How do you settle an overtired baby?

[bjl1981]

As title says. Our LO has been awake pretty much all day, and has made himself so tired that he won't stop crying. I have no idea what to do for the best because I keep trying to comfort him, and as soon as I put him down he starts again. I read that you should just put them down and let them cry themselves to sleep, but I don't know if I can do that.
Any advice?

 

[v2007]

I have an 18 week old who does this, she has a 1 hr sleep all day and by 8pm she is wired.

The best thing i have done, is a lovely warm bath, pyjamas on and a bottle, in a dimly lit room.

I never let her cry herself to sleep as her cry makes me want to rip of my own ears lol.

Have you tried swaddling, this s an excellent trick to calm and comfort a LO.

Good luck

V xxxx

 

[Kiree]

He's still so tiny he probably needs lots of help if he's overtired. Have you tried swaddling him, or swaying with him and 'shushing' as it mimics your heatbeat. Or laying him skin to skin on your chest so he can hear your heart. Maybe try white noise like washer or something. I know its easy for me to say but try to relax too as he will pick up you mood. I know its late but maybe even a bath if all else fails? If you have a spare pair of hands to help you could alwways bring him into the bath with you, that will help you relax and him and its lovely too.

If you try these don't do it all at once or you might overload him and make it worse.

I know its knackering to be walking the floor with LO when you're a tired mummy so hope something works. Good luck x

 

[dizzyspells]

If my LO gets like this I usually just have to walk around the room swaying and shushing him.My little guy is a little older now 6weeks so have started getting a routine in place which helps.Your LO is still really little so maybe he just needs to lie on you for a bit and have some mummy cuddles.I know its hard hunny.xx

 

[PeanutBean]

I would hold Byron close and rock him, pat him, sing to him, hold his hands, as many of these at once as I could! Even if the baby's still crying being in your arms will help settle in the end and make the baby feel secure in the meantime.

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

Yeah we had that problem yesterday. My OH walked around the garden with Ruby, just shushing her and patting her. She stopped eventually.

The problem with 'crying it out' is that if LO cries themself to sleep, they have used up so much energy crying they won't stay asleep long because they'll be hungry! Also it can lead to LO associating their cot with being abandoned....and starts screaming as soon as you put them down.

 

[bjl1981]

Thanks for all the advice, I decided to give him a bath (even though it was 10.30pm!) and then a bottle, and he seemed to settle well after that. He then slept through from 11-3.30 which is good, but unsuprising as he hadn't slept much all day.
We're having lots of visitors today, so not hopeful for tonight!!!!

 

[Rah]

Its awful isnt it?
Isobelle does this and the best thing we did was to start a routine of bath, feed, cuddles, usually skin to skin and me humming and tapping her bum then i doint move till the next feed then put her down still tired so sleep stright away took a few weeks but now its bath massage and bed hardly any problems
Try and get the naps in through the day its hard i know i still cant get Isobelle to sleep in the pm but it does get easier
We took her out in the car as a very last resort last night worked wonders and i always said i would never do that lol

 

[FsMummy]

with dd i used to walk around making shushing noises while rocking her and patting her bum. the bath, pajamas and bottle idea is great too. lavender scented stuff in the bath is supposed to help too, i used to use the lavender johnsons baby bath and body lotion (maybe a bit young for body lotion? i waited a while before putting stuff on dd's skin but obv ur decision as a parent )

 

[jenny_wren]

atm the cot mobile seems to do the trick
i'll walk about a bit holding her hand making
shushing noises if she's really over tired ...
i'll pop her in her crib switch the mobile on
and after a minute of two of moaning she's
out like a light, i also use a sleeping bag which
she loves and a night light but thats more for
me to see whether or not she's sleeping

i do it for her naps during the day too
so she knows when the mobiles on it
sleepy time



xx​

 

[candeur]

Crying it out when Seren was overtired did not work at all, she just got herself into a state. I used to sit in the room with her, and just gently stroke her face, and sshh sshh her quietly until she settled down, hold her hand, put my hand on her chest, and just stay with her until she fell asleep. I find that doing too much to try to get her to sleep and stimulating her too much was making things worse, so I just tried to make things as quiet, and calm as possible.

 

[sublime_ivy]

I get dex to settle by swaddling him or putting him in a calming position that I saw on a DVD.

 

[heather91]

When Tiffany is overtired she'll cry whether I hold her or not The best way for me is to just put her down, sit next to the cot and try to calm her. I usually just talk to her lots and then she'll eventually settle. As soon as she settles I leave the room and she goes to sleep by herself. She is 6months though! x

 

[embojet]

I would hold Byron close and rock him, pat him, sing to him, hold his hands, as many of these at once as I could! Even if the baby's still crying being in your arms will help settle in the end and make the baby feel secure in the meantime.

I definately agree with this, worked wonders with Molly but you do need the arms of an octopus!

 

[bibswy]

I end up rocking Billie to sleep a lot... when she's really cranky I stand infront of a massive electic fan which distracts her long enough to stop crying and relax. Its awful when they're overtired... feeling your pain! xx