7 1/2 Month Old Tired All the Time

Hi Amy,
From a developmental standpoint a lot of sleep is *very* important to newborns, toddlers and young children.

We *know* long naps and a full night's sleep is essential for normal brain development, and studies are *suggesting* babies who get more sleep are less likely to have ADHD later on.

As long as your baby's intake of food is enough over an average 24 hour period (and it sounds like it is, because you say his height and weight are good), I would go with it.

Good luck!
t

Hi~
when he wakes up from sleeping is he well rested at first or always sleepy? Does he snore (should not be noisy after 6 months? - http://www.parenting.com/article/Pregnancy/Health/Ask-Dr-...) Has he always been sleepy reason i ask is because being born 6 weeks early means his lung function is not as mature. Are all meal time “sleepy” or just certain times of day?

You may want to talk to your pediatrician about your concerns.

Good luck!

I would mention it to your Pediatrician and make sure that he doesn't have something else wrong.........is he cutting teeth? Sometimes that is an issue with being tired, but cranky usually goes with that.
You know your son better than anyone else, so if you are concerned, get him an appointment.
He could be bored I guess, try to introduce new toys to him or something to catch his attention.
Good luck and hang in there. Get him checked and be safe rather than sorry.

My daughter had an ear infection at this age that I totally missed. If these things that you have noticed are strange I would call the Ped. When did he start to seem "tired?" Always go with your gut!

My son was 2 months premature and he did a lot of sleeping for the first 2-3 mos and then did the opposite! I could only get him to take one nap a day at that age. I would check with your ped. Maybe his iron level needs to be checked, we had to supplement for a while. Also is he on a schedule? I know not everyone believes in that, but my son's naptime was always the same every day no matter what. His bedtime was also always the same as well. We always did a bedtime routine before naps and bedtime so he could wind down and knew it was time to sleep (books, brush teeth, a little snuggle). Hope that helps. good luck:)

N.

he might be trying to tell you he doesnt want to eat the solid food, and thats ok.

my sister was a HUGE sleeper. me not so much. my sister is now going to be 25 this summer and she still needs at LEAST 12 hrs of sleep every night in order to function. if she doesnt get it, shes not going to feel right. dont let the good old "8 hrs of sleep" rule make you try to worry if someone sleeps more or less. fact is we should all sleep the amount of time it takes us to feel good when we wake up. at the same time, morning sunshine or light is important to feeling like waking up :P

so i would say that he just requires more sleep than the average kid, and therse nothing wrong with that. DONT try to keep him up, that makes it harder to fall asleep later, and i cant believe you arent saying how cranky he is :P
rearrange your schedule, let him go to sleep when he needs to, then he can really grow and as he grows his sleep needs might change a little. make sure he goes to bed early enough at night, make sure he doesnt have to get up at the crack of dawn (but make sure he feels energetic when he wakes up) and let him have a nap or more.

you can take him in to the doctor and make sure there are no medical issues, vitamin deficiencies and whatnot. but im going to say that hes still under a year old, his primary source of nutrition is breastmilk or formula, not solids, and sleep is something you need to let him get no matter how much it is and how long he sleeps. sleep is important for growth, so when they grow its going to seem like they eat and eat and eat and wake up a lot, then all of a sudden they sleep forEVER and presto, they are bigger :P its really funny!

so relax, im sure hes just normal for his own needs. :)

I can chime in on the thumb sucking after every bite. My daughter did this at about this age too. She was sucking her fingers to help her swallow the food. Babies this age still don't know how to get things down especially if it is thicker consistency. He will grow out of this once he learns to get the food down his throat on his own. Let him suck his thumb though.