Overtiredness in 4 month old

[KentishMaid1977]

Hello,

My 4 month old sleeps very well at night (7 hours straight through), but I often have trouble getting her to sleep in the first place, both for naps and night-time sleep.

She'll only go to sleep in two ways - being breastfed or being taken for a walk outside in the pram. Sometimes the bfing doesn't work and she gets really distressed and worked up. I hate seeing her so distressed with tears rolling down her face. In this situation, the only remedy is taking her for a quick walk outside. Sometimes she's asleep before reaching the end of the garden path, athough other times it takes a bit longer.

I really want to break this habit though as taking her outside isn't always practical, esp in the pouring rain! I've tried putting her in the pram indoors and pushing her back and forth, but that just doesn't work.

I'm sure she gets so worked up because she's overtired - her eyelids go all red, which I think is a sign.

Any tips?

[Iggly]

I used to use a sling with DS. Or take him to a dim room, stick radio 4 or some white noise on low then gently rock to sleep (main thng is to get him sleeping as opposed to worrying about self settling - which he does fine now).

Also it's worth watching for tired signs and trying to nap her as soon as you spot them if you can (disinterested, not looking at you followed by manic behaviour then crying).

[KentishMaid1977]

Thanks Iggly. What type of sling did you use? I've tried a SleepyWrap a couple of times, but DD hated it. I've also given the BabyBjorn classic a go, but she wasn't too keen on that either. Having said that, I haven't tried either sling for quite a while. A friend has also given me a BabaSling, but I haven't worked up the confidence to actually use it!

I guess the answer is to look out for early signs of tiredness - easier said than done though. Everyone always comments on how alert DD is. She seems to want to take everything in, so no wonder she fights sleep!

[Iggly]

Sounds like DS! on the upside, at 20 months he's full of beans, into everything and generally a joy! Although I need three pairs of eyes.

I used the baby bjorn when outside (have to adjust it a bit to give him room) and a close baby carrier which is a fabric sling when inside.

Yes I know what you mean re tired signs. In the end I found it easier to try and nap after about an hour for his first nap, then a bit longer for the subsequent ones. Afternoon naps were always a lot harder but if he was awake for closer to two hours and I managed to keep him calm (I did exciting groups in the morning and more sedate meet ups etc in the afternoon), then it was easier.

[Snarfle]

I try and make sure my ds naps frequently by only 'allowing' him to be awake for a certain amount of time. My ds used to be like ur dd and by the time i noticed he was tired it was too late and he was overtired and frustrated. I follow the EASY routine so he has 4 naps a day - about 3-5 hours in total. This tends to go out the window when we are out for naptime as he's not a great pram napper! Nothings perfect!
hth