Having an overtired child is not for the faint hearted. At all ages it can be hard from crying newborns to hyperactive toddlers.
Here are my tips to help.
Overtired newborn –
Overtiredness is a newborn can happen so quickly. When a newborn is overtired, they can be upset crying, jerky, have red eyes, they may cat nap, hard to settle and much more.
To prevent an overtired newborn, try to stick to awake times. When using awake times, the goal is to have your little one back asleep by the end of the awake time. For example, if your little one’s awake time is 1.5 hours, they wake at 7am. This means the goal is to have them back asleep by 8.30am, you will start settling them back to sleep 8.20am. When you are out and about offer naps in the pram or pack a porta cot. If they are already overtired try the Five S’s to settle them. The five S’s are Swaddle, Sway, Shush, Side and Sucking. Swaddle them arms down in a wrap of sleeping bag. Swaying is rocking them. Shush is shushing loudly or using a white noise machine. Side is holding them on their side or patting them on their side. Sucking is using a dummy or breast feeding to calm.
Overtired baby –
To prevent an overtired baby, try to still offer naps in pram or porta cot. If you know you are going to have a late night, they may need an extra nap or let a nap go longer. When you are out all day and the day naps don’t go as planned, try to be home for an early bedtime or take a porta cot to put them down at bedtime.
If your baby is overtired, they may be clingy, hard to settle, they will likely wake a bit in the first part of the night. It is also likely they will wake early the next morning. However, all should all go back to normal the next day.
Overtired toddler –
An overtired toddler is similar to an overtired baby. The main difference is that they may be a bit harder to calm down at bedtime. Try to still have your bedtime routine even if it is accelerated. This will help them to calm them down to go to sleep.
How does your little one handle being overtired? Let me know in the comments.