Author Topic: Does anyone else's 5/6 mo. old get tired of every activity very quickly?  (Read 3442 times)

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Offline jadeborn

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My LO will be six months in about a week, and he gets sick of EVERYTHING so fast.  He gets tired of my playing with him; he gets sick of his exersaucer; he won't play with toys while sitting for more than a few minutes without getting fussy.  Is this just an attention span problem that will take care of itself as he gets older, or is he just REALLY impatient?  He cries everytime I lay him down now too. . .though I'm not sure if this is related to A time or not. 

He is sleeping fine for naps and during the night.  He does get a little overtired during the day because he wont' take a third nap so I extend A time before the second one, but he gets sick of his toys quickly even after he has only been awake for a few minutes.  The only things that keep him happy are stroller and car rides, unless they are more than 45 minutes.

Please give me any ideas you can!

Offline skatty

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I had exactly the same at 5 months, it was so frustrating!! DD couldn't sit up without help but a few weeks later once she could sit unaided she would be so happy surrounded by her toys and could play independantly for ages. I found putting her in a high chair and giving her some spoons to play with while I washed up or prepared dinner would help me get things done. She is now 9 months and hasn't got the hang of crawling and its started all over again but we had a good 3 months of her being happy sitting with her toys and books  :)
Katt






Offline jadeborn

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Thanks so much to both of you!  It's such a relief to know that it will get better.  Seriously, he is just fussing, crying, and screaming all day!  I'm getting so sick of holding him and walking around the house!  I just know that once he finally masters sitting up he will be happier!

Offline skatty

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Could he be teething too? It sounds like a combination of teething and frustration. If it is the good thing is when he is sitting up he will amuse himself and take away some of the fussiness of teething. I found DD's inflatable play ring quite good as she could sit up in it with a cushion and this made her back stronger so she could sit independantly. It wont be long now and you will be able to sit and have a cup of tea and flick through a mag occassionally  ;)
Katt






Offline jadeborn

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I do think he may be teething as well, though I'm not sure because I don't really know what to look for.  He has been drooling like crazy and putting everything in his mouth since three months. 

He is even worse today.  He doesn't want to sit up with his Boppy or with my help to play with his toys.  He certainly doesn't want to lay down and play with his gym or anything either.  The exersaucer entertained him for a short time this morning, but then he started freaking out in it.  I walked him around the house all morning.  Thankfully he let me read him a few books too. . .  He was up late last night, so hopefully this is just him being a overtired today, and not the beginning of another really long week!  He was SO good yesterday too!

Offline skatty

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It sounds so much like my D, she has teethed almost constantly since 3 months and stil only has 2 teeth  ::) When the teething is bad all she wants to do is be picked up all day and everything frustrates her and all we get is meltdowns. One way to see if it is his teeth is to give him a single does of baby paracetomel, if his behaviour improves then you know it's the dreaded teeth  :P
« Last Edit: July 09, 2007, 17:14:50 pm by skatty »
Katt






Offline Erin M

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Could also be frustration from wanting to be more mobile than he is right now -- he could be getting ready to crawl or something like that.  It's probably just that he wants to be going places, but can't and it's frustrating to him.  Hang in there!

Offline jadeborn

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Where do I get this paracetomel stuff?  I've tried Baby Orajel. . .Don't know if it is working or not. . .

I don't think my DS is EVER going to learn to crawl.  He hates tummy time.  Every time I put him on his tummy he just flips right back over.  If anyone has any ideas about how to entice him to stay on his tummy for awhile, I'd love that.  So far toys in front of him don't help much.

I'm beginning to think that his not being able to sit is not the reason he is being so fussy with everything.  He doesn't seem to want to sit a lot of the time.  Maybe he really does want to be mobile.  He prefers standing (with my help of course) over anything else. . .but we are SO far away from walking. . .I don't know if I can take this for THAT long. . .but I guess I have to cause I'm his mom!

Really, thanks for all the support.  It helps to talk to y'all about this.

Offline Elvira

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A mixture of everything, but it is true that their attention span is limited at this age and they bore easily.  There,s plenty of toys for small babies, some educational and all that, but actually very few are of interest to them (rattles, if he is teething perhaps the sort he can bite on, I remember my daughter liked a mirror which was obviously paper, not breakable and also a small soft doll that she moved about, but she could sit up at that age already).  Nevertheless, they lose interest quickly.  Playing or talking to mommy may be more interesting for them, but each may like different things.  Talking to them, a single word or short sentence, then stop and see if he "answers you", because they do, and they like to see that you listen to them too.  Massaging their legs or arms or back, rolling them over (always slowly, with care), I did this things with my daughter lying on my bed, on top of the counterpane: it was not sleep time, but playtime.   I do not know what a boppy is, I used one of these seats that stay in the floor and are made of material, not hard and gave her something (which she dropped and mummy had to pick up five or six times...it does not last any longer).

