Need advice on how to help my active 3mo

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My DD is a wonderful, curious little thing. She figured out day from night very early on and so she used to sleep pretty well during the night. Over the Christmas holiday she experienced and full-on sleep regression and woke up every hour or two hours for a couple of nights and then one day she woke up and figured out how to roll over from her back onto her tummy. She hasn't stopped doing it since. Not even in her sleep! If she as much as gets startled by a sound or something, she'll wake up and try and roll over in her cotbed. What she also does when she's sitting on her bouncer or in my lap or in her bath is trying to sit up. She seems to have loads of upper-body strength and she's also got strong legs. Compared with her NCT buddies, she's a lot more physically active.

All this physical development seems to have coincided with her crying more often (never used to cry unless she was hungry) and looking quite impatient. It feels like she's one of those babies who will be much happier when she gets to crawl or walk. She spends a lot of time in her gym and loves it, we got out for walks in her carrier or the pram, I play with her and get her to pretend-walk... I try to get her to take naps (hit and miss) just so she gets some rest and doesn't get too worked up at night.

But the question I have is this: was anyone else's DC like this? And how did you help them with their need to be active? I don't want her to feel bored. Are there any activities that they seemed to really like and which helped them feel happier?

Thanks and sorry this is so long!

On the basis of my one child and reading loads of threads on Mumsnet this is normal. They often have distrurbed nights before they master a new skill - you will probably find her rocking back and forth on hands and knees in her sleep in a few months when crawling starts.

I doubt she will feel bored, the whole world is new and fantastically intriguing. Taking for walks to see sights and chatting to her will be massive stimulation.

Ds was indeed much happier once he could get around and just loves pulling everything out of cupboards, drawers, bags. Treasure basket was very popular (different household and natural objects with various textures). Baby massage was a total disaster as he would not stay still or remotely quiet even at your dd age (he did exactly that sitting up in the bath thing).

My DS is 20 weeks and has been sitting on his own for about 4 or 5 weeks now.he always wants to be stood up, holds his own weight and only needs assistance with balance. He hardly ever naps and if he does it's only for about 20-30 mins at a time, however this we've had a break through and we can now get him down for about 3 hours in the afternoon....bliss! He has rolled but he's not really interested in being laid down. He's the funniest little boy but because he is so active (and always has been) it can get quite draining trying to entertain him from 7am until 6-7pm. We have a variety of different toys, playnest, walker, bouncer etc that seem to be used at least once a day, I take him out for a walk every day to give him a change of scene otherwise he gets really antsy! I encourage his independence and wanting to sit and stand. Don't really know what else to do.

Don't think I've been much help but just wanted to let you know that my baby is very similar and share my experience x

Thank you both!

Albercht, heh, I just signed up for four weeks of baby massage. Uh oh! I've already started putting together a treasure basket for when she gets to sit up unaided.

hayes, your experience sounds identical to mine. I used to rely on leaving her on the gym for a few minutes to go to the loo or wash dishes or fix a sandwich but because she won't just lie there but needs to roll all the time, I'm reluctant to leave her on her own now. At what stage did your DS started using a walker? And what type? Might need to have a look on ebay. Is a playnest better than a gym for active little people? We live in a small flat and haven't got the space for both.

Really hope we can fit a bouncer as we have funny-sized doors. God, she'd love that!

Thanks for the great suggestions and for the encouragement!

He's using a Chicco walker but we haven't put the wheels on it yet so it's static, he lives sitting in it though as he doesn't need me to help him and he can play on his own for a little while, think it makes him feel like a big boy! Ha! A playnest is basically an inflatable ring with different things on it for them to touch and it has a frame like a playgym with things dangling, you can sit them up in it and they can't (at the moment) fall out. Again DS loves it cos he can be more independent and even though I play with him while he's in it I'm not propping him up or sitting him back up if he falls back because he can lift himself back up.

Congrats on your active baby!
Both mine were creeping forward at 5 months, and crawling at 6, so you might not have long to wait til she can move herself about.
Neither of mine have been remotely interested in sitting. They could do it, but just flipped themselves forward, and played whilst lying on the floor.
If she insists on rolling over at massage, just do it "upside down" - the only bit you'll really struggle with is tummy, but most of the other babies will probably object to being on their tummy to have their backs massaged!

The best thing we bought for our dd who also seemed to want to be upright all the time was a Fisher-Price Jumperoo. We got it when she was 3 months old - her feet didn't even touch the ground to start with (had to put an atlas covered in a towel underneath it!) but she loved dangling there watching the flashing lights and quickly learned to play with the spinning toys on it. She still loves it at 9 months though she's almost outgrown it now, and will happily bounce for long enough for me to do the washing up. They do take up a bit of room, but for us its entertainment value has made all the stubbed toes (and the cost - though we were lucky to get ours half price in a sale) worth it.

If it's any consolation I think our hardest time was from 3-4 months - especially as everyone says 3 months is when they settle down. The screaming! The memory still makes me shudder.

Thanks for the massage tips, nextphase. I'm getting nervous about having to keep her still for an hour and a half!

diyqueen, I'd better try and find a jumperoon on Ebay. They're so expensive! But look brilliant. I think she would enjoy that a lot. You're so right about the screaming! In fact, I started a thread a week or so ago asking why people keep saying babies settle down at 3 months when our DD seemed to get more and more restless. Now it's all making sense. Thanks again!

Jolly Jumper. Sounds a bit like the Jumperoo, you just put it in a doorframe or buy a frame for it. Absolutely wonderful, and cheap. We put our DS in it from 3 months and he loves it. You could also try a Bumbo - we never had one but have heard they help when babies want to sit up but can't. Not sure at what age you can start using them though...
Could also consider an Exersaucer (a ring thing with a seat in the middle that they sit in and can play with the array of toys attached to ring). DS (10 months) has grown out of the one we got from a friend but I still put him in it when I need some time without having to worry where he's about to crawl off to.

I second the Jolly Jumper. One of the best things we bought. My DD was jumping for real at 14mo and I'm sure it was the Jumper that did it!

Our LO was like this too and crawled before 6 months.

We baby proofed her room which gave her freedom to roll and wriggle her way around to explore and play with things. She now uses the furniture to get up to standing and is quite independent at playing for at least a while. (she's 8m now)

The other place I've found great is soft play and they're usually free for under 2s

I've got a similar baby, and the jumperoo is an absolute godsend. The fact that it bounces plus being an activity centre is brilliant. We've got weird doorframes too so having a freestanding bouncer is brilliant.

The other thing he absolutely LOVES is being carried around the flat looking in cupboards. Weird, but it holds his attention!

The Bumbo is useless for him, he doesn't like to sit still so he always arches his back to try to escape to more active pursuits.