Hyper Six Month Old

amother

Sun, Jul 10 2011, 6:15 am

My six month old son seems overly hyper. He is constantly moving and does not seem to have any down, relaxing moments unless he is sleeping. I need to hold him down to be able to change him, feed him, etc. Any advice on what I can do? Is there such a thing as ADHD infants?

lizard8

Sun, Jul 10 2011, 7:23 am

No one diagnoses babies with adhd. Some babies are just really active. It is difficult for the mother, but sometimes its just the baby's nature.

From experience, my daughter relaxes a bit when I rub her back. A light massage calms her down.
You don't have to be an expert, just gently rub every part of his body.

I also find my daughter plays calmly in her crib. I give her toys and she plays nicely. (sometimes she has a crying fit first)

She also gets more hyper when she is hungry or tired. I know not to expect much out of her then.

try to figure out when you baby is calmer, and work with that.

Good luck!

Aribenj

Sun, Jul 10 2011, 9:43 pm

I am hesitant to answer this one.

It is possible for a baby to be born a personality trait that continues on to adulthood, such as being active or easily excitable. That's their nature. Whether this active or excitable personality turns into ADHD or something like that is a different story and not so simple to predict.

However, mother's instincts are rarely wrong.

DS was also always SO EXCITED (since the day he was born) His arms and legs were always overextended, he was always yelling, big smile on his face, acting as though he could not wait to start moving, and wanting to jump out of his own skin...

This did scare me, and I had a niggling feeling something wasn't 100% but I knew if it was REALLY bad it would become more noticeable as he grew and to other people, so I waited.

Well he doesn't have ADHD. He does have some sensory issues, so my mommy instinct was correct, but it's not the end of the world, and it's something I can work with.

But this is just my personal story. Like I said, sometimes an active kid is just an active kid.

amother

Mon, Jul 11 2011, 1:16 am

if you start worrrying about adhd now you will make you baby adhd

I have adhd kids and have babies that are already very active. I have seen more active babies are often more active later but don't put adhd - just let him be a baby and keep him safe. (it's a harder job with a more active baby)

sped

Mon, Jul 11 2011, 1:32 am

Many six months old are super active and calm down or learn to control it as they grow. I would really, really, really not worry yet!!
Anecdote: I know of a child who in nursery (4 year old) who showed EVERY sign of ADHD. However, doctors generally won't diagnose yet at that age. Wonder of woders, he got to kindergarten and totally calmed down. It seems as though his brain needed time to mature. I am not saying this is always true, but six months is a bit young to worry.

Lots of nachas!

Jewishmofm

Mon, Aug 01 2011, 12:07 am

routine, routine, routine! at that age, babies still can't trust the world around them, unless it performs similarly each day. also, lots of skin to skin time helps - put it on your calendar "11:00 am, touch time!" and STICK to it.