Advice needed - low sleep needs?

[GParky]

Hi all,

I suspect my baby is low sleep needs. He is 6.5 months and until 5 months wouldn’t sleep in his cot, only chest/cot sleeping and contact naps. He can’t yet fall asleep independently but does connect cycles at night (max we get is 3.5hrs although he still wakes for 2 feeds which definitely aren’t necessary as he gets 35oz/24hr - we are currently starting the weaning off process).

He never wracks up more than 11-12hrs of sleep in total. 2.5-3hrs of naps (pretty consistent 30 mins, 2hrs, 30 mins) and 8-9hrs after feeds and a few wakings at night. He is SO energetic (we live in Spain and he spends 40 mins twice a day kicking in the sand/sea/pool). He constantly wants to be moving. He is very happy, never cries, hitting milestones and is growing well.

Could it be that he is low sleep needs? How do you cope with this when wake windows are still relatively short? Will sleep training give us more sleep at night if he is low sleep needs?

I sometimes think he is tired and could sleep more but we’ve tried and he just doesn’t go down.

Many thanks!

Our DS is also on the lower end of sleep needs getting 12-13 hours an average a day. However, he does pretty well through the night. Bedtime routine starts at 7pm (this includes nursing) and he’s usually asleep by 7.30 max 7.45. He does fall asleep by himself in his cot after story time. Then when we are going to bed we do another nursing session (he normally doesn’t wake for this unless his nappy needs changing) and then he sleeps through till 5ish. Sometimes it’s a little earlier sometimes a little later but we consistently get about 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep for ourselves. Once he’s finished nursing he will normally go back down till about 6.30.

He normally can manage 3 hours being awake and naps can very but are usually just under an hour each for the 1st two and then he has a cat nap around 5 for about 30 mins. If he doesn’t have his cat nap he can get overtired and then the night sleep does suffer and he wakes up more.

@GParky hey! A few months old but my baby is the same. She can fall asleep independently and we still don't have more than 12 hours sleep a day, unfortunately some babies just don't need as much sleep!

My baby is 6.5 now, how did you find sleep progressed for your little one?