With Thanks To Jade
There is nothing worse than a tired baby other than an over tired baby. You may find that you have an easy baby who will fall asleep happily on their own when they need to sleep, but the majority of babies don’t and will let you know that they are tired. It can be difficult to judge if your baby is just tired or if something else is wrong.
When your baby is tired he or she may well cry and us mums reach for baby and start talking or singing or bouncing them around, trying to sooth them, but by doing this we are over stimulating them and keeping them from their much needed sleep.
The worst habit you can form is that your baby becomes dependent upon you to help them fall asleep.
Tired Baby Signs
A young baby will cry, whine or even scream
Back arching and avoiding eye contact is another sure tired sign
Pulling rather annoyed faces at you
Clenching their little fists
Fast jerking arm and leg movements. (Have you noticed how a young baby’s arms and legs are forever on the go? That’s because your baby does not have much control over them and it’s a reflex that makes them continually busy)
Might want you to comfort them by sucking on a breast/bottle/dummy
From 3 months old your baby may also show the following signs;
Rubbing their eyes
Pulling at their ears, hair or even their nose
Baby may yawn
Over 12 months your baby may also become clumsy and bump into things or fall over more readily when they are tired.
While some babies will be easy to help fall asleep others are more trying. Depending on your babies temperament he or she may well display some unwanted behavior when over tired. A baby who is tired, despite what age they are, will become irritable and grumpy and even distressed.
Over tired babies are even harder to get to sleep as they just cannot switch off, they are over stimulated.
Learn to recognize the signs of a tired baby and you will soon be able to teach your baby to fall asleep alone without fuss.
Do you ever wonder how much should a baby sleep? We have a table of times over on another blog post.
Can you think of any signs your baby shows when they are tired?
