Worried about my DS but no one taking me seriously

[HomeTimeByeBye]

DS is now 7 months old and sleeps 7pm to 9am.

He then naps from 10.30amish to around 1/2pm.

Like clockwork.

From newborn, he slept 8 hour stretched and stretched it to 12/14 hours by 6 weeks old.

I've never done a night feed.

He's meeting all his milestones cognitively, and is now starting to stand unaided. He is on the small side but I've been told he's in proportion.

I'm worried. I have been since he was born and I don't feel that it is right.

He is always sleeping.

AIBU to be concerned and take him back to the GP?

The last time I went was 3 months ago. But now he's 7 months, I think he should be sleeping less, not more.

He's very active and alert when he's awake but it's just the amount he's sleeping.

I'm worried but everyone has always bashed me and told me to 'count my lucky stars', especially when he was a newborn.

I was worried to death. I'd read all about sleep deprivation, how to survive it etc. But I didn't experience it and had 0 support when I was upset. Even the midwives brushed me off.

I tried waking him for a few weeks after the birth and he would just get very cross and go back to sleep. I'd wake up drowned in my own milk

He was asleep when I woke up the morning after my labour and I thought he was dead.

The midwife laughed at me and told me to keep my magic quiet.

I feel like I'm being fobbed off.

You can go back to your Health Visitor and GP and ask for thorough checkups if it helps soothe your feelings, but some babies and children really do just love their sleep. Is it possible, though, that you're feeling anxious and worried and need to address that, at the same time as getting him checked over? Anxiety over your children can be common and can sometimes feel as though it's taking over everything.

We have friends whose oldest DC slept like yours, he is perfectly healthy, happy and bright as a button (he's 7 now) but he still sleeps 7pm-7am without fail and hasn't ever had a bad nights sleep. He's just one of those children. Their second DC is the polar opposite and feels sleep is for the meek. They're all so different.

What is he like when he is awake? Is he alert, playing etc? Children do have quite varying amounts of sleep, although I appreciate that sounds like a lot. Their need doesn't necessarily go down though, as they do more physically they can need more sleep.

That seems like a normal pint of sleep to have. From what you say there is nothing to be concerned about. It's natural to worry anyway though.

You have a child that sleeps brilliantly and he's already standing at 7 months.
I'm sorry but I don't get the problem either

I'm not a generally anxious person, no.

If he was just like this from 4 months or so, I would just keep quiet and be thankful!

But the fact he never ever had a night wake even as a newborn is what makes me suspicious. It just doesn't seem right.

You have a child that sleeps brilliantly and he's already standing at 7 months
I'm sorry but I don't get the problem either

It's because even as a newborn, he wouldn't wake up. If he was waking normally as a small baby, I would just smile and know I have a good sleeper

But he's always been so.. sleepy. It just seems odd

My youngest was and still is the same. He slept all night from the moment he was born and had naps as well. He is 4 now and is healthy, confident and developing as expected. No night feeds ever with him! I wouldn't worry too much but speak to health visitor if you are anxious

One of mine was like this. Still is. She's 11.

Is he awake from 2pm to 7pm? what is his feeding routine? What activities do you do during his wake time?

I was still very sleep deprived during the night at this stage as lots of night wakings. but my daughter did sleep about 1.5 hrs after waking in the morning, then went to sleep after lunch around 11:30 until 1:30/2, and had a half hour 4pm nap too.
If he isn't sleeping in the late afternoon, then I would assume the day routine is just what he needs at the moment and isn't anything to worry about.

It does sound like he sleeps a long time over night though. I've never heard of a baby doing this! Not to say you should be worried about it, but I can understand where you are coming from. What would he do if you woke him up at 7am everyday and stopped him falling back to sleep? How difficult is it to wake him up?

Another Mum at my child's school was telling me one day that her dd was like that and like you she was stressed out over it. It was her second dc and she said it was so strange after her first child waking constantly so she was convinced something was wrong. Her dd is now an active sporty five year old and absolutely fine.

I would be the last person to poo poo a mother's gut feeling but may be able to offer some reassurance.

My DC are in their 20s now so frankly I've forgotten the details. Can't tell you how long they slept precisely. But they did both sleep like angels almost from the off. I was getting 7 hours or so from 6 weeks with both of them. I have always slept about 10 hours a night and DH loved his sleep. Both my DC were very serene and dropped off easily. So I didn't worry. It's just how they came.

Including naps how much does a 'normal' baby of that age sleep?

What would he do if you woke him up at 7am everyday and stopped him falling back to sleep? How difficult is it to wake him up?

