Is My 7 Month Old Sleep Deprived???

Can you give us an idea on what she is actually sleeping?
At 7 mos it was so hard to actually give anyone an idea on what my dd was actually sleeping... at that point they are going through growth spurts and teething... things like new daycares or new foods can affect their sleeping habits as well.
But my dd was taking 2 naps during the day (half hour to 2 hours - it varied) then would go to bed at 7 pm and would wake several times a night to nurse (a couple times she was waking just to play - lol).

for months my son wouldnt sleep til 2am, wouldnt take naps without me and of course wouldn't sleep at night without me either! What a frustrating situation. Luckily I am looking BACK on it.
even if your child sleeps short nights if she's fine in the morning she did get enough sleep believe it or not. every child is different. you can't measure your child on a chart. one fact that might make you feel better is that a child that young absolutely does not have the ability to consciously wake themselves. so if she wakes up it's an outside force like noise, the lack of your smell/touch or just not being tired anymore!
another important fact: a child until about a year old or sometimes more has no sense of what isnt immediate. if they do not see you or smell you they simply cannot comprehend that you are coming back or are existing in another space somewhere else (like the next room). It was this little fact which not many people think about that made me completely against the ferber method of "crying it out".
if your child is shrieking at the top of their lungs to cause a negative reaction in you it's to get your attention and i dont think we would've evolved or god would've created this feeling in you when you hear your child cry for no reason except to do what is probably your instinct: to pick them up.
of course for some people if you absolutely must have a whole night's sleep to keep your sanity as a parent it might be worth the guilt but you are risking the possible trauma for the child (that of course can happen)
some children are very sensitive and i think you should go with the pace of your child. at least up to a certain age.
napping is super important though for you and your baby. definitly try the sling idea which works for so many mothers and/or just going for a walk with the stroller. we also just brought our stroller inside the house and would rock him or walk around and he would keep sleeping just fine when we stopped. eventually i got sick of having the stroller in my house and we started using a hammock for the rocking motion. there are some even nicer baby hammocks nowadays. at almost two he is still sleeping in the hammock since it's so cozy and familiar but luckily the rocking phase is over!
a 7 month old usually should be taking two naps, try to nap one of those with her if you can. or both would be even better at least til she has more of a schedule. when her body becomes used to the schedule she will of course want those naps more and you can try different ways of getting her asleep (motion etc.)
good luck!
P.S. there lungs don't need exercise, opening up or whatever "scientific" excuses people have made up to make it easier for them to let their children cry. like i said it obviously can be worth it but those reasons are not scientifically true. what we do know is how many chemicals and hormones are flooding the brain when a baby is crying and under stress and that flow is not normal and not healthy just as stress and anger is not healthy for an adult.

From what I've read between 12 and 15 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period is normal. My daughter has always stayed in that range. She began sleeping about 10 hours at night at about 5 months and would take one long nap in the afternoon.

Hi,
I also have a seven month old who takes two to three naps per day ranging from 40 minutes to an hour and a half (usually about a total of three hours a day). He was going to bed by 8 and sleeping until 7, but thanks to teething he now gets to bed closer to 9:30-10! At his 6 month appointment the pedi said he should be getting 12-15 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period. Honestly though, I think if she seems happy, you can assume she is rested enough. Hope this helps :)

Check out the sleeping chart at Babycenter http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-much-sleep-does-your-chil...
For a 7 month old, it says she should be getting 11 hrs at night and about 3 hrs during the day for naps (14hrs total per day).

I have been using this chart for my daughter who is now 9 months old. It's pretty right on for her. I usually just stick to a schedule. She usually takes 2 naps during the day (a morning nap around 10am and an afternoon nap around 2pm). Her naps have gradually gotten longer. They used to last only about 45 minutes, but now are lasting about 1.5 hrs. We just transition to 2 naps per day. Up until 8 months she was taking 3 naps. I usually put her down for her naps awake. She might fuss a bit, but she knows now what she is suppose to do. She eventually falls asleep. If she is being really fussy, I'll put a toy in her crib to keep her busy until she falls asleep. If I let her fall asleep on me first, she'll wake up when I put her in her crib and won't fall back asleep.

Now that my daughter is crawling, she has been getting really upset when I put her down for the night because she wants to play and be on the floor. I am not a huge fan of letting her get hysterical before bed, especially because she's never really given me a problem in the past. What I've been doing, that seems to be working is... when she is pretty upset, I'll pick her up and stand close to her crib, see if she has any burps or if anything is bothering her. Sometimes she tries to get me to put her on the floor, but I make sure I don't give in. By standing close to her crib, I think she just knows that she has no choice but to go to bed. I give her a minute to calm down then I put her right back in her crib. If she gets upset again, I'll do the same thing. I usually don't have to pick her up more than twice.

Good luck. I know all babies are different and some things work and some things don't. I hope you find something that works.

Here is a chart that gives guidelines for different ages: http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-much-sleep-does-your-chil...

My kids both were in that 12-15 hour span as well but every child is different. I always found that when I started putting my kids to bed earlier they slept more. My son no longer naps and still at four years old the earlier he goes to bed the longer he sleeps in. If I put him to bed at 8 p.m. he is up by 6 but when he goes to bed at 7 he sleeps until 7. The other night he was tired so he went down at 6:30 and slept until 8! People always told me if I kept him up later he would sleep in, always backfired on me until I learned this was his pattern and now we stick to our early bedtime!

Hi L.,

Have you tried wearing her? My babies were like that for awhile so i found that if I wore them in a sling then they would sleep better and I could get things done. Though really I'd prefer a messy home to perfectly contented baby!:)

E. P.

Hello L.
Why do you have to hold her so she can sleep? you shouldn't have to hold her all the time once you start that that it, that all they want, my step daughter did the same thing with her first child that child couldn't move that the mother & Father were there, when I went to visit it drove me up a wall until her father told her Let her cry a little they have to to cry to open there lungs, so do the same thing let her cry to sleep after 5 mts if she doesn't stop then hold her maybe it's to late,to unspoild her. GOOD LUCK

Okay, you are going through what I went through. My son was born a night owl, sleep all day & party all night...lol. Actually not so funny, I was so tired because of this.
Finally by 6 months old I tried the Ferber method when you let them "cry it out" to sleep. It does work as hard as it is as a mom to leave them crying like that it worked wonders. Finally by 6 months I just could not take it anymore. When he was really little 1-5 months old he would only sleep at night if I was holding him! During the day he slept no problem in his bassinet. So I finally said that's it I am too tired and so is he we are going to let him cry. My sister in law bought me a great book called Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby by Marc Weisbluth, MD it was the best book so far I have read! He is now 17 months old and sleeps wonderfully in his own crib! Good luck and I feel your pain. I am not so tired anymore and we are all much happier!