Overtired baby at Christmas

[melonribena]

Hi! Any tips would be gratefully received!

I have a 5 mth old ebf DS. We've had a busy day of visits and visitors. With one thing another he has barely napped today and got upset and fractious. All my attempts during the day failed, the house was too busy and he wouldn't give in!

A long walk in the buggy this afternoon helped but I am determined to do better for him tomoro. I know that with grandparents, excitement and general merriment this will be hard.

Has anyone got any tips on how to help a super alert and interested baby sleep during the Christmas period.

Thanks

[Iggly]

When does he normally nap and how?

[girliefriend]

I would keep his routine the same roughly, make sure you put him in his cot where its quiet and dark and he will probably like the peace and quiet!!!

[ceeveebee]

I sympathise. Am at PILs with our 13 mo twins. They are refusing to sleep in the bedroom in the daytime, probably because the room is freezing and not dark enough, and of course it's a strange room. Have resorted to driving around for an hour at a time to get them to nap - to be honest it's ok as we have relatives to visit so just trying to fit naps around visits.

[teacher123]

Sending sympathy too! Went to stay with family at the weekend, there were about a million people there, all wanting to cuddle DS, pick him up, feed him his dinner and generally adore him. We were also sharing a room for the first time in months which was a bit stressful for all! We did have a couple of meltdowns, especially at nap time and bedtime. We kept the routine exactly the same as far as we could and it was ok. Trying to get people to be quiet at naptime was pretty stressful though! Was lovely to see everyone, but I'll be honest, next year people can come and see us!

[VisualiseAHorse]

A dark, quiet room is always a winner. And somewhere you can lie down and feed.
When I was at a party with my 5 month old, the hostess let me BF in her bed, baby fell asleep, transferred him to his buggy in a quiet room, and that was it! He slept for about 4 hours!

[VisualiseAHorse]

And remember! Most babies can only stay awake 1.5 to 2 hours at a time, so start looking for tired signs after the 1st hour they've been awake.

[teacher123]

Yes darkened room v good. And also familiar/favourite toys can help napping in an unfamiliar place. Poor DS on Sunday was so overtired he fought sleep for an hour and a quarter on the journey home (normally if it's nap time he's out like a light within 15 mins in the car) and then howled and howled when we got home! I find it's quite good to insist on nappy changes upstairs out of everyone's way and use it as an excuse to just have a little cuddle for 5 minutes in the quiet.

[melonribena]

Thanks everyone! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas!

We had a long walk/nap in the buggy before lunch which really helped and he had a short nap in the morning and afternoon as well. Everyone was good at keeping the noise down a bit!

We've decided that next year we are staying put though. People are welcome to visit!

[Loislane78]

Same here! PIL kindly offered up their room for us to stay in (much bigger) so I take myself off for feeds and at signs of tiredness. I'm happy for a little chill out, baby definitely is and so is everyone else (no baby crying!). Walk defo good idea as well - rain gear on and out we go whatever the weather.

Merry Xmas :)