Restless 1 Year old

Question

Hi mummies. My LO of 1 year 1 mth old recently is becoming very restless and keep moving. When she is in her playpen she keep jumping and very hardly we see her sitting quietly. At night she tends to wake up and refuse to sleep back. We have to rock her for 1 to 2 hours at times just to get her back to sleep and most of the time accompanied by night feeding as well.  Is this normal?

Jan Samson · Answer

Hi mum, I went through something similar with my LO around that age also, suddenly become super active and bedtime become a battle. At around 1 year old, it can actually be quite normal because they are going through developmental leaps, more energy, and also testing boundaries more, so they look like they “cannot sit still” at all. But I also noticed when my child was overtired or stuck in a cycle of night waking + feeding, it made the restlessness worse at night. What helped me a bit was having a very consistent bedtime routine and slowly reducing night feeds if possible, otherwise they keep waking expecting it. If it continues very intensely or sleep becomes very disrupted for weeks, maybe worth checking in with PD to rule out sleep issues or discomfort.