Sleepy 5 Month Old, How Much Sleep Is Too Much?

Your son actually sounds A LOT like my first son. My son was about the same size and very, very active. He actually started crawling and pulling up at about 5 1/2 months old. And like your's slept about 17-18 hrs a day. I was concerned and so asked our pediatrician about it. He told me not to worry because a.) all babies are different b.) he was active and so he needed the sleep c.) he developmentally ahead or on track in all areas and d.) he said that sleep patterns tend to run in a family, like it's genetic. My dr. told me to find out if either my husband or I were "sleepers" as babies and that would answer it. I slept a lot as a child (and still do). So I stopped worrying about and he has turend out as a normal healthy kid.
I just now wish my 6 month old son would sleep like his brother. I can only get about 10:30-7:30 for him and about 3 thirty minute naps during the day. Ugghhh! But you know what...he's developing fine as well with his "lack" of sleep. Go figure!

Baby center is my favorite site for getting answers like yours.

If you are worried ask the doc but chances are it's just a growth spurt and his body is working hard to push teeth through gums.

http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-much-sleep-does-your-chil...

Hmm. Do you do active play with him while he is awake like pumping his legs as if he were on a bicycle and playing pattycake and such? Is he surrounded by color and dangling bling? If he has all sorts of stimulus around him yet still very drowsy I would definitely say something to the doc. do you take him out in the fresh air for walks? A stimulated child usually likes to stay awake, if he's fighting staying awake and just dropping off for no reason at all that is definitely something I would log and tell the doc about.

As long as he is active while he is awake, I wouldn't worry. I remember being really blown away by how much babies slept - they sleep all day it seems. I remember my son would get tired after being awake for only 1.5-2 hours (only 1 hour if it was during the night or first thing in the morning). He usually took one looooong nap during the late morning/afternoon lasting between 3 and 4 hours. He, like your son, was very active and so I didn't worry.

As your son gets older the time between his naps will get longer. I also tracked my son's sleep incessantly and guess what...no patterns ever emerged - it eased my mind at the time, but was never really very helpful. I was so glad the day that I decided to put the notebook down (almost as glad as the day that I decided to shelve my breast pump and just go with the flow so to speak).

Hi, I would not worry. I thought the same thing about my daughter too, and my doctor said that some kids really do need more sleep. (I was kind of freaked out bc my hubby has sleep apnea, and I was worried that she might have it too and when she was sleeping, she wasn't getting enough oxygen, but it turns out I was just worrying too much).

My daughter would sleep 11-12 hours a night, and then she took a morning nap, and an afternoon nap each one lasting at least two hours if not three. She was hardly up for 2 hours before she would get tired again. Her afternoon nap was from 4-6 and she would be in bed again for the night at 730. It sounds like your son is doing the same thing. I think at that age, they are growing at a rapid rate, and digesting their food, and teething also tires them out as well... therefore needing more sleep. To be honest I found it hard to leave the house because I couldn't be gone more than

Also, if my daughter had a stimulating day for example seeing lots of visitors or having a playdate or at a party, she would sleep even more.

Right now she is 20 months, sleeps 12 hours at night, and takes a midday nap lasting a minimum of 3 hours but often times 4 hours.

Also when my husband had his sleep study done years ago, his doctor told him that some people are just long sleepers and some are short sleepers. The amount of sleep that we need is personal to each person and not something we can control. I think you're probably fine! :) Best of luck!

It does sound like a lot of sleep, however...if he is teething he probably needs it. Most kids are cranky when they don't feel well and when they sleep is when their bodies heal the best. Teething is hard work, so I would assume that is why he is sleeping more.
Also, as a mother of 3 (!), my first son slept a TON and napped until he was 5 1/2 and my second slept almost 2 hours less than my first and dropped his nap when he was 2. Different kids, different patterns!
L.

When my daugther was that age I thought she slept a lot too. She would go down at 8:30 and get up around 6. (sometimes sleeping through the night, sometimes not). I noticed signs of her being tired an hour later and she would go down by 8:30 and sleep until usually 11. Then go back down around 2 and sleep until 4:30. My older one was never like that. Her pediatrician just said that some kids need more sleep. I think she honestly kept this schedule until she was about 11 months old then started dropping her morning nap. Now she is 19 months and sleeps 1.5 hrs for nap and 12 hours at night.

I think he sounds fine. My 2 1/2 year old sleeps 15 hours a day. Some kids just require more sleep, especially around growth spurts.