"Hyperactive "spirited" 6 months old & he wears me out. Any help?

[InTheHouse]

I have cut and pasted this (and changed the odd word to fit my boy, 6months old) from an old thread. I tried to find the OP but she's left mumsnet. Answers to her thread talked about "spirited children" which I feel I have one of! I am getting to quite a state of depseration with him again recently; after thinking we had come through the roughest time imaginable when he was a really wee boy. Can anyone help; by realating to this description and sharing experiences & maybe giving me hope that every day wont be a battle for ever.....


My problem is he is totally, utterly hyperactive. He cannot keep still, his movements are constant, and even when he's feeding and nearly asleep his hands work almost compulsively clutching at things. His legs kick constantly and he winds himself up into a complete fever of frustration because he can't crawl yet. I know many babies are very active, but he is way more so than any of the other babies we hang out with, and his behaviour is much more demanding. He's wearing me out .... I'm also worried that something is wrong with him (and then of course feel stupid for worrying!) Has anybody got any advice/reassurance? Anyone else who's baby was/is like this? Thanks v much.

[gingernut]

He sounds like my ds1 who would is always on the go, very active, inquisitive and demanding. He has always exhausted me. I think you may find it a bit easier when he is a bit older and mobile because he'll be less frustrated. Then you can take him out and about more to exercise him! I literally used to plan an outing every day (to park, toddler group, soft play, etc.) in order to cope with him. ds1 is now 5 and is still very active - struggles to sit still at school etc. I have never known him to be physically worn out. My friends call him the Duracell bunny!

If you are worried about hyperactivity though I would mention it to your HV if you have a good one. I have had phases when I've been worried about this too but have decided ds1 is probably just a fidget because he can concentrate well when he wants to.

[Enid]

does he sleep?

dd3 is like this (she is 1 now)

constantly on the go but she does sleep like a log all night

[moondog]

Sounds like the average baby to me...

[Pruni]

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[Pruni]

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[Fillyjonk]

oh yes

ds was like this

then I had dd

OMG

She was worse

sorry not trying to outdo anyone, I breed hyper kids

and then I am mocked for not giving them sugar

[Enid]

dd3 has never, to my knowledge, sat and played with a toy

the only things that keep her still for more than 20 seconds are if you stick stickers on her arm she will sit and pick them off {grin}

or, more recently, she has started looking at books. sort of. for a millisecond.

otherwise she is just...checking stuff out, jumping headfirst off things, climbing on people etc etc

[InTheHouse]

He can sleep well at night which we've always appreciated and I guess is a good sign of something right!. But he is also very vocal in the day; very noisy with "aggressive" noises coupled with his constant motion. Hates being in the pram, car seat etc...hates being anywhere where he cant be attempting to move independently. Everything is like on a fast forward with him; no peaceful times, no lying still at all. I'm just exhausted & getting quite low worrying about him & (stupidly I know) worrying about what he'll be like in the future

[Pruni]

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[InTheHouse]

he needs lots of sleep in the day, but he cries and wriggles and fights naps with a passion. When he doesn't sleep we have melt downs.....

[gingernut]

Oh yes, ds1 sleeps well. He also eats a lot!

Moondog, I don't know about the `average' baby - but my ds1 is certainly remarkable in his levels of physical activity (honestly he can outstrip all his peers and can for example tear around soft play for 2 hours solid and not want to stop). As a baby I could not hold him in my arms except when he was asleep because he would squirm so much. He just wanted to be on the floor kicking. Changing nappies was interesting as he would raise his legs and slam them down on the mat repeatedly. I used to observe other people chaging their newborns and wish he would lie still like theirs. ds2 is nothing like ds1, he likes to run around sometimes and is inquisitive but he is not like some sort of hurricane as is ds1!

[Enid]

dd3 likes being in the buggy if she can look at stuff

she could crawl at 6 months which meant she was off but never moaning, and it wore her out too. When he can crawl make sure you babyproof the house then let him go for it!

[GandWJ]

Have you got a good door bouncer? My DS was / is quite lively and the door bouncer was fantastic for us. Really wore him out & gave me time to get some stuff done.
You need a really springy one though.

[gingernut]

Enid that bit about never playing with toys sounds familiar! I could never understand when people on here said thigs like `my ds will play with a saucepan and wooden spoon for hours'. ds1 just wanted to be off, round and round the house, pausing every now and then to play with the TV, stereo and cooker timer (mortifying in other people's houses).

Now I know a bit about the saucepan thing, having had ds2.

[Fillyjonk]

oh in my dreams i don't give them sugar

i mean i don't give them much sugar



no thats a lie they have lots of cakes

only nice sugar. no wasted sugar.

[Fillyjonk]

oh feck me, early crawlers too. god it was tiring

BUT

they do play really well, amusing themselves, now, from about 18 mo onwards.

[Enid]

dd2 sat and played with toys like saucepans
dd1 didnt play with toys either, was ultra mobile but cautious
dd3 (token boy) has no fear/caution/sense at all and just has to be doing stuff. she thinks she is 20. Dh calls her Bam.

[NotanOtter]

ds4 plays with wooden spoons although at 13 months he scrambles up on chairs and stands kamikaze styled on the dining room table....

he is also my first to fully snuggle in! My friends love to hold him!

[InTheHouse]

Anyone else know this at all? My main concerns with my boy are just that he is so noisy and seems unsettled and I could say quite unhappy.

[PinkTulips]

sounds just like my dd. he would work herself into a frenzy, couldn't sleep for moving constantly, got so frustrated til she learned to move

things got alot better when she learned to walk and when we sorted the sleeping when she was a year old. it's exhausting and so draining so you have my utmost sympathy but unfortunately i never did find a solution til she was older

[Lazycow]

Inthehouse

My ds was like this. He seemed constantly unhappy. He also did not sleep well so the whole baby thing was a bit of a nightmare.

I have video clips of him lying on his tummy at abot 4-5 months old , waving his arms and legs around on the floor constantly. He did this ALL the time. He didn't crawl properly very early but did roll and do a commando crawl first in his desperation to move.

Dh was convinced that he just didn't like being a baby and wanted to move more - In retrospext he did improve as soon as he was more mobile - in particular when he started to walk (which was actually not that early - 16 months). I think he wanted to move really badly but his gross motor skiils just weren't up to it so he got frustrated. He was also overtired from lack of sleep.

You have my sympathies though - I rememeber buying toys for him in the hope he would at least play with one for a little while. Tbh a lot of them made him cry - I also was unable to read to him as a baby as he would almost always get really manically upset and bat the book away while crying hysterically.

It did improve though. Ds is still very lively but I think he is an average little boy at 2.5yrs - lively and inquisitive but not manically overactive (unless he is tired)

[Lazycow]

in retrospect even

[PinkTulips]

oddly enough lazycow my dd didn't walk til quite late either despite the desperation to move!

[exbury]

Inthehouse - is DS sitting on his own yet? If not, have you tried one of these ?

DD is going through the stage when she wants to be sat up all the time but can't do it on her own - the bumbo has proved invaluable for letting me have 2 hands free for a few minutes

[InTheHouse]

thanks everyone...its shared experiences from people who have lived to tell the tale that gives me hope!!

exbury.... i was so sure that a bumbo would make him happy but actually he just writhes his way out of it!!!