Partying in her crib every night...is this normal??

[Judegirl]

Is it typical for infants to lie in their cribs and just babble and screech and roll around and holler happily for HOURS at bedtime? She's been awake for three 1/2 hours already...we started her bedtime routine as soon as she got tired, she fell asleep briefly while taking her bottle, but then she woke up and she's been excitedly thumping her legs, thrashing about, and making a generally pleased-with-herself ruckus ever since.

Why is my daughter so wired? I'm grateful that she's happy and pleasant....but she seems too young to be hyperactive already. I'm getting concerned...does anyone else's 5-month old act like this? (She's been doing it for a few months, though.)

Thanks yet again,
Jude

P.S. Even if it weren't bedtime, it'd certainly be nap time by now, so the time shouldn't be an issue...one way or another, this baby oughtta be SLEEPY.

[bluej]

LOL! Ryden has never slept through the night. Instead he wakes anywhere from 2-5 times. He doesn't cry (unless he's teething), he may fuss some, but for the most part he just talks to himself and plays with whatever he has managed to get into the crib before I tucked him in. This is nothing new, it has gone on forever. The longest he's stayed awake (that I'm aware of) was about an hour and a half. Usually it's just ten to twenty minutes before he nods off again. So I have to say I'm impressed with 3 1/2 hours of self-entertainment! As long as she doesn't seem bothered by it, I guess I wouldn't worry.

I will say that Ryden is my most active and the only one of my kids who does this wakes-several-times-throughout-the-night-to-play business. I hope this is just a sign of activeness and not hyperactiveness!

[mudder17]

DD does this too, although maybe not for 3.5 hours! But two nights ago, after her middle of the night feeding (usually around 2 a.m.), she lay awake entertaining herself for at least 1.5 hours (that I know of). She was just fine and happy when she awoke, although she did sleep in a little longer than usual. :)

My theory is that some babies just enjoy the world around them too much to sleep. As long as they're happy, though, I don't think there's anything we could do about it (or want to do about it).

Other than the whole sleep thing, she's active but not hyperactive, KWIM?

Eileen

Mother of Beautiful Kaya
http://www.babysfirstsite.org/newtickers/ticker/16994.birthday.png

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_garnet_6m.gif Breastfed 6 months and counting

[Jen in Chicago]

Jude has done this for a while. Last night 1/2 hour past when he went to his crib (he walked there himself!) he was singing and laughing. I would love to see what he is doing to crack himself up! I sit outside his room and enjoy the happy noises. We had a year of poor sleep (on and off), and now he wants to go to his crib and will entertain himself.