when you are making multiple extrusion off the same sketch and selecting apply instead of accept, it will give you the option to continue to extrude off that same sketch up until the third time you try to do it and then it will auto hide the sketch. and usually prompt you to select a plane to create a new sketch. if you back out of this command and then make the sketch visible again, you can continue to make extrusions off this sketch seemingly indefinably without inventor hiding it. Although doing that is still an annoying extra step that should not be necessary.
I believe this also happens with splits as well although I have found that its more inconsistent.
