How much daytime sleep for a 4mo?

[TittyBojangles]

Ok, I know most people on here have the opposite problem, but I'm worried my DS is sleeping too much. He is 16wo and ebf.

I'll give you yesterdays sleep as an example...

Bed 7pm slept til 10.30pm (feed)
Slept til 3.30am (feed)
Slept til 7.30am (feed and up for the day).
9am nap for 45mins
11am nap for approx 2 hours
3pm nap for 45 mins
5pm nap for 45 mins
Bed 7pm

So that works out as 16hr45mins sleep in 24hrs. I know that babies sleep a lot, but I feel like I am spending his entire life putting him to bed (I just follow his tired cues not the clock). He is quick to settle at night after a feed and goes to bed great at 7pm, provided he's had enough sleep in the day.

I'm really trying to get the naps to be less often and for longer, but he just gets so grumpy when he's been up for an hour and a half ish - only half an hour or so sometimes.

So, is this too much sleep? I know the answer really I guess. I'm just :( that he spends so much of the day being grumpy cos he's tired, even though he's had so much sleep.

Thanks for reading this far. :)

I don't think it's too much sleep. As the proud owner of a baby that seemed to spend more time asleep than the family cat, the pattern you've got above sounds very familiar. He eventually whittled it down to 2 hours in the morning, 2 in the afternoon and about 10 at night. 10 years on and he managed a good 2 hours on a recent car journey this weekend. Found mucking around with sleeping patterns turned a fairly pleasant baby into a furious red-faced gargoyle.... so didn't bother. Suggest you continue to go with the flow and try not to worry too much. :)

:) thanks Chil. Feel a bit like I'm being lazy by spending hours each day MNing not entertaining him, but when I try to keep him up longer and play/sing/dance/pull my own hair out he just gets cranky and miserable.

It all changes fairly quickly, unfortunately :) I found my DS, same age, completely and utterly boring if I'm honest. The HV would come round in the early days and I'd be painting my toenails, varnishing kitchen cupboards or doing something else trivial whilst old Rip Van Winkle was sparko again in his pram on the patio. I don't think she saw him with his eyes open - few did!

Enjoy the rest whilst you can.

Are you out of your mind???! Enjoy it. You are blessed. Paint your nails, read a novel. I don't even have time to shave my legs or go for a wee when I want. My DS sleeps for 20 mins, 3 times a day, on me, up most of the evening and then again for an hour in the middle of the night.

Oh I know I am lucky in that I have a lot of time to do stuff during the day, I do realise that. But on the otherhand I worry that I'm doing something wrong (but don't we all). Sorry Narmada, it must be really annoying when you have a non-napper reading posts like mine. Oh, and I still don't shave my legs

I really wouldn't worry - at the age your baby is, you would expect her to wake if she was hungry and presumably she is putting on weight nicely.

My toddler DD at around 15 months was averaging around 15 hours' sleep in 24 hours, split between night-time and naps. So your baby's only doing a couple more hours than that and she's smaller. I think you really are just blessed to have a chilled out little one.

Actually, I don't shave my legs even when I do have the time.....

So sorry, HIM! Duh.

His feeding is fine, quick, but fine. He's following 75th centile. Usually every 2 1/2 to 3 hours ish, a couple of longer stints at night, usually feeds 7 or 8 times in 24 hours.

I think it might be genetic, both me and DH could sleep for England so he must just have got the 'sleepy' gene. It's a shame for visitors though as he keeps having to go off for a nap and they hardly get to see him! I shall have to start showing them my legs for a bit of entertainment

Hi
just had to post as I have the same dilemma! Don't want to call it a problem as know others have babies who hardly sleep so don't want to be any more annoying as I also have a baby who sleeps LOADS!
He's 19wks this week and is almost sleeping through. Goes to be at 7 and usually straight off to sleep. Wakes a couple of times early hours usually due to wind but settles off again. Has started waking about 7am to feed then wants to sleep again! I get him up about 9/10 depending on what we are doing in the day. Sometimes he fits another nap in after 2nd feed of the day! He has an afternoon nap
of about 2hrs and I mainly have to wake him. He seems generally ok but gets grumpy if not allowed to sleep as long as he wants.
He had bad colic for quite a few weeks and little sleep then so maybe he's just making up for it!? I know I shouldn't worry but I do! Ive had him to the docs as I thought he had an ear infection but everything was fine so think he must be teething, this doesn't usually equal extra sleep though does it? He is very active when awake so maybe he burns off more than normal? How active is your baby OP?

Yes my DS is pretty active, but I don't know how active they are at this stage iykwim. He has been good at lifting his head up for weeks and weeks now, and can roll (sometimes) and he's always kicking. I do have a friend who's baby seems to just lie still all the time

I'd never really thought about it like that. He has been so much happier recently since I've just given in to his desire to sleep... he slept through 'bounce and rhyme' this morning

It was a friend who mentioned to me about the being more active thing! She said she knows people who's babies just lie still or move very little...does that mean they sleep less!? My DS is active inthe same way yours is, pretty much always kicking legs&waving arms. He rolls and lifts his head loads too but that's probably normal for his age. He is active in his cot at night, esp from around 3am so I reckon as his sleep is disturbed he might be making up for it with all these naps!
It's kind of nice in one way as you get extra time to do stuff but I'd like him to be less sleepy so I can spend time with him! He wouldn't sleep through a class but whinges cos he's tired if we go somewhere and I've woken him!
Just got to go with it I guess.

Yorkie1 - I have a very similar sitch with my DS (12 weeks). He is very alert and intense when awake, cooing/mimicking/interacting but he really struggles to go more than 90 minutes before needing sleep.
He too had very disturbed sleep from birth til about 8.5 weeks, wind, writhing, panting....I always had the impression he WANTED to sleep but was just disturbed by digestive issues constantly. As he's got more robust and especially after 10 weeks they have lessened (although not disappeared) and he seems to be making up for it...
My big quandry is how long to let the naps go on...I do wake him if his 9am-ish one goes on for more than 90 mins and his lunchtime one goes on for more than 2.5 hours but he is often very unhappy about this and I feel dreadful.....I just can't see that he will continue to go down at 7pm if he sleeps ALL day....OP and Yorkie1, do you wake your LOs?

Are you nuts? Open GF and look at her routines. Your baby is doing the ideal routine naturally! Most people would give their right arm for a day like that. Please find something else to worry about!!!

Cheers for that honeymoo, very helpful.

I didn't mean that to come across quite so bluntly, but I was trying to say that I can't see the problem myself! I spend each and every day desperately trying to get an overtired child to sleep for maybe 20 minutes max each time. It is exhausting for both of us. I don't think you have an issue - most babies can't go for longer than 1.5 hours before needing a nap and I'm pretty sure that the amount of sleep is about right, particularly if he is settling well. I would count your blessings!