They are all focused in the major tasks ahead: sitting, crawling, walking, talking....and normally are interested in how their body moves and in talking their own baby talk.  Teeth may be felt as little bumps in his gums, but there,s no telling how long they will take to cut (dribbling is something all babies do, because they do not know how to swallow, even if they are not teething).   There are rings that you can put in the fridge and are cool for him to chew on, cold helps the pain.

I realize that the problem is that you walk him around (tiring) so that means he is not happy just to be in your arms with you sitting down, for this problem I love rocker chairs, because they normally soothe them.  It may even be that he gets overtired, if he does not have a nap for a long time, and that he cannot go to sleep because of pain, which would mean a very frustrated baby!   In that case, anything that helps him sleep (and you to sit down!) would be a bonus, try rubbing the gum with something soft (plastic) and cool.  

Playing alone is something he will do (or not) further along the line, and he will need to touch base with you often (and your attention, that is the way it goes, even at five he will want mummy to see how well he runs, swims, etc).    But it gets better over time (save perhaps the time when they want you to walk hand in hand with them because they are learning and your lower back screams for relief ..when the time comes, a toy baby chair is something he will love to push and will save you a lot of pain).  

Offline jadeborn

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Thanks for the suggestions Elvira.  My back really is killing me.  He is in the 90th percentile for weight!  Unfortunately, he will not let me sit down and be happy in my lap.  The rocking chair is his least favorite place in th house, as it is the place we go to get ready for a nap, and he never WANTS to nap.  He is not overtired most of the time, though.  He takes at least two long naps every day and he has started sleeping through the night (10.5 to 11 hrs) recently. 

I don't think he is patient enough for the massaging, and I do talk to him all the time, but I think I will try giving him a teddy bear or something.  If you DS liked a doll maybe he would like that.  He has a couple of bears, but they are big and hard to manipulate so maybe I should find a smaller one. . .

Offline lizbrown2002

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I don't have any wonderful advice - I just wanted to write to say that I am TOTALLY in the same boat as you!!  My adorable, sweet, fun-loving (and non-rolling) five-month old is driving me NUTS!  All she does is make that whining noise all day.  We are entering Week 2, and today isn't looking too good.  But, after reading all the advice you got, it makes me feel better to know this is normal and they will soon grow out of it.  I just keep chanting "This too shall pass" when she's screaming!! 

Ugh - momma needs a drink!   :D

Offline jadeborn

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Sounds like we need a support group LizBrown!  I'll let you know when we finally get through it so you have an end date to look forward to. . .We are well past two weeks now!  We are having a better day today though.  He is still whiny, but I think he was overtired on top of everything yesterday so he was horrible!  I love the little darling, but he is the toughest baby on the planet, I swear. . .

Offline Elvira

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Your comment about your child not liking to be on his tummy gives me a clue.  Very likely, maintaining his head up and away from the floor or flat surface is still a big effort for him, and what he hates is his FACE on a flat surface.  So he is not ready to sit up alone (very normal, you,ll see a big difference at 7 months) or for crawling (even more normal, 8 months is just about the average for that).  And yet, even if his naps last 2 hours each, he,s only sleeping 15 hours a day and has 9 hours to fill...I really think he might be overtired, at least for 2/3 of these hours, but he hates to go to sleep in case he misses something exciting.

The important thing is to stimulate his curiosity, help him explore the world, and do it in a way that will not have you walking him around for hours.   You may have tried many of these activities, but I,ll suggest them anyway in case they help:

-Sitting with him in your knees, facing you.  Take him by the arms near the wrists and swing him low down your legs and up again to sitting position.  Sing along (we have a rhyme talking about sawing a log, in Spain, perhaps you have one there or you can invent one).  Same position, move your knees up and down, imitating a horse (and sing along something appropriate).  Move your hand around, in a rotating way, in front of his eyes and see if he will imitate you (we sing along five little wolves, the she-wolf had five little wolves, all hidden behind the broom.., in spanish).  Count the fingers in his hand, saying that this went shopping for eggs, this lit the fire, this fried the egg, this salted it and this naughty thumb ate it.  Or anything else you invent along those lines.  Pretend your fingers are a very small child climbing his arm, and tickling him under it.   Teach him to say good bye or blow kisses, with his hand, and show him your tongue; see if he imitates all or any of this things (sooner or later, if all this does not bore him, he will).   