He'd be extremely upset. I once tried taking him swimming and dressing him for it once I woke him up. He had a face like thunder and didn't want to go in the water, but eventually dropped off in his float

Nothing can wake him when he's sleeping, unless you undress him and put him in a bath. Sometimes changing his nappies would work but he'd go straight back off to sleep after looking at me blurry eyes

Hmm maybe if he's always done it it's ok?
I remember my DP said that apparently when he was born he spelt for about 30 hrs straight, his mum was really worried but he was fine! I told this story to my mum and she said that my sister also did that, the hospital staff kept telling her to enjoy it but she knew something was wrong and my sister was really ill with jaundice.

Including naps how much does a 'normal' baby of that age sleep?

Roughly 14-15 hours spread over a long night sleep (11-12 hours) and between 2 and 3.5 hours during the day but these are averages so for every baby that sleeps less than this there will also be babies that sleep more.

Hmmm yes I can see why you are worried.

It's out of the ordinary so yep, you're not being dramatic.

However, it's overwhelmingly likely that this is just how he is and it's fine.

I hope some of these other posts by folk with similar babies are giving you some reassurance.

My mother tells anyone who will listen that by the time I was 8 days old I slept through the night from 9pm to 9am like clockwork. She might be exaggerating but I suspect not as my siblings were famously horrendous sleepers. And I turned out fine! Not saying you shouldn't seek reassurance from a professional but I do think some babies just like a lot of sleep.

As a mum to a terrible sleeper I have no direct experience but I think what would worry me would be the difficulty waking him/falling asleep in the pool! I would say trust your instincts if you feel something isn't right. How alert is he when he is awake?

What exactly is it you're worried about? That he's sleeping too much? At this stage yeah he may be sleeping for an extra two hours a day (babies from 6 - 8 months typically need 14 and a half hours sleep a day, combined from night sleeping and naps) but when he's awake, he's alert yes? Is he also hitting all his milestones? GP or HV shouldn't be fobbing you off but some kids do just need more sleep than others. I wouldn't worry unless he was lethargic/tired all the time.

Looking closely at your OP, I've worked out that your DS sleeps for about 17 hours out of 24. Sometimes 18. He's asleep three-quarters of his life and cannot cope at all with being woken, is that right? I know nothing about how normal this might be but I totally understand why you'd be worried. Have you expressed your worry in terms of the above numbers i.e. sleeps three-quarters of every twenty-four hours without fail? I'm sorry to be of absolutely no help, but I really hear you. I'd be pushing for some kind of specialist assessment - you could be wrong, I could be wrong, but at least you'd get to fully be heard by someone who might actually know something, the fact that everyone is fobbing you off and saying you should be pleased/you're lucky is really shit, IMO.

Does he ever 'space out' when he's awake? Where he's staring off into space and it's hard to get his attention for 10 seconds or more?

My ds never had sleep problem since new born during the night. But he never really had nap either.
Do you give him a lot of stimulation during the day? Lot's of toys?

My youngest son (now 11), never really woke up properly for the first 3 weeks of his life!!! My mum and I took him to the HV we were so worried. She just laughed at me. He was bottle fed and in a routine and I had to just kind of press the teat into his mouth and he would start sucking but never really open his eyes much. I never HAD to do night feeds either. I only did them because I thought I should, for about 5 weeks, but he never woke, I just did it. He started to be a bit more wakeful at about 8 weeks. But he's always been a good sleeper and took naps regularly till about 6 years old, hours at a time. Even now he will come home from school (Year 6) and go upstairs and sometimes I find him fast asleep. He goes to bed at 8.30pm and I have to wake him for school at 8am. Its all very odd, so I understand your concerns.

I've had two DC's and my first was just like yours. He'd sleep 7pm - 8am and nap from roughly 10-12 and then again from about 3-5. (He's 28 now and absolutely fine!) I understand why you're worrying but it really is quite common. It's just that obviously people don't "complain" about a baby that sleeps a lot so you don't hear about it.

I had a sleep loving baby. He’d go from 7pm to 7am with a very quick feed at 3am. Then 10-12 and then 2-4. I had to force him to drop the afternoon nap and move the morning one forwards a bit when he was 18 months because it was so inconvenient to be home so much.

He became more ‘interesting ‘ during toddlerhood. Still likes his sleep.

My youngest was like this. My eldest was a good sleeper so I counted myself lucky but from the moment she was born my youngest DD slept and slept and slept. My mum was here the first week and didn’t see her with her eyes open. She’s always slept twelve hours at night and she still sleeps for three hours in the day (she’s nearly 3). I was worried at first but now I just enjoy the peace and quiet .