Hyperactivity in 7 month old (long, sorry)

[Kiwiem]

Hi, fairly new to all this so sorry if I've missed previous posts. I'm worried about DS, who is 7 months old. He had a dreadful birth (forceps) after a horrendous labour (BTW we've been to a cranial osteopath), had shocking reflux for a while and never, ever slept, but his developmental milestones so far are all normal. 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 walk yet (although he's just started cruising). 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 and I feel SO stupid that I can't seem to cope with one small baby. 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.

from what u say i would say ur baby is 'normal',but some babies just dont like being babies and get frustrated easily,he may well start to settle down when he starts walking.
my ds2 was the opposit as a baby-quite happy to just sit there looking cute,but as soon as he started walking at 17 months that was it-he was off,and at the age of 3 he still never keeps still.
have u spoken to your health visitor about ur concerns?

My ds was exactly like this. He crawled at 5 months and walked at 9.5 months. He never stopped for a minute, pretty much as you have described your ds. Some of them are just like that!

Mine is now a 5.5 yr old who still never sits still. However when some of my friends are starting to moan that their kids wont get off the computer or stop watching telly, I thank my lucky stars that mine is outside kicking a football!!

He will calm down when he can walk - he is just frustrated. Hope that helps to put your mind at rest.

You sound like you are describing my 6 month old and also my DS1 when he was that age. Babies are all different and it sounds to me like you've got yourself a feisty one! It's hard, isn't it? Things will get better in that he will be less frustrated the more you do but they may also get worse in respect that you'll need to chase after him!

Have you tried reading the Baby Whisperer? There's also one for Toddlers. It talks about the different kinds of personalities babies have and helps you learn to love your baby for who they are. It also suggests strategies for each type of baby I think. My babies are both "spirited". Sounds like yours are, too.

Have you got some active type toys? One of those activity centres where they sort of stand. A baby bouncer for a doorway, that kind of thing?

Hi Kiwiem - my ds1 was like this. he was a very very busy baby - so much energy, so exhausting - some other mummies with quiet babies would look at me as if it was something i was doing wrong but the funny thing is now i have had 3 children and the other mummies have had more and not necessarily quiet ie. good they can no longer bask in the glory of their superior parenting skills as every baby is so different. we also tried cranial osteopath - did you find this useful? i imagine some are better than others. we went to a specialist in babies and he was amazing, he said something about the plates in his head feeling very tight and when my ds1 received treatment he fell asleep after each session for up to 4 hours (he would press his head against the top of the cot when he was trying to sleep probably to relieve the tension) if you are anywhere near devon and would like to try someone else i could always give you his details. the other thing that really helped was water ie. lots of baths (sometimes 2 or 3 a day) and as he got older lots of water play and swimming would help relax him. i had mixed results with massage but might be worth a try? i found reading the continuum concept by jean lliedloff life changing continuumconcept which led me among other things to throwing out most of the baby paraphanalia and toys and bought a sling which led to a giant improvement in his wellbeing and mine.
please try not to worry and i know its hard not to compare to other babies but try and take comfort in the fact that active babies tend to grow into very bright and inquisitive little people my ds1 is now 6 and in the top stream at school. you just have to learn to ride the tiger! another good book for when he got older was 'raising your spirited child'.

Thanks for the responses, it really does help to know that there are other babies like him. Otherwise you start to think that you are the only one! He is definitely frustrated by not being able to go where he wants when he wants, so I think (am keeping my fingers crossed, anyway) that walking will help. I may go back to the sling - he gets so mad at being in the buggy, and as he is at the clingy phase that may help a bit with the new thing of attaching himself to my leg the entire day. Have read the baby whisperer and thought it was great, so thanks for the toddler recommendation.

kiwien. I appreciate this post is old now but I wondered how you are getting on? My baby is showing the exact same and I can’t help but worry.

I would also love to know how the op is getting on, my 7 month old is very similar!

Mine too, would love an update

Hi @Bells84 and @Hopeful5million just wondering how you guys are getting on a year later?! We are in the same boat with my 7 month old now. It is relentless. He just doesn’t stop 🤯

Hi cazzy,
Yes little one 15 months now and he’s wonderful! He’s still very active a lot of the time but not hyper crazy flapping like before. I think at 7 months he just had all this energy but wasn’t mobile so he was just moving his body any way he could 😂 it went on for a while u til he started crawling which didn’t happen until 10 months. Then at 11.5 months he was walking and so now he runs around and uses his energy that way, but he’s also capable of sitting down and doing a ring stacker or something (fairly) quietly. I have to say though he still isn’t a big fan of his buggy but bribing him with lots of snacks helps and sometimes I just have to be a bit more consistent with it, but we manage. Mostly he would just love to walk everywhere himself but obviously that won’t work yet! We even just took out first flight last week and he was a little star, climbed up the seats and played peekaboo with the people behind for an hour and then fell asleep 😂 he did get restless at the airport but a combination of buggy and snacks and some controlled running around in a safe space did the trick. I remember 7-10 months being one of the hardest times (except for the first 3 months) in terms of whininess. So just enjoy the happy bits, the rest will pass so quickly! But don’t be worried, your little one is totally normal!! ❤️

