Let Sleeping Babes lie?

February 23, 2006 9:40 PM

How much sleep is too much sleep for a 13 month old baby?

My daughter's been sick for about a week and a half, though she seemed to be on the mend, until today. She ran a fever (off and on that responded well to tylenol), had a runny nose, and was pretty lethargic from Saturday to Wednesday of last week. After the fever left, she started coughing. No problem, she had a cold and that's what's supposed to happen. After a few days of recovery, today, she's back to her old lethargy. For example: She woke up at 7:00 AM (went to bed last night at 8:00 PM), napped from 10:20 to 12:20 and 1:20 to 2:00 at day care. When I picked her up at 2:00 she was still sleeping. She went back down at 4:00 and is still sleeping as of 9:30.

How worried should I be? Is she just exhausted, or could something else be going on? Should I wake her? We do have a doctor appointment in the morning, but I feel helpless and talking about it has already helped.

posted by smithmac_99 to health (9 comments total)

She's probably still recovering from her illness. It's pretty rare for children of that age, or really any age, to sleep too much. If she's tired enough to sleep, let her sleep, as long as her daytime sleep isn't stopping her from sleeping at night.

The last thing I'd think you should do would be to wake her up. Her body obviously needs sleep, and if you wake her up you'll have a cranky, tired toddler on your hands.
posted by cerebus19 at 9:51 PM on February 23, 2006

Consider yourself lucky and let the little one sleep as long as she pleases.

Gone are the days when my son, now 4, slept the majority of the day. His sister never did.

We used to put him to bed at 8:00 PM, feed him in the crib at 6:00 AM, he'd wake again at 10:00 AM ready for another meal and the bulk of his day.

This involved playing with daddy for four hours or so, and then a nap from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM or so. A couple more meals, and the next thing we knew it was 8:00 again.

Not a bad way to ease into daddiness.

No doubt, he was on the easy side, but the moral is clear; let the kid sleep. You'll end up with a happier kid and a happier pap.
posted by SlyBevel at 11:00 PM on February 23, 2006

My 1-year-old just got over 4 days of high fever, followed by a post-fever rash. It's taken him a week to get back to normal. He was napping a lot and he's one of those 2 x 45 minute naps a day kids. I wouldn't worry. Just make sure she's getting nutrition. She may not want to eat as much, but do try to get milk and water into her and keep offering food without forcing it.

You may anticipate that her sleep schedule will be off for a while.

Also, since she's in daycare, she may not have as much quiet time as she would at home. The excitement of the other kids might cause her to play harder in the morning while she's ill. So that might explain the afternoon crash. Maybe ask the daycare provider to encourage a morning nap for the next while.
posted by acoutu at 11:04 PM on February 23, 2006

Oh, I forgot to mention...the boy had RSV at somewhere around 13-15 months. He was already sleeping so much that he pretty much kept his regular sleep schedule, but with mom and dad hovering over him with a nebulizer.

We almost lost him once or twice, but he pulled through and he's a great kid.

Anyway, your kid won't starve in favor of sleep, and at that age, their little brains are developing so rapidly that it takes a lot of down time to get the job done. I always felt that lots of sleep was a good sign.

If she wants something, she'll wake up and let you know.
posted by SlyBevel at 11:11 PM on February 23, 2006

As a mom what you describe would worry me. Glad you are taking her to the doc....keep an eye on her meantime.
posted by konolia at 4:07 AM on February 24, 2006

Same thing happened to mine at about the same age.

If you can rouse her, doc told me it was nothing to worry about. She's four now and healthy as a horse.
posted by unixrat at 6:46 AM on February 24, 2006

19 hours a day while recovering doesn't seem out of line.
posted by Mitheral at 7:24 AM on February 24, 2006

UPDATE: The Dr. said she's basically fine. He wasn't concerned with the sleep and said she has a mild ear infection. Gave us antibiotics and said use them only if it gets worse. Thanks for the help everyone!
posted by smithmac_99 at 12:23 PM on February 24, 2006

She's exhausted. Let her sleep. My 9 yo did the same thing when he was about 15 mos. His big sister brought home a gastro bug from school, and he basically slept for four days (only waking up for food) after he stopped running from both ends. My daughter does the same thing -- she gets sick, she gets better, then she sleeps for a couple of days (and she's 14 now).

If she's at day care, she's probably getting a lot of stimulation -- even if she's not playing, there's more noise and excitement for her to absorb. That will be tiring, too.
posted by jlkr at 12:23 PM on February 24, 2006