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Original poster

12 month DD constantly on the go and doesn't need sleep!

32 replies

LittleWaveyLines · 30/06/2012 21:42

I have always noticed that from very wee DD was always a lot more alert more of the time than the rest of my antenatal group of babies - and since they've become mobile it is very noticeable now to other people that she is just constantly "on the go" MUCH more than the others...

Other people are now commenting on this frequently.... so I know it's not just me thinking it.

AND she doesn't sleep - she has ONE 30min nap at some point in the day, and will only sleep about 10hours at night, waking about every 2 hours.

She's not overtired, as I made a point (for about 2 months) of getting her to have longer naps during the day - but this just meant she slept less at night....

In fact she rarely seems tired, and when she does get a little whingy, a little quiet time of about 10mins seems to rest her enough for another 6h hours... even when I'm desperately trying everything to get her to nap (cos I need one Grin).

I'm worried that she might have ADHD or something else wrong...

Can anyone reassure me on this?

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Iggly · 30/06/2012 21:45

If she wakes every two hours I would think she might be overtired.

Did you try longer naps earlier in the day and a early bedtime? What about an early bedtime now? Say around half 6?

I speak as a mum of an alert baby who woke a lot at night. Once his naps setted down so did his sleep.

Original poster
LittleWaveyLines · 30/06/2012 21:57

I spent 2 months trying to get her to nap more - it just reduced by an equal amount the night time sleep!
It also made those 2 months very constrained and I got quite stressed as a result as I was spending up to 2 hours trying to get her to nap for about 55 minutes twice/3 times a day.

I did have a couple of weeks where I was able to get her to nap for an hour in the morning and up to 2 hours in the afternoon... she was then not sleeping until 10pm despite me getting her into bed at 6.30pm and keeping her there - again it was very stressful trying to get a not tired or sleepy baby to go to sleep.

I really honestly don't think she is overtired....

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seaweed74 · 30/06/2012 22:43

Hi. My 7 month old dd has 2x 30 min naps a day then sleeps 10-12 hrs at night but on average wakes every 3 hrs, usually for a small snack (although this isn't always the case). She is very alert (often commented on by strangers) and active. Pulling to stand, crawling, into absolutely everything and very nosy! Completely different to her elder sister who was still having 2 hr naps at 2.5 years! Some dc are just like this I think. I suppose your best plan if you want a nap is to drop everything when your dd has a nap!

BabydollsMum · 30/06/2012 22:44

Is she anywhere near walking yet?

My DD, now 16.5 months was exactly the same - totally hyper, but she seemed to calm down a bit once she was properly on the move (ie running) and able to wear herself out in the day. She only ever used to have 11 or 12 hours sleep out of 24 including naps but now she seems to need that at night alone. She is a bolter and a climber though and my nerves are shot! On the flip side, all this jumping up and chasing after her saves on gym membership. She's all the exercise I need.

I'm really glad to report that her attention span's improved too. She's a bright little thing but was definitely more of a physical baby in the beginning. Good luck!

Oh and reins have been an absolute godsend.

Original poster
LittleWaveyLines · 30/06/2012 23:35

Oh BabydollsMum - you might have something there - she's just starting tp walk but is still pretty unstable - which visibly frustrates her! She soooo wants to go where she wants to go NOW!

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Iggly · 01/07/2012 08:01

It's just the night wakings that make me wonder.

I can understand the nap stress thing. I'd only aim for one nap around 12 (what time does she wake?) and an early bedtime with blackout blinds etc to keep the light out of her room. If she only naps for 30 mins then so be it - she might extend her naps after a while.

Original poster
LittleWaveyLines · 01/07/2012 08:47

She wakes around 7am, and she naps at some point between 11 and 12 normally - but sometimes she will just have a little rest then and refuse to sleep - on those cases she will nap at 3ish.

I bath and bed her at 6 - 6.30pm and keep trying to get her to sleep from 7pm onwards. She normally finally sleeps at about 9pm. Sometimes 10pm if she's had a longer nap.

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Original poster
LittleWaveyLines · 01/07/2012 08:52

I don't know why I bother trying to get her into bed by 6.30/7 to be honest - apart from that I feel I should! My evenings would be a LOT less stressful and easier if I just kept her up til 8.30pm....

