Hello Ladies,
I have a six month old daughter and she is my first born. I have noticed since the day that she was born that she has been a very alert baby who rarely seems to sleep. Since she was newborn she would stay awake all day and would fall asleep no later than 8 o' clock in the evening and would wake to be fed almost every couple of hours like most newborns do.
I am concerned about her sleeping patterns and why she does not tend to take naps during the day and she still wakes at least once during the middle of the night. Another thing that I have noticed is that she startles easily. When this happens she spreads out her arms and legs and sort of gasps, but does not begin to cry. It is slowly decreasing as she gets older, but none the less continues to happen occasionally. This also leads to another concern that I truely believe she has nightmares and that could be a reason why she is not able to sleep. At times she will wake up crying so hard that I am thinking something hurt her and she still is asleep!
I have not consulted my doctor yet but do plan on mentioning this at her 6 month appointment that is coming up. I thought that I would see if any other mothers have experienced the same thing with their children. I also would like to mention that she has not experienced anything traumatizing including while in the womb. Our home environment is always calm and I have asked my Aunt to come over during the week to watch her while I am away at work, plus I go home to see her at lunch so I know that she is always safe and sound. I just don't understand how a child since birth exerience nightmares and sleeplessness at such a young innocent age. Any suggestions?
Thank you all that submitted their feed back regarding my daughter's sleep habits. I really appreciate it. All of your responses were great! I am going to consult my daughter's pediatrician to be on the safe side regarding her easy startling habits, but please know that your advice was beneficial and I am now aware of what changes need to be made. Thank you again!!!!
My daughter is almost 15months old, and she went thru the same thing....'bout drove me insane! Once she was eating solid foods and no formula, it was like majic.....nap! then after a few months she started sleeping thru the night. occasionally she will wake up at night....but now shes pretty much a decent sleeper. I thought she was NEVER gonna sleep!
Infants her age should be sleeping a total of 14 hours (or so) each day. If she's not getting that kind of sleep it could be several things. Possibly, its dietary. Either what she's eating or drinking may not be settling well on her tummy, or it's not lasting long enough for her. I would definately talk to my doctor about it though, because lack of adequate rest can lead to developmental problems. Best of luck!
I'd like to recommend a great book. Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth. It's a very good book on children's (and adults) sleep in general and why it is so important. And it tells how to help your children sleep.
Good luck to you!
Kaci
The startle reflex you mention is completely normal for a baby her age. The doctor will even check to see that she does it to make sure she is developing normally. She will outgrow it eventually. Most of what you say is just normal baby behavior. Remember at her age, she can only cry to communicate. Also, a baby knows if mom is nearby. Does your baby sleep in her own room? How long does it take for you to respond to her? If you are feeding her formula instead of nursing, she will not need to feed as often and will sleep in longer streches than breast fed babies (my daughter breast fed and slept in 2 hour segments, while my son had formula and slept in more "grown up" pattern from the beginning. Just be aware of her total hours of sleep. She should be getting 13-14 hours total a day.
A.
Hello. When my youngest daughter was a baby....She NEVER slept. She would wake me up about 2am and no matter how much we walked, rocked, or was fed (bottle), she would not go back to sleep. I found myself tired while she was WIDE awake and very alert. I myself did not understand it until years later when I found her to be VERY inquisitive. Very alert and aware. She is in the 1st grade and reading on a 3rd grade level. Your baby is ready to learn more. There is nothing wrong with her but now is the perfect time to introduce her to more...such as reading, music, anything that will feed her motor skills, and her intellect. My daughter is only 6 and sometimes I think she has more sense than my 14 year old. Just start developing a relationship/bond with your baby and teach her. You will see the great benefit. My daughter calls me her queen. I went thru sleepless nights with her so I turned it around and played while teaching her and I understand what type of child she is.
Just ready to learn.
A.,
I have experienced the startling and the nightmares with my baby too. He is 4 months old, this started when he was about 3 months. He will start screaming and crying in his sleep and I have to try to wake him from it. There have been times where I have a hard time getting him out of it. Our home enviornment is also very quiet and calm. It is only my husband and I. I know he is well taken care of. I have no idea why this happens but I do understand your concern. I don't know...
