Why does my baby have awake time in the middle of the night?

[haloflo]

DD is nearly 5 mo and isn't a great sleeper. She wakes 2-3 hourly at night but more and more she wakes up around 2/3 and stays awake for 1-2 hours. Mostly she is cheerful, sometimes whiny but never full on crying. I can't sleep next to a moving baby but am reluctant to move her into her own room (for now)

Anyone know why she does this? Does anyone else's baby do this? After the 1/2 hours she goes back to sleep usually til about 6/6.30. She goes to bed at 6/6.30 at night.

I know I need to work on naps but haven't been able to face the inevitable house arrest this will entail (its half an hour max in the pram at the moment)

My DD now aged 12 used to do this, however she was already in her own room. We used to go in the mornings and she would be slumped up against the cot bars where she had been sitting and finally given in and gone back to sleep. Us going in and trying to settle her made her worse as she thought it was play time. Like your DD she wasn't really upset just a bit whiney because she wanted to play.
Eventually aged 11 months we moved house and her room was then a box room rather than a huge bedroom. She slept through on the very first night. We decided she just felt more secure in a smaller room and was comforted enough to sleep right through.
Is the room you will eventually put DD in a smaller room? if so might it be worth giving her a go in it?

No the room size is pretty much the same although we are looking to move house in the next few months. I know her own room is defiantly worth a shot but worry I'll just be up and down the hall in the night as she is less likely to be cheerful on her own.

I won't know until I try though!