The phrase
"overtired baby" means that a baby is extremely tired and has not had enough rest, and it can make them fussy and have difficulty sleeping.
Full definition
It's extra hard because I know she wants to go to sleep, but she's all wired from the changes in her cognition, so super-short nap... which means frustration and
overtired baby at bedtime.
This entry was posted in Pen and Cob's Corner and
tagged overtired baby, lack of sleep, chronic, overtiredness, sleep deprivation, overtired, child sleep, baby sleep, sleep on December 21, 2015 by Swanling Marketing.
And the
more overtired your baby gets the more he will fuss and cry, to the point of being unable to turn off his frustration long enough to fall asleep, until he eventually wears out.
Parents often can't figure out why their sweet baby is suddenly a sleep deprived, fussy, cranky,
overtired baby overnight.
Overtired babies find it harder to fall asleep naturally but if you can put baby down while drowsy she's more likely to sleep for longer stretches during the night.
(
Extremely overtired babies resist sleep training, and parents who soothe their babies during training reward the crying, giving them reason to do it again and again.)
It'll also help you re-create a familiar piece of your baby's sleep routine when you're traveling away from their normal sleeping space, ensuring that even
an overtired baby can rest and relax with the comforting noise they know and love.
You can read our previous articles on soothing
your overtired baby & recognizing the signs that your baby is tired to help get them on a better sleep schedule so that they're more rested.
There are a few things you can try that will help sooth
your overtired baby, including the following.
An overtired baby is a cranky baby, and you might find it frustrating.
Contrary to popular belief,
an overtired baby will definitely not sleep better.
Recognising the signs that mean your baby is ready for a nap will save you the frustration of trying to coax
an overtired baby into a state of calm sleep.
It seems odd, but
an overtired baby is nearly impossible to get to sleep.
You'd think that if the baby wasn't feel well and was worn out, that they'd sleep even more, but
an overtired baby usually doesn't sleep well.
An overtired baby will often take longer to fall asleep, wake up frequently, and wake up early in the morning.
Although keeping your baby up later to wear her out does make sense intuitively, it often just results in
an overtired baby.
To avoid
an overtired baby, go for an earlier bedtime at around 6:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., according to Baby Center.
Despite what you may think,
an overtired baby is a nightmare to handle.
An overtired baby is over stimulated with heightened levels of cortisol and adrenaline.
An overtired baby is dreadful.
As Baby Center mentioned,
an overtired baby will have a hard time calming himself down.
In fact, there are always a few frustrating times you have to deal with the big problem:
Overtired baby won't sleep.
You know by now that
an overtired baby will wake frequently at night and / or fight / refuse naps so - voila!
Often
an overtired baby will simply stay awake until they are outright exhausted.
At this age, most babies need between 2 and 3 naps per day, a morning nap, an afternoon nap, and a one hour (maximum) late afternoon nap to help them bridge the gap between naptime and bedtime (and avoid bedtime resistance due to
an overtired baby).
Putting your baby to bed later in hopes that they will start to sleep in will only backfire and lead to
an overtired baby who will in turn wake up even earlier.
An overtired baby is past the point of exhaustion.
An overtired baby doesn't sleep better; he will sleep worse.
Also be sure your baby is getting enough sleep during the day to make up for lost sleep at night (it's even harder for
an overtired baby to settle down at night).
An overtired baby will be fussy and find it hard to sleep, yet won't be able to stay happily awake, either.
An overtired baby may actually have a harder time getting to sleep.
Specifically, we mean well - rested babies are happy babies, and
overtired babies are wearing their best cranky pants.
Overtired babies often throw a tantrum, and would wail all night long.
Also, a rubbing can get an anxious and
overtired baby to relax.
More importantly, you'll be in a better position to address some of the concerns that face parents with newborns such as,
an overtired baby, fussiness, difficulty sleeping or going back to sleep, and much more.
Since you don't want to completely exhaust her (
overtired babies are THE WORST), I wouldn't do this allllll day, but maybe start pushing for more awake time in the mid - to late afternoon and early evening.
Move to en earlier bedtime if necessary — to fit with their wake up time — so that you don't end up with
an overtired baby at bedtime.
An overtired baby has a harder time falling asleep and staying asleep at day's end.
Try to keep naps within your baby's «wakeful window» of 1 - 1.5 hours to avoid
an overtired baby.
An overtired baby will become fussy and will have more difficulty to fall asleep.
An overtired baby is a strong sleep fighter as an under - tired baby.
And
an overtired baby may have trouble settling down at night.
If your baby has trouble falling asleep at night, first make sure that he goes to sleep not too late (as we have mentioned,
overtired babies have difficulties falling sleep.)
I read yesterday that its very common for
an overtired baby to go down easily (as long as their sleep trained and over two months:)!.