Hello A.,
My name is T.. My son is 9 months old. He went thru the same thing. I would not worry. He grew out of it. A week ago. It's been a long nine months. I am not sure why babies wake like this, but it will pass. It's a phase. I think they are waking and realizing that Mom and Dad are not in their room at night, and it scares them. I wouldn't worry. But be sure to mention it to your Doctor just to be sure.
1st. That thing she does with the startle is called the startling reflex. It is normal. My son did it alot, but my 6 month old doesnt do it much.
2nd. As long as her sleeping time totals about 12-14 hours she is ok. My daughter, the 12yo, stopped taking naps totally by 9 months. She slept 12 hours a night. Every baby is different.it doesnt matter if it is uninterupted sleep, just add up her sleep time for a few days. My son woke up every 4 hours until he was about 6 months old, then every 6-7 hours until he was about 1 1/2. My 2 daughters slept through the night by about 2 months old.
lastly, about the nightmare thing- It is also normal. A lot of babies wake up sometimes screeming. It could be gas pains, or something.
I would mention it to the dr. too. I had to get a doctors note for my daughter when she started going to preschool because they expected her to lie there in the dark during nap time for 2 hours. She got in lots of trouble because a 3 year old can not do that. They finally let her go play with the older kids during nap time.
sorry this is so "messy" I am typing one handed. (popcicle):)
good luck, i am sure she is fine. If she is happy and growing then she is probobly ok.
are you breastfeeding or bottle feeding? if breastfeeding do you drink a lot of caffeen? that is the onlything I can think of off hand. definately talk to the pedi about it though
the startling reflex is very normal and as was said the doctor will check to make sure that reflex is there, as for the night tremors at her age is very common, and as for sleeping... ask your doc about it, but all the advice has been good, 12-14 hours a day is reccomended. Anything less should be talked about with peds doc :D good luck.
Hi,
I just wanted to say that I agree with a lot of what everyone else has said. My son is 2 yr 4 months and only sleeps thru the night 3-4 times a week. His sleeping is much improved. When he was 4 months onld I called the doctor because he had been awake from 6 pm until 2 pm the next day. They only thing they told me is to make sure I have plenty of help so that I don't shake him. (I did get a new pedi). But they didn't think that was abnormal. At that age he never slept 12-14 hrs a day. 8-9 if I was lucky. I did discover that some of it was not enough stimulus. He is very smart and very inquisitive and I don't think I was tiring him out enough. Once he started crawling and could wear himself out he got alot better and then even better when he started walking. The other side of it is for him no to be too tired. He can't sleep when he gets over tired and then things just get bad. I had to learn his tired cues (like flicking his ear and turning his head back and forth or rubbing his hands on something). When I could catch him and put him to sleep before he past the point of no return, life was much better. I didn't get much help from doctors or books, just trial and error.
My son still cries and kicks in his sleep like something is after him, it scares me too, I have no idea why and feel bad about it sometimes. I just say it is ok I am right here and he quiets down. He usually doesn't even wake up all the way. Well I hope you figure things out. Good luck I wish you some good sleep soon :)
Some babies just don't sleep a lot. My son was super alert. He wasn't cranky or colicky or anything. He was just awake. I was the same way. My mom said she cried at my 6 month checkup and said "why doesn't she sleep? She is awake ALL the time!", The docter told her some babies are just like that. Ask your docter about it, but don't worry I'm sure she's normal just super alert.
Hi A.!
My daughter who is now 8 yrs old slept very similar to your daughter. My mother in law happens to be a RN and I asked her why isn't she sleeping during the day. Her response was simple some babies are just like that. Eventually she developed "normal" sleeping patterns for a baby.Your daughter knows when she's tired and will go to sleep. As for the startling all babies get startled. So as long as she's getting around 14-15 hours of sleep I wouldn't worry. She should outgrow the fact that she startles easily. Hope it helps.
T.