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Bunbaker · 01/07/2012 08:57

She sounds just like my daughter. DD was never a 12 hour sleeper at night. I used to envy parents of children who slept from 7pm to 7am. Even now DD (nearly 12) is never tired when she goes to bed and is often still awake after 10pm. She gets up at 6.30 for school so you would expect her to be shattered. She just seems to be one of those children that needs less sleep.

CecilyP · 01/07/2012 09:18

DS was a bit like that, though he generally managed a 1 hour nap during the day. I wouldn't worry too much about her as long as you can cope with having to keep her amused for so many hours. I also agree it would be sensible to keep her up until 8.30 if this is when she is actually starting to get tired.

Ineedalife · 01/07/2012 09:33

I wanted to just give you the other side to this. I am not suggesting that your Dd has ADHD but,

I have a Dd who has ADHD, at 12 months she was running and climbing. She sometimes napped for about an hour from 9 till 10 am but she was up at 6.

She slept for roughly 10 hours at night but during that time she would be constantly thrashing around many nights it was enough for her to slide right out of her babygro. Her covers and sheets would be off the bed.

She never played with toys, only threw them around. She flitted around the house causing a trail of destruction.

If your Dd is active to the point where she is exhausting you, dont discount ADHD, it is real and it is exhausting.

If I were you I would try to get some exercise everyday, swimming is great or softplay and the park when she is walking better.

I hope your Dd is just a lively little soul but just wanted to balance the thread.

Good luckSmile

HappyCamel · 01/07/2012 09:34

My dd is the same. She's 15mo. She goes to bed at 2130, waked about 0300 for some milk and is always up by 8am. On a good day she'll nap for 1:30 hours in the day but often less than an hour. She just doesn't need more sleep. She'll often have a cuddle on the sofa for an hour at about 1800 and we eat at 1900 after DH gets home.

I'm just going with it, the day naps are getting longer now she is walking but she isn't tired in the daytime, she's sunny tempered and running around and eats well so I'm letting her get on with it. She'll probably be one of those adults that only need 6 hours a night. I don't know where she gets it from though!

ll31 · 01/07/2012 10:17

would agree with gettng her loads of activities but mainly would suggest stop trying to get her to bed at 6.30 - 7 when you know she won't be tired till 10... will be much less frustrating for both of you . When she's walking properly she can get much more physical exercise during day and may well start to sleep better in any case

Original poster
LittleWaveyLines · 01/07/2012 10:17

Thanks for the responses

Ineedalife I do try to do something everyday, plus a walk outside. Swimming doesn't really tire her, and she finds soft play a bit overwhelming still, but when she is more mobile I can see it will be great! She does play with toys, and will sit still for books (LOVES her books), and when she's asleep she just doesn't move - so maybe it isn't ADHD - so thank you for responding as I was really starting to worry as she is SOOO different from friends babies.

happycamel DD is also sunny tempered normally.

bunbaker and CecilyP Nice to hear I'm not alone with this.

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Ineedalife · 01/07/2012 10:27

It is great that she will sit for books and that she is playing with toys.

It is difficult when your child is different to your friends children but remember all children develop at different rates and in different ways.

Good luckSmile

Catsu · 01/07/2012 10:33

I have a similar dd. She is 10 months old. She sleeps no more than 30 mins a day and is ion the go the rest of the time too!
She sleeps prob 9-10 hours a night and wakes frequently through the night. She doesn't act tired or whingy during the day and very rarely falls asleep if out on the car or buggy.
I tend to just go with it. She goes to bed late when she seems tired (about 10pm on average) which means she sleeps till 6 or 7 am which fits in with my other dcs (who sleep normally!!)
I wonder about ADHD too as my eldest has asd