Hi @Hopeful5million thank you so much for your reply 🧡 that really does give me hope! I just see other people cooing over their calm babbling babies and mine is just frantically grabbing at everything he possibly can and shoving it all in his mouth like a maniac 🤪 but hopefully this curious and adventurous nature will come good in the end 🤞🏻 So glad you are enjoying the time with your little one more now… honestly so reassuring to hear 😊

Hi 😃

As per previous posts I’ve come across this thread with a very very active 7 month old! Just wish seeing if you had any particular advice or when you noticed any settling down? I’m wondering how a nursery would cope atm with their staff to baby ratios 😅@Cazzyandthebabe

Hi @Kinderbueno89 my little boy is 16 months now and still extremely full on! He started walking at 9.5 months and is just constantly on the go. He is extremely curious and very keen to get involved with EVERYTHING… he can get very frustrated by being a baby!! I was really worried about nursery too but he actually gets on really well there… I think all the activities and stimulation really helps as they don’t have a bad word to say about him. He is starting to say a few words… and I’m really hopeful when he can communicate better he will calm down a bit 🙏🏻😅

I had a baby like this and now his 3. He is still the crazy wild one but only started walking beside me and actually listening to my warnings instead of bolting. Baby/toddler groups were a no go as he would go batshit crazy exploring. He is still a busy bee but sits down more and I couldn't believe my eyes when I went to collect him from nursery just recently he was sitting down in circle time listening to a story. Never had a complaint from nursery since he started in April. The other week we went to a hotel and the first thing he did was run up to a sofa and jump on it and run around but most people we encounter look at him and smile as he is hilarious and so full of energy. They normally tell me that they had a active breed so quite understanding and watch ds as they find him amusing. I think nursery has helped a lot with ds and despite being speech delay a bit, him being able to communicate has helped as well. So hopefully next year will be a bit better but we still can't go to restaurants or even if we do, it has to be a quick meal as we might find him wondering into the kitchen exploring if we take our eyes off him for a second. He is exhausting though but it's part of his character which he is exactly the same as DH and apparently my mil needed an army every time she went out as DH was so full on.

@Cazzyandthebabe Thank you so much for your reply! You mentioned his frustration at being a baby and I think my one has this too? He whines a lot while on the floor trying to reach for toys and commando crawl. He doesn’t have the skill yet but his sheer desperation to move seems to propel him forward! I even struggle to do basic things like nappy changes and getting him dressed as he just flips on to his front and tries to wriggle forward and (understandably) gets frustrated that I’m repeatedly turning him onto his back. I do have other concerns about him as he has some minor motor delays, asymmetric movements and poor eye contact but I think I’ve been quite concerned by how very active he seems as it’s so different to other babies I’ve seen! So it’s nice to know that this isn’t necessarily a concern. Also very good to know about nursery coping well!

@bluebull he sounds fab! Ok good to know that this might be his little character coming through as at the moment he seems so frustrated with everything always wanting to be on the go!

Hi everyone, my Dd is 7 months and sounds very similar. She’s a very early mover, crawling and sitting up by herself (which now she’s learned to do she seems a little less frustrated, the squealing/screaching has improved!). She now wants to walk and is trying to pull herself up on the furniture.
I don’t mind that she’s so active, in fact I’m sort of proud of her for it even though it’s pretty tiring!
However she’s behind with her vocalisations. We get a ‘g’ and a ‘K’ noise but none of that in the last week. It’s all aaaaaaaaaah sounds, no babbling and all the other babies are already going ‘dadada’ etc.
I wondered if any of the rest of you with busy, movement obsessed babies experienced this too and if it worked out ok in the end?

Hi Ladies my son the same and so demanding he is draining me so much as he wakes a lot at night too ….. he’s a walker , pram and carried around a lot but needs constant attention and distractions I’m so burnt out he’s 7 and half months but was 6 weeks premature. He’s been to chiropractor etc if it was just day time I wouldn’t mind but it’s day and night . My other kids were busy but this is another level

Hi Hope1111, 7 months was the most exhausting time for me as little one was not able to crawl yet and just got frustrated I think, independent play was next to nothing, then we got a Jumperoo, we go the baby Einstein fish one, it gave me short breaks, ten minutes here and there! He didn’t start crawling until 9 or 10 months and walking just after, but when he was crawling it was a lot easier as he was happy he could move around and explore. I don’t know if yours is crawling yet? But I definitely recommend a jumper if you don’t already have one!!

Hi thank you for the reply , no he’s not crawling yet and has the attention span of a fish 😂😂😂 sees something wants the next constantly . He has a walker he runs around in and a jumperoo plus pushed about in pram , carried and playing on floor he’s just sooooo busy . He is my 5th the rest are big and I remember my daughter being similar but not near as bad . Yea he’s rolling onto tummy and trying to get the knees up so hopefully he will burn himself out soon . ❤️