Some of the above things can be done with him tied to his stroller chair or similar, something that supports him.  And there you can provide him with things to explore (not to eat, though at mealtimes you can do that as well): one apple, orange or pear...a piece of paper (big, but not printed and not too soft as he will put it in his mouth) to wrinkle and make a ball of it, try different textures, a cloth, a plastic cup, spoon, dish, keyring with keys, his rattles, that teddy bear you are going to buy, a rubber duck is also good (and good for bath time), a rubber or cloth ball (small but not too small, double the size of his mouth), anything that it,s not breakable, too big to handle or too small (he may choke) and never plastic bags or wrappings.  He will eventually drop everything, but he will have explored them.

On a big bed, or blanket on the floor, lying face up:  Take him by the wrists and pull him up to a sitting position.  Take him by the ankles and lift him until his head his clear, a smooth movement that does not put pressure in his neck at any time and then move him up and down a little, and in a rotating motion (this is called the aviator, most babies love it but some hate it).  Try smelling his feet and pretending they stink. Don't ask me why, but many babies love it and laugh.  Kiss his stomach, blow on it, pretend you are eating him alive.  Tickle him slightly.  They also love to be thrown up in the air with you standing up, but if he is heavy it is tiring for you and perhaps scary.

In any position, try peekaboo with him, they usually also love that.

I do not know if any of this will help....but I really feel for you, walking around the house with a cranky baby.  It will get easier, but the things I suggest are interaction with mom (not alone with a toy), exploring the world and exploring his own capabilities.  Do NOT expect him to crawl yet, it is far too early.  Do only what he enjoys, but try what he did not enjoy the following week, as they are developing very quickly at this age.  And good luck!

Offline Erin M

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paracetamol is British for Tylenol if you're in the US

Don't know if you've seen a Baby Safe Feeder, but they look like a pacifier with a mesh bag attached to it, they're supposed to be for putting soft foods into -- you can get them at Babies R Us or Target or really anywhere -- anyway, I put ice cubes into them which work really well for teething babies.


Offline jadeborn

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Erin,

Thanks for the Baby Safe Feeder suggestion.  I think my sister-in-law had one of those, but I handn't thought to use it for teething.  I'll have to try that.  I'll have to try the Tylenol too since the Orajel doesn't seem to help.

Elvira,

Thanks for all the playing suggestions.  Trust me, my LO gets TONS of mommy interaction time.  We have done almost everything you mentioned, but it doesn't hurt to add the things we haven't tried! 
I do appreciate your take on his sleeping as well.  He really isn't overtired, though.  I can tell when he hasn't had enough sleep.  Monday was awful because he went to bed late on Sunday night, but today wasn't so bad because I put him to bed a little earlier last night.  He wakes happy in the morning and he wakes happy from his naps, which tells me that he is getting enough rest.  I do think he begins to get a little overtired awhile before his second nap, and awhile before bedtime, but I know when he is being fussy because he is starting to get overtired versus fussing for other reasons.  Unfortunately, I have no choice but to allow him to become a little overtired those times during the day because he WILL NOT take a third nap, and if I put him to bed too early, he wakes up really really really early (and he is already an early riser), which makes for a really overtired LO the next day!  If you have any suggestions about how I can keep him from becoming overtired without adding a third nap, I would love to hear them. 
Also, don't worry, I don't expect him to crawl yet.  I'm not sure he will learn to crawl before he learns to walk!  I'm just excited that he is doing so well sitting up!  He sat by himself for a good ten minutes today without falling.  Now if only I could get him to stop trying to pick things up with his feet while in a sitting position. . .


Offline Elvira

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Jadeborn; but that is soooo cute! Trying to pick up things with his feet, I mean...yeah, I know he falls backwards but he is experimenting.  And he will crawl (even if in a sort of modified version) but maybe for a short time, my daughter did it for three months or so only.  She hated it.  I know you spend a lot of time with him, some of it walking him about.  Now you tell me you pick up his clues and know when he is fussing because of overtiredness, which is a very good thing (that you are so well tuned to him).

Still, nine hours wake time is a long time at his age.  I do know if he wont sleep, he wont (had a niece like that, but she also used to move her leg up and down when sitting in the strolling chair in lieu of any other physical activity...she is still an hyperactive young woman nowadays).   So, it will get better with age if he can handle better the "awake but calm time".   One cannot be playing or physically active for 9 hours, even later in life so imagine at 6 months.   He needs to entertain himself quietly, and it is no wonder that he gets bored after a time with that (since the number of quiet actitivites is limited at his age).  Some children will watch the world for quite a long time, but others cannot.  Besides which, he really may have teething pains.

