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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

Ideas on consoling an overtired 6 week old baby?

24 replies

Spidermumkey · 19/08/2008 13:23

Our daughter is 6 weeks old and is pretty contented most of the time, but she seems to have a low tolerance for becoming overtired and proceeds to get really worked up and can become pretty inconsolable as a result (dummies, feeding, rocking don't get us far when she's overwrought). So far we've managed to get her off to sleep before it gets too bad, but we've had a few nights where we've been left scratching our heads as to what to do other than walk round the house with her.

Does anyone have any tips, suggestions or sure-fire tricks on how to handle an overtired baby? Any help much appreciated!

Susan

OP posts:

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firststeps · 19/08/2008 13:27

at 6 weeks we tried not to let DS2 go longer than 2 hours without a nap, if he did then he used to get to the horrible overtired stage too, we found that if we put him down for a nap he might shout for a couple of minutes before dropping off but it was better than hearing him go into full meltdown for hours....

Niecie · 19/08/2008 13:29

Go for a drive if you can or for a walk with the pushchair. Movement is good but sometimes I think they get too hot so going out it useful and the constant movement helps.

Of course the diffculty then is to get her back to her bed.

Bumdiddley · 19/08/2008 15:22

Sometimes just putting them down works!

I remember once with dd, I lay her down and stroked her hands over my face in circular motions (you'll try anything sometimes!)

MuffinMclay · 19/08/2008 16:01

Put down to sleep before she gets to the overtired stage. Ds2 takes (took) far longer to go to sleep if overtired with much more screaming etc. I stick him in bed the moment he starts yawning, rubbing his eyes etc.

Fresh air can work if they get really hysterical, I've found, even if it is just 2 minutes in the garden.

fledtoscotland · 19/08/2008 16:37

a walk in the pram or, in the middle of the night, a drive in the car. DH was sent out at 2am many times with DS just to drive round the town til he (DS that is not DH) fell asleep

elmoandella · 19/08/2008 16:43

if it's only at night time then it's worth while putting dc bedtime routine forward#

what time are you bathing and sending to bed. at weeks this could be as early as 6pm to sleep. some just cant handle the attention and like to go off to their bed for some peace.

are you by anychance. bathing and leaving to nap downstairs till you go up??

this is where we went wrong. were putting ds to sleep in moses basket and leaving downstairs. he wouldn't settled.

we brought his routine forward. and after the milk after bath took him straight upstairs. alone.

mellyonion · 19/08/2008 16:43

mine used to settle really quickly when they were like that with the hairdryer on!

like pp said..you'll try anything!!! new babies like the "white noise" apparently!

MamaG · 19/08/2008 16:44

Have you considered swaddling her? That worked a treat for my DC

SoupDragon · 19/08/2008 16:47

A pouch sling like a Coorie. I called mine the Magic Sling of Sleep. It's possible to put the baby down and wriggle out of one without much fuss once they're asleep.

horseymum · 19/08/2008 20:08

other white noise that we found worked if ds was past it was a radio 'detuned' ie between stations and hissing- it seems to allow them to relax and switch off even though we had it on quite loudly sometimes. second the points about getting them to bed earlier - a well rested baby sleeps better!

Aitch · 19/08/2008 20:11

i used to go into our hallway and point dd at a white wall when she got overloaded. light on, no noise, relatively small space, white wall... oddly soothing i found.

constancereader · 19/08/2008 20:11

swaddling and white noise turned up quite loud.

I used the babysoothe cd, it worked brilliantly

FattipuffsandThinnifers · 19/08/2008 21:22

Agree with swaddling, rocking, and fresh air. At this age movement will definitely help get them to sleep. Though at 6 weeks think yourself lucky if she's even in any kind of pattern, particularly a nighttime one! Even when DS was well over 4 months I'd still have to resort to taking him out in the car for an hour when it got to 4pm and he hadn't slept for more than 10 minutes since the morning. I do feel for you, the early weeks aren't much fun!

fullmoonfiend · 19/08/2008 21:24

sing very gently.
Aso humming very close to ear (i know it sounds barmy but it works)

Also, stroke gently crown of head down to nose, like a kitten. it is magical.

