May 2013 Moms

LO always seems tired...

I am starting to get more concerned about how tired our LO always seems, it seems we are always chasing naps.  I was blaming it on his inconsistent sleep patterns at night, but we did sleep training this past weekend, which he took to like a champ and he has been sleeping in his crib for 11 hours or so a night but he still always seems tired.

here is his current sleep schedule

awake around 7am
nap from 10:am to 11am at Daycare (when he is home with me on the weekends, I can barely get him to make it until 9am for a nap)
nap from 2:00 - 3:30pm (sometimes 4pm)
Bedtime between 7:30-8pm, he goes right down no problem
one MOTN feeding between 1am and 2am which he goes right back to sleep after

So once he is up for the morning, that is when he is the most alert, awake and happy, but after about 90 minutes he starts giving sleepy cues, like rubbing his eyes, getting fussy, burying his face in my shoulder.

as the day progresses he seems crankier and crankier, even after the naps. during the week, by the time I get home from work it seems like a battle to keep him up until his bedtime, by 7pm he is usually pretty much done and we have to keep changing activities to stimulate him.  We tried the earlier bedtime and it just led to him being awake for the day at 4:30am and still tired and fussy during the day.

what am I doing wrong?
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Re: LO always seems tired...

  • Maybe your LO is going through a growth spurt. They have one around 6 months I believe. If it persists for longer than you feel it should call your doc.
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  • I do not think it is a growth spurt, since it has been going on for months, I always thought it was tied to his constant waking at night to eat, be soothed, etc. (we had a rough schedule)

    I figured once the sleeping at night got under control it would improve, but it isnt :(
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  • My LO only stays up for an hour and a half at the max throughout the day. But he's waking up quite a bit still through out the night so I didn't think anything of it. He takes probably four naps ranging from half hour to an hour and a half. When I chart his sleep it shows him sleeping 14 hours a day on average. Which it seems like your LO is doing also, so for me that's normal.
  • I'm sorry, I would call your doc to make sure something isn't going on.

    Maybe your baby just needs more sleep unlike my baby who seems to require no sleep.
  • 14 hours per day is the norm for this age I believe.
  • Cgoode517Cgoode517 member
    edited November 2013
    My LO went through a time where he always seemed tired. I thought it was probably a growth spurt and since he's not as tired anymore I think that was probably right. He is usually ready for a nap about an hour after he wakes up in the morning and sleeps for 1-2 hours then which is his longest nap of the day. He still has 2 naps after that (one for about an hour and one for 30 minutes). He's ready for a nap between 2-3 hours after waking up from a nap. Your LO's schedule is similar to mine. The only thing I can suggest is maybe trying to make his morning nap a little earlier. This seemed to make a big difference for my LO. I've heard several others on here mention that their LO's are pretty tired after daycare so maybe he's still adjusting.
  • He has been in daycare since August 1 so he should be well adjusted to that schedule.  Moving his first nap earlier isn't possible since he doesn't get there until 9:30am and he is usually jazzed up with the new surroundings when he first arrives so that is why he doesn't go down until around 10 or 10:30 compared to 9:30 with me on the weekends (when he doesn't have the change in scenery).

    I am a morning person too, so maybe he is taking after me.
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  • I think your baby is totally normal.   IMO, the issue is that his wakeful periods are too long. 

    Health Sleep Habits...is a great book for outlining how long babies are capable of staying awake. 

    Most babies around six months have only about 2-2.5 hours of wakefulness.  You can watch for signs of tiredeness...yawning, eye rubbing, and put them down at the first sign of fatigue.  Your baby's start at nine...so I would do something like:

    wake 7:00
    nap 9:00
    wake 10-12
    nap 12-2
    wake 2-4:30
    catnap 4:30 - 5
    bed 7:30


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  • That doesn't sound too crazy to me. Lexie does something similar, but just adjusted to wake up closer to 9 am and go to bed closer to 9 or 10 pm. She still takes at least 3 naps a day.
    She is here! 5-29-13

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  • G is the same way.  I get exhausted and frustrated by trying to get him to nap all the time, so I just try and put him down for 2 morning shorties and 1 good afternoon nap (I usually sleep with him) and keep him distracted the rest of the time so he's not fussing.  I'm hoping it's a phase because it's super annoying.
  • Sounds very similar to us right now. G was taking 3 naps until the time change, when his late afternoon nap turned into a super early bedtime, and a ridiculously early wakeup. Yesterday and today he's back to 3 naps, and tonight he's down early again.
  • I'd also say it sounds normal based on my experience with M and some of my friends' kids.  I also wonder if he's still catching up on overnight sleep.  If you sleep trained this past weekend (and hooray for taking to it quickly!), it might take a few more days before he's totally caught up.

    My instincts and research say it's less about exactly how much time they're asleep as that varies from person to person and is more about how they're behaving.  If he's got some good alert and happy times throughout the day, he's probably fine.  If you think that they're fewer and farther between than they ought to be, talk to your doctor and pursue it.
    Kim 

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  • I don't think you are doing anything wrong. I am fairly sure most of our babies are still in the "14-16 hours of sleep a day" range, so yours sounds like he's hitting that.

    A is closer to 5 months, and while she doesn't have as long a stretch at night as yours, she's down for at least a cat nap every 2-3 hours.
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