To despair of my hyperactive baby?

[thenorthernluce]

My daughter is 6.5 months old and she is exhausting!

Never content with being still, she wriggles on laps, kicks and twists and flails her arms on her back, and rocks back and forth in her high chair (terrifying!). Gone are the days when I could leave her in a bouncer to look up at dangling toys while I dare to go to the loo. She also shouts a lot, making me the most popular person out to lunch or on the bus.

She is my first, so I have no comparison as such, but I held a friend’s baby of the same age recently and I almost cried at how simple it was. No grabbing for my hair/nose/mouth, no demanding a position change every three seconds. It goes without saying that feeding is a nightmare, as she’s so distracted by noise and lights.

She sleeps well (because I Ferberised her), usually coming in at 13 hours a day over night time and three naps. She has reflux and a suspected CMPA (undiagnosed but treated as such). She is between 50th and 75th centile and has been on solids for about a month.

Is this sounding familiar to anyone? Any advice?! I sometimes fear for a lifetime of hyperactivity, although some people have said she’ll probably calm down once she can crawl or walk. I truly hope so!!

I love her so much, but I’m struggling too.

My middle child was like this as a baby but now at nearly 4 he's quite a homebody and not very energetic compared to his (placid baby) older brother.

@thenorthernluce have some unmumsnet style hugs back, and take comfort from the fact that a) it does get easier and b) we went on to have two more, so he didn't quite break us into exhausted zombies

Oh yes, forgot to mention that she was a very active baby in utero! At each scan (and I had lots, but that’s another story), the sonographer would comment along the lines of “ooooh, she’s a real wriggler; I can hardly get a still shot of her” and when I was being monitored, the alarm always went off several times as she moved away from the probe (?) strapped to my stomach.

I should have known!!!!!!!

@spacepoodle - I could have written your first paragraph. Good to hear it hasn’t put you (or other PPs) off from having another, as I just cannot imagine that right now. Zoiks!

@thenorthernluce I wonder sometimes. At 4am this morning I shouted "WHY ARE WE HAVING ANOTHER BABY?!" but I'm sure it will all work out.

This one is even more active too. Hooray

My 7 month old sounds similar (and also rarely naps in the day...). It is knackering!

My first was like that, from 3 months old he was trying to lurch out of my arms! Crawled & walked early, never sat still, wouldn't focus on a toy for more than 3 minutes seemed like. He also had CMPI and reflux.
My second is a much more chilled out character.
Just take her out of the house as much as you can (easier said than done in this weather) and swimming is a great activity. You don't even need to book lessons, just splashing around with you will be great fun for her.
Pop in playpen/cot for loo trips, laundry folding etc

My 9 month old is just like this! She is never chilled like my friends babies. She also had reflux until around 5 months. She did calm a little once she started crawling at 7 months so you might be ok!

My first was like this. She also had reflux. I used you to ‘joke’ she was hyperactive. Crawled at 9 months and walked at 15 months so not early but she got around by rolling from quite small. I found it very stressful, the lack of sleep.