I was sure some of the games I mentioned you know because they are pretty much universal (I,m in Spain) but I wanted to put some emphasis in quiet interaction, not tiring and interesting, at least for a while. Your other solution for those times is the stroller 45 minute walk (always less tiring than walking him about), and perhaps you could do it twice a day.  I feel sure that your boy will be better in a couple of months because of two things: he seems to be sleeping less than he needs but they need less with time, so that will be better adjusted and he will be better prepared for play time with words (their blablabla) and his own body, and will tire less.   At the moment, it does not seem like he is going to stay (whether sitting or lying down) quietly looking around for 20 minutes awake rest.... unless it is "in movement".  Patience and good luck to you. 

Offline jadeborn

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Thanks so much Elvira.  Your optimism is very helpful.  I think you're right.  I think things will get better in a few months.  What is the weather like in Spain this time of year?  Are you Spanish, then or just living there?  I studied Spanish in college for a little while, but I'm afraid I don't remember most of it. . .Maye you could help me brush up?  I'm in the U.S., BTW, Minneapolis MN.

Offline Elvira

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I am Spanish, and lived here most of my life but I also lived in the US (Boston) and in London.  Let,s see if you understand this: sí, estoy segura de que las cosas irán mejor pronto para ti y tu hijo.

This time of the year the weather is normally dry, sunny and terribly hot. But this particular year this winter has been mild, and so is the summer. Temperature about 28 degrees during the day, 19 in the night (84/72 Fahrenheit, more or less), with a dry breeze so it is very nice.

Where you live the winters are hard, so take the chance to push that stroller now! 

Offline jadeborn

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You said, "I am sure things will soon get better for you and your child" as a rough translation, right?

I would love to go to Spain someday!  The weather sounds nice right now.  Ours hasn't been bad the last few days, but we have had some scorchers this year.  It's not fair that we have to have such cold winters and hot summers too! 

What part of Spain are you in?

I should probably PM for this stuff so we don't keep this thread going, huh?!

Offline Elvira

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Yes, Jadeborn, since this has nothing to do with activities now!  I am in Madrid, though not born or raised here I,ve been living here for a long time.  Your rough translation is fine!  I know of the weather where you live, and we say that in the center of Spain (it is a plateau sorrounded by mountains, 600 meters on average over sea level) we have extreme climate too, harsh and long winters and very hot summers.  We say "nueve meses de invierno y tres de infierno".  But it is nothing, really, compared to American Midwest.  That is because your mountains are "the wrong way".... meaning all over the world they are placed parallel to the Equator and your two big chains are perpendicular to the Equator so the they not stop strong winds from the North Pole.   They are beautiful, though.  Perhaps one day you can come to Spain; because it is a large country (by european standards) it is very varied. Very green and rainy in the North, dry in the middle with long flat surfaces devoted to cereal (like lands in your Midwest) that all of a sudden are interrupted by a range of tall mountains, unexpectedly green,  green and fertile in the South.... and of course many of the cities and small towns are very old and very beautiful.    I enjoyed my stay in your country, and came back pennyless because all money we could spare went into travelling through it.  Nature is particularly beautiful everywhere I went,  but also a bit scary (it seems to me you have tremendous blizzards, the most spectacular electrical storms, hurricanes, tornadoes...no wonder you are faithful watchers of the weather predictions!)

Offline skatty

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I just wanted to add another suggestion! I just got an ergo carrier and my LO loves it and unlike other carriers you carry the weight on your shoulders and hips so is very comfy. You can wear your LO front or back and it's great for those little terrors that wont sleep more (like mine!) but gives some quiet time and keeps them interested  :)
Katt






Offline jadeborn

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An ergo carrier?  How much does you LO weigh?  I tried putting my DS in the Baby Bjorn yesterday and it appears he has outgrown it.  Does the ergo accomodate any size?

Thanks for the suggestion!

Offline We Three

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I had to join this discussion....my 7 mo old dd is my first...and I'm beginning to realize that I have been blessed with a very easy-tempered baby! (First 3 months notwithstanding...pure hell...reflux...so don't think we haven't paid our dues!!)  :)
 She loves her excersaucer, I can take a shower and even blow out my hair, if I stick my head out and chat with her often....
 Wanted to share that I just got her a toy at Babies r us...it's by V-tech, and it's called the Discovery Nursery Farm....she LOVES it, and when I mentioned it to a girlfriend, she said it saved her life, too! There are colored piano keys, a little wheel, and it sings songs like Old McDonald and such, with lights and animal sounds....I can't say enough about this thing! I felt gulity today that she was in her chair for so long, so I picked her up and she cried!!!!! She wanted to stay there!!
 Go get one!!  :)