cloggs142 · 01/07/2012 17:43

My ds is 15 months. From newborn he has just never liked to sleep. He is very.active and constantly running around climbing and pulling rhings out of drawes etc...basically a little tornado.
i know how stressfull it is with the sleep. I try to make him have a nap....but im lucky if we get 20 mins while out walking in the pram. Bedtime is 730....but therea very rarely a night that hes asleep before 1130. If he does go down at 8ish...hell wake at 9 then be up until 3am. Even with all this he thrashes about all night. His pjs are always hanging off in the morning and can never keep a blanket on. Hes up before 7am without fail.
everyone has always ommented on the fact that hes never still. This was true up until 13 months....now hell sit for a little while if hes toatally knackerd...but 10 mins max. Whereas before thia i couldnt even sit iim on my lap without worming his.way onto the floor or table or sofa.
my health visitor said.that it could be a sign of adhd....but now hes steady on his feet hes much better. Im still struggling with the sleep deprevation....but im working on it. Lol.
hope it gives u a little bit of hope. The fact that my ds has improved noq hes walking has been a reLly positive thing for me. Now hes starting to tantrum alot more tho.....bring on the terrible twos!!!!

Iggly · 02/07/2012 08:40

cloggs, could your ds be hot? I had to really reduce the layers DS had at night. He only needs a 4 tog duvet in bitter winter, a thin blanket in spring/summer and a sheet in summer (even on a cool summers night). He used to thrash around a lot if too hot - I couldn't believe how little he needed.

festivalwidow · 02/07/2012 08:49

I feel your pain! My DD is 2 and I could have written your post a year ago. I don't think she ever slept for more than 30 minutes at a stretch during the day either, and just didn't seem to need any sleep at all. She was never still for a second as a newborn either.
The night wakings have got a lot better and she now sleeps for about 40 minutes in the day (wahey!): nights are usually 8:30 - 6 which she manages fine on. I think it did get a lot better when she started walking, which was when the night waking stopped.
Trampolines are something of a godsend after that :)

Emandlu · 02/07/2012 08:59

Sounds similar to my ds. He never slept during the day for more than 10 mins at a time, was constantly on the go and didn't sleep through the night until he was 3. He is now 9, he doesn't have ADHD. He just needed less sleep - he still doesn't need as much sleep as his older sis.

In the end I just accepted he wasn't going to do the daytime nap thing and just got on with stuff. I appreciate you probably don't want to hear that though.

forevergreek · 02/07/2012 09:15

As a ( trainee) sleep trainer, I would really push for a long midday 1-3pm nap

It's amazing how a nap ( long enough to go through several sleep cycles) can transform the whole sleep over 24hrs

Energetic afternoon then from 6.30 try a quiet half an hour play ( nothing noisy or music and dim lights)
7pm bath/ pjs etc or whatever your bedtime routine is
7.30pm read 2 books quietly/ sing ( whatever you do)
7.45-8pm bed.

Basically from 6.30-8 so approx 1.30 hrs of dim lights/ calm etc..

Hopefully this will speed up bedtime and once sorted you can always reduce length

Original poster
LittleWaveyLines · 02/07/2012 09:46

Tried it. Doesn't work in this case. Honest!

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Original poster
LittleWaveyLines · 02/07/2012 09:47

Tried thyat for 2 whole months.... was in email correspondence with Elizabeth Pantley to help sort naps and sleep - also didn't work.

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Original poster
LittleWaveyLines · 02/07/2012 09:57

We do:

Nap at 11am - I try to get her to resettle after her 30mins but it normally doesn't work.

Try to get her to nap at 2.30pm = but normally she just has a quiet 10mins then is off again.

Energetic afternoon - park/swimming AND a walk and the garden normally.

6pm dinner, then quiet play after dinner
7pm bath
7.30 bed - curtains closed, lullabies and books. I rock her in the sling, or if she's getting really agitated as she wants to keep playing I read her more stories or sing. I then keep resettling her until 9.30pm when she falls asleep.

Why wont people believe me when I say that she is NOT overtired. Naps have made NO difference, and I'm not stupid I already do the quiet wind down to sleep!

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cloggs142 · 02/07/2012 10:09

Yep tried that too. Haha.
iggly...yeah he os a really hot baby...always has been. So ive been really on it from newborn. He sleeps with around the same kind of layers as yours does. And like you i was so surprised! He was always the only child that didnt need a vest on. Lol even with a thin blanket on most nights he kicks it off. Strange how some kids are like that! X