Do some babies just not need sleep??

[Babytalkobsession]

Hi, I'm just curious really. Do some babies just not need that much sleep? I've tried every bit of advice and it's made no difference to my nearly 1 year old DS.

He usually has two 20 minute naps a day, around 10 and 2pm. Today I kept him going until 12 in the hope he'd take one longer nap. He woke after 25 mins and is now happily playing. I on the other hand am exhausted...he was awake at 5:41! (Knowing the exact time is always a sign of sleep deprevation in my opinion...every single minute is important )

I just long for a day where he takes a decent block of sleep!

Is mine the only one? For info he's cruising and taking first steps, eats well, no medical issues and settles himself at 7pm (most likely due to utter exhaustion). He wakes at least once in the night and I usually just give him a quick feed (bf).

I think it's time I just accept that he doesn't need to sleep - no idea where he gets it from, I'm on my knees...

NoMarymary, DS will be 4 in January and I shall soon be joining you. I've given up with trying to make him sleep; he gets in with me about 10pm and sleeps on my head for some of the night

SillyBub's baby sleepers become good toddler sleepers isn't true for me unfortunately DS is 2.2 yrs old and is the worst sleeper I know!

DD sometimes has a nap, sometimes doesn't, and she is 22 months. She usually sleeps 8pm to sometime between 6 and 7.30am. She has slept through the night about four times in her life and usually wakes at least a couple of times a night, often more. I am always jealous of people whose toddlers have a two-hour daytime nap and then sleep 7-7! I think some children do seem to just need less sleep than others.

My oldest is nearly four and is very tired in the morning after 12 hours' sleep - he is definitely not a morning person.

My DTD's also seem to require very little sleep to my great disappointment! As newborns they would nap for 20 minutes twice a day. They are now 13 months, today they were awake before 6am and have both had only a 15 minute nap at nursery. They both still wake in the night and can easily be awake for 2 hours during the night. I have always felt rather envious of people whose babies who would have 2 x2hr naps a day...

Neither of mine needed much sleep. I think these guidlines on average sleep requirements are a cruel joke on the sleep deprived.
Both of mine gave up naps by 18 months, didnt need much sleep then and they don't need much now,

DD1 (3) only started sleeping through just before dd2 (6m) arrived - by which time I couldn't sleep anyway due to discomfort/loo trips etc.

DD2 self-settled and slept really well until 5mo, since when she will only sleep next to me (or on a really rough night, in my arms), and even then won't do more than 3hrs at a stretch. And since clocks went back she's properly awake at 4am.

I'm used to it now, and make the most of a couple of hours of peace/tea/biscuits/MNing before dd1 wakes up.

This too shall pass (hopefully, one day). And she does have a couple of long naps in the day, usually 1hr+ each.

My friend's dd is also 6m, and is an even worse sleeper, doesn't even nap in the daytime .

DS at one used to go to sleep at around 10 or 11 pm, with much work, and he was up at 5 am without fail. I was on my knees.

At 16 months we tried crying it out for 2 nights, but he was so obviously suffering we stopped. At 18 months he just got it, somehow. Started going down at 6.30 and staying down till 6. No change to routine or naps or diet or anything at all to trigger that, either.

He's always been a poor sleeper - wakes a few times in the night. But the hardest time was definitely from around 1 to 18 months, because he was a toddler, racing around, and exhausting me... yet never slept much.

Goes to bed at 8 now (as in that is when the lights go out) and then he's up at 7. He may wake a few times in the night but he does sleep for a civilised amount of time.

They differ a lot. Our first was the worst and now she's grown up she still does not sleep much and has had insomnia. It makes her a very good City lawyer actually - that strength and stoicism and ability to do all nighters. Perhaps we could do a survey - none sleeping babies and income in their 20s!

Even my twins always need different hours of sleep. One as a baby and now always has needed an hour less a night than his non identical twin.

How we coped with the first child was I would breastfeed and go to bed at 10pm. Her father woudl hold her over his shoulder until mid night and then he would cmoe to bed. I'd feed her again and we'd just do it in turns throughout the night and at 8am last breastfeed and blessed relief at handing her over for the day to her daily nanny whilst we had the luxury of going to full time work and a bit of peace. I certainly think if mothers can go back to work very soon after birth full time it leads to a much more balanced and easier life for everyone.

Also none of the 9 cousins including my 5 children ever slept through the night even once in their first year and certainly not regularly until they were 3 or 4 years old.

Yes, I do think some babies just don't need as much sleep.

I didn't need much sleep as a baby, according to DM. I drove her to PND as she battled for three years to try and get me to sleep more. She does say that once I was past being a newborn, I wasn't awake and crying, just awake and wanted to play/roll around/watch quietly (so not sure why she was so desperate for me to sleep tbh as I would just play quietly in my cot if awake!)

My DS2 never napped for over 30 mins from birth and was a dreadful sleeper. He is 2.4 now and still wakes me once a night at least. He hasn't napped in the day since about 19m, unless on a long car journey or ill. I can cope now though as he is just happily awake. Birth til 12m or so was awful as he would be awake and screaming!

I think some children don't need as much as we expect. My 10yo sleeps around 10pm-6am. He could sleep in until 7.30 but he always gets up much earlier than that. If I'm up past 6 I find him reading on the couch in the living room.