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How To Tell If You Have a High Sleep Needs Baby or a Low Sleep Needs Baby

How to know if you have a high or low sleep needs baby.

Last day of this sleep week.  I hope it has been helpful.  Today we have one last post.  Have you heard people talk about their babies being high sleep need?  Or low sleep needs?  This is a thing actually.  Just like grown-ups, some babies need more sleep than others.  So if your friend’s baby takes long naps and sleeps for twelve hours a night while yours seems to get by on a lot less, don’t stress.  It is possible your babies have different sleep needs.

How to know if your baby has high or low sleep needs. #sleep #needs #baby #babywise Team-Cartwright.com

My kids are all on the high end of sleep needs.  Ben is almost five and still falls asleep during his quite time a lot of days.  And Ali and Sammy nap for two and a half hours every day before going to bed for 12 hours each night.  (Don’t hate me if you have a low sleep needs baby.)  It is nice, but the downside is all three of my kids held onto their morning nap until they were 18 months.  That’s a long time to have to be home every morning.

So how do you know if your baby is high or low sleep needs?  And how should you handle that? It can be a bit tricky if you have both types, but once you recognize the needs of your baby I think handling naps and night sleep will be a lot easier.  Emily from Journey of Parenthood has had both high and low sleep needs babies, so she knows what she is talking about.

She writes:

Sleep issues can be frustrating and it can be tempting to just say “I GIVE UP!” I’ve learned over my years of parenting that sometimes there are sleep struggles simply beyond our control. Enter in the high sleep needs vs low sleep needs baby.
When I think back to my first child as an infant I wish I’d known about high sleep needs and low sleep needs. I wish I’d been able to tell myself that Kye wasn’t sleeping because his body simply didn’t need the sleep.
Both types of sleep needs children still NEED sleep, but high sleep needs babies tend to be on the higher end of the sleep spectrum whereas low sleep needs one tend to be on the lower end of that sleep spectrum. Babywise even accounts for this as it provides a range of what is an appropriate amount of sleep at a given age.
I took me until my THIRD child to FINALLY realize and recognize the differences between a high sleep needs and low sleep needs baby. Having that knowledge has made a WORLD of difference.”
How to know if your baby has high or low sleep needs. #baby #sleep #babywise Team-Cartwright.com
Check out her post to learn more: How To Tell If You Have a High Sleep Needs or a Low Sleep Needs Baby.

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Toni

Tuesday 17th of July 2018

I'm a low sleep person and that's pretty fortunate since all of my kids rarely sleep. It's pretty hard for my other half since he has heavy sleep needs (lucky guy!).

kimcartwright

Tuesday 17th of July 2018

It is good when your sleep needs line up with your kids, especially if your child is low sleep needs. It's tough to be a high sleep needs parent with a low sleep needs baby!

Jasmine Hewitt

Monday 16th of July 2018

my son has always flip-flopped around with his sleep

kimcartwright

Monday 16th of July 2018

That makes it tough. You have to be flexible with the season you are in.

Laura

Monday 16th of July 2018

I am definitely reading more about this. My 4 year old still doesn't really sleep through! I think both my girls may have been high needs!!

kimcartwright

Monday 16th of July 2018

Having both high and sleep needs kids is a balance for sure.

Krystal Miller

Sunday 15th of July 2018

None of my babies seemed to need much sleep. My son, now 9, actually sleeps less at night that I do.

J. Ivy Boyter

Saturday 14th of July 2018

Both of mine needed lots of sleep and were 12 hour a night sleepers. And then they'd nap mid day. Our pediatrician was always happy that the babies were getting the recommended amount of sleep for their ages. I sure wished it would have helped with their crankiness ... I just have high need babies in general LOL.

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