7 Ways To Get Your Overtired Baby To Sleep
Usually, my daughter Mackenzie is an angel. She still is an overactive five-year-old with endless energy. But, even with all that energy… she listens to what my husband and I tell her, follows the rules and is a joy to be around. Except for Christmas. Why Christmas? That’s because every Christmas has followed the same predictable routine. Our day starts early with us getting ready for the family party. And, our family parties are rather large since Mark and I each have a good number of relatives who attend. Then, our relatives (and Mackenzie’s cousins) start arriving around noon. It’s pretty much a typically Christmas party until midnight. That’s when we pass out the gifts, open them up and the kids end up playing with all of their new goodies. Everything is going great until the angel becomes an overtired baby. Then we end up with this out of nowhere…
Not actually Mackenzie but you get the idea.
Overtired Baby Signs
I gotta take a majority of the blame for this outcome if we’re being honest. Babies tend to show signs that they are beginning to wear out. And, it’s our job as parents to be aware of these signs. In doing so, we can avoid the eventual blowup. So here are some of the signs to look out for:
- Your child starts to become clingy. If your child is already clingy… they start to become even more clingy.
- They start rubbing their eyes or pulling their ears in an attempt to stay more alert.
- They’re yawning while telling you that they are not sleepy yet.
- Your once rambunctious kid starts zoning out and becomes less attentive
If you start seeing any of these telltale signs of an overtired baby… it’s time to consider taking action before it escalates. If you ignore them… you’ll end up with a fight on your hands (not literally). But, don’t lose your cool. Here are a few tips that have worked for me on how to deal with an overtired child.
How To Get Your Overtired Baby To Sleep
Let’s be honest. Dealing with an overtired newborn is HARD. You can try to have them go to sleep but they will resist. You can lay them down just to have them toss and turn for what seems like an eternity. And when you finally get them to sleep… your overtired baby keeps waking up. It is very easy to lose your cool during the whole process. But, don’t be frustrated. Here are a few tips to help you get your overtired newborn to sleep.
Tip #1 – Use A Swaddling Blanket
According to Babycentre, “Many cultures have used swaddling for centuries, as a way of helping babies feel more settled, and as a method to help them sleep. …parents find swaddling helps to soothe their baby and reduce excessive crying.” This pretty much sums it up. Try and use the swaddling blanket to help your newborn feel more secure as it mimics them being in the mother’s womb.
Tip #2 – Try Feeding Your Child
I know from experience that my children would fall asleep after a bottle of milk. In fact… they pretty much refuse to go to sleep unless they had a bottle of milk. So, try feeding your child to see if that helps them go to sleep.
Tip #3 – Rock Your Baby To Sleep
This tip works. I still rock my 5-year-old to this day. Not very often since she is pretty heavy. More like once a month or two when it’s hard for her to go to sleep. Rocking your baby just makes them feel more secure. So, try rocking your child to sleep while humming their favorite “baby song”.
Tip #4 – White Noise
You might find that you have to do tips 1 through 3 at the same time. And, as the cherry on top… try listening to white noise. We received one of those 30 in 1 white noise speakers as a gift a while ago. And, I mean a while ago (like 4 years ago). But, after using it for the first week… we found that our children went to sleep just a little faster. So, we’ve been listening to the same white noise since then. We’ll change the pattern up every once in a while. But, typically is the same sound every time we go to sleep.
What About An Overtired Toddler That Won’t Sleep
But, what about your overtired toddler that won’t go to sleep. Well, you can’t swaddle them. I mean you can try but I don’t think it will work very well. So, what can you do? Here are a few tips on how to get your grouchy toddler to sleep.
Tip #1 – Spend Some Calm Time Together
One of the reasons that your child can’t go to sleep when they are overtired is because they have been overactive for an extended amount of time. Try spending about 15 minutes with them in a calm setting. You can take your child in their room, turn down the lights, and talk with them in a calming voice. This helps them to relax and let go of all that negativity.
Tip #2 – Read A Book Or Sing A Song
During this time… try reading a book with your child. Better yet, sing a calm song with them. This is what I do and it seems to work fairly well. But, to have this work even better… try and do it with dim lights so that your kids don’t have any additional sensory input.
Tip #3 – Again White Noise
What works for babies will also work for toddlers in this case. Shoot… as I said before, we still use the same white noise for years now. So, startup your white noise maker and help your child go to sleep easier.
By Grace – Child Development Associate Teacher in California
My husband Mark and I have been blessed with two beautiful, smart, positive (I can go on and on) girls… Kenzie & Kayla. And, we have learned many tips and tricks while raising them. Tips and tricks that we felt would be useful to other new parents out there. So, we started WAYISAVE as a website built by parents for parents to share the best baby deals, coupons, tips, tricks and the occasional piece of advice.
