimes and others are afraid of how quickly their kids develop. Just do whatever your child needs to allow him to explore safely.

Get lots of video.. no one will believe it otherwise..

My middle son was like this. ALWAYS busy,always. Crawled early walked at 10 months climbed everything he could..sometimes I couldn't figure how he got up where he was. Your baby is fine. You are probably exhausted though. He sounds like he sleeps good so don't worry. Enjoy him.

Congratulations! You have a normal baby BOY!!!!! Welcome to my world!
Our son was preemie so I treated him like he was made of sugar but he quickly showed me that he was a tough little bugger. He walked at 10.5 months in spite of being premature. He got into EVERYTHING especially anything fragile, expensive, electronic or dangerous. I lost 10 lbs. when he learned to walk 'cuz the stroller was veto'ed and I had to just run after him.
I learned to wear one of hubby's old T-shirts when I bathed him 'cuz I got a bath too.
I think you have too much information about developmental problems and it makes you overly worried. Just relax, enjoy the ride and don't worry until you have something to worry about!

My daughter was exactly the same way!! Except for the sleeping bit! She woke up twice a night until she was about 14 mo old---at which point she started sleeping most of the night but gave up both her naps! Grr!!! LOL! But she was walking by 10 mo, running by 11 mo, and never, ever sat still. She is EXTREMELY curious, and wanted to check out everything. She only cuddled at bedtime then, but she is very cuddly now. I was so worried about her that I was really hesitant to send her to preschool. I told each school we interviewed that she was very active and not sure if she'd sit still during story time or be disruptive, etc...One teacher just smiled and said, "Oh, so you mean she's a quite normal 3-year-old then? Yes, I think we can handle her..." Sure enough, she plays the hardest at play time, but she sits still at circle time. She may wiggle her bottom or tap her foot, but she stays in place and listens. And, I discovered that most of the kids wiggle when sitting down. I wouldn't worry about your son. He sounds like a normal, active little baby to me...

Your son sounds just like mine--and the other active kiddos people have described here. My son is three now, and he still never stops moving--unless he's interested in something, in which case he has an amazingly good attention span. It's possible your son might turn out to be gifted. I've been doing some reading about it lately (my husband and I were/are both gifted, and my husband did his M.A. work on gifted education, so we have some background in it), having realized that our son isn't quite like "most kids," and I found out that one area where giftedness manifests itself is in the physical sense--some gifted children can never stop moving and are far more active than typical kids. (There's more to it than that, but that's a short explanation of it.) Anyway, others may be right that your son is just a normal but VERY ACTIVE little guy, but I wanted to throw another idea out there because, frankly, I find it more comforting to consider that my son might be gifted than to think he might have something like ADHD. :-)

Oh, and as for not liking to be held, neither did my son! But that finally started to change when he was about 15 months old--he started being more comfortable with us holding him. And around age 2, he actually got downright cuddly. Now, at 3, he'll still stop his frenzy of activity to come give us a hug, which is wonderful. I was starved for baby cuddles the first 15 months, though. :-) Anyway, your son may like being held more once he can be down on his own...then he may WANT you to hold him now and then.

My son was the same way. I think it's normal for some kids to be very active. When my son was first born, he would always wriggle around, and he seemed to try and throw himself around when I was holding him. It was interesting, because my daughter (my first baby) wasn't quite that active. He was content when I put him in the backpack carrier and he was able to sit up and look out at the world. He crawled at six months, and started walking at ten months because he was so eager to move around! (My daughter didn't walk until she was 14 months). It amazed me to watch him; my daughter was always able to sit quietly for a few minutes and focus on playing with something, while my son just kept moving around and didn't seem to want to sit still at all. He also likes to climb stuff, like the furniture. As he's grown, he's gotten better (he's 6 now); he still has moments where he doesn't want to sit still and he's moving around all over the place, and I wonder where in the world he gets all his energy, but he is able to sit quietly and read, and do his schoolwork, etc., so I'm not worried about ADHD with him. I think some babies are just more active than others, and you have your work cut out for you in keeping up with him! :-)

He does sound a lot like my oldest child who has ADHD, but it's really way too early to tell for your son. Mine still has the wiggling leg thing going on at age 22, but as a toddler and young boy he could sit still for something that absorbed his attention. He beat me up from the inside while I was pregnant with him, and then I worried about my next child during that pregnancy, because she moved so little.

It sounds like your boy is very curious and full joy. Giving him plenty of opportunities to use his energy constructively and keeping a healthy amount of structure in his life can help tremendously and can ameliorate ADHD symptoms if it turns out that he has it. By age three, it will be more clear.

P.S. My hyper-boy is about to graduate from a prestigious university, and he has had the energy to complete rigorous courses for TWO majors, a semester of foreign study, extra curricular activities, exercise frequently, and still graduate within four years (with no summer school). He is an interesting person who is already making contributions to the world, and he rarely stops moving!

I wouldn't worry! He is going to be a handful, but I think he will be fine =)
You should feel lucky- some moms have to force their children to be by themselves so they can take a potty break!!

Ms. Busybee,

He sounds like an active baby => Many babies are the same, our son was super active too.

As you probably know each child is unique, talking to him and singing to him during diaper change is good, gymboree and other places where he can safely crawl/explore, something he most likely will enjoy. Take him to pool, water park/swimming pool might be a fun place for him.

Autisim/ADHD worries ?? Please throw them out the window.

Give thanks for an active/healthy/happy baby.

God Bless!

NP

Welcome to my past.... my 16 year old son was JUST like this! Some people just crave movement, and my son - and it sounds like yours, too - is just one of them.He was itching to move from so early on, was thrilled when he finally learned to roll over, and pretty much hasn't stopped since. When he was small, we just had to build in lots of opportunities for physical activity - and still do, actually, although he has calmed down a little with age. (Although there was that incident, not too long ago, when he was cooped up inside too long due to rain, and he just couldn't stand it anymore - he jumped up and ran around out in the yard until he tired himself out. I just waited at the door with a towel.)

So your boy sounds pretty normal to me. Just make sure he has lots of opportunities to burn off some of that energy! We did dance classes, gymnastics, and lots and lots and lots of trips to the park. Enjoy!

Don't worry too much. My daughter was so active at that age already. She started crawling when she was 4 months, by 6 months she could go up and down the stairs and she was all over the house. And she started to walk when she was almost 11 months. She didn't wanna be held only when she was going to sleep. Now that she is 4 she is still a very active girl always dancing, singing, running around . However when she goes to school she always pay attention to her teacher and does what she is told to do.
So my point is that your kid is normal. he just happened to be one of those active kids that probably in the future is gonna need soccer, karatte, swimming classes to burn all that energy .
Good luck, enjoy your kid.