Aitch · 19/08/2008 21:35

true about the nose stroking, although that didn't work with dd if she was over-stimulated. but once she was calmer, it was great.

barnsleybelle · 19/08/2008 21:56

I found that by getting them down to sleep as soon as i spotted the tired cues worked. Also, i think at 6 weeks when they are tired all the walking, rocking singing etc just makes them worse as it's far too much stimulation for them and they quickly go into meltdown. Dc2 always needed tons of sleep at 6 weeks and sometimes by the time she had fed, nappy changed she was yawning. By the 2nd yawn she was in her moses basket and left to drop off on her own... If she didn't settle i would shh and pat her tummy every 5 mins or so, but never picked her up.

Once they learn the knack of dropping asleep on their own, they won't need to cry for you when they wake in the night (of course when night feeds have stopped i mean) as they will be secure enough to nod back off without you..

I know some people love to assist their babies to sleep and that's great, it's just not for me...

EffiePerine · 19/08/2008 21:58

some babies are really fussy and grumpy in the evenings. Carrying them in a (supportive) sling can help. Is she feeding more in the evenings as well?

designerbaby · 19/08/2008 22:47

The only thing which worked for my DD when she was little and melting down through over-stimulation/tiredness was to hold her really close, with a blanket around her - over her head although not completely covering her face IYSWIM ? in a quiet, dark room - basically blocking out stimulus ? for 5-15 minutes or so.

She was dreadfully difficult to wind down exp. over Christmas when we had the inlaws staying and a house full of people - she was 5-7weeks then.

I still have to be quite careful to wind her down of an evening even now - and she's 9 months - some babies are just naturally more easily over-stimulated than others I think. If I try and put her down to sleep mid-play it takes an age and much fussing. Quiet cuddles from bath time 'til bedtime in a dimly lit lounge with TV on low with her bottle is the only way, with minimal interaction.

Just so you know this may be something you'll have to watch out for going forward - your LO sounds much like mine at that age...

HTH

db
xx

Original poster

Spidermumkey · 22/08/2008 22:24

Many thanks for all your really helpful comments. Reading through your replies has given us food for thought. We'll report back on how we go!

We noticed the white wall thing ourselves, except it was a particular spot in our kitchen, looking at the window. Seems 90% of the time to calm her down (she must only be able to see that it's light). Head-stroking: we've been trying this out with mixed results, but we weren't doing the crown to nose trick. Definitely give that a go.

Our routine is basically winding down on play/stimulus around 6-ish, bathtime in dimmed conditions with plenty smiles/eye-contact but not too much talking/singing. Then into a sleepsuit, feed and then into the cot at 6:30-7.00. Generally, baths usually seem to work well although experience has shown us to go with her mood/level of tiredness.

Best regards

Susan

OP posts:

BlindKitty · 06/07/2014 00:09

Re opening thread and watching with interest

ch1134 · 06/07/2014 21:39

My mum has a technique she's used on many babies including mine and it's never failed so here it is: hold the baby very close and very firmly over your shoulder as though burping them. Sway gently, and pat them on the bottom firmly and rhythmically to mimic a heartbeat. Shush' loudly in their ear, one constant shush, like white noise. As the baby calms, gradually relax the grip and reduce the volume. Good luck

Teabiscuits · 06/07/2014 23:03

agree with ch - sounds pretty much the same as my technique! Also I find the loud shushing is really good if the constant screaming is starting to stress you - taking a really deep breath and forcing it out to make it loud enough is strangely calming for me!

Jaffakake · 07/07/2014 20:32

The best advice I got was to spend time at home, not going anywhere & watch for their natural rhythm. This helped me figure out the optimum nap times. That & the EASY routine helped.

girliefriend · 07/07/2014 20:38

My dd was similar and sometimes I just had to sit with her in a dark room and make soothing shh shh noices!!

I followed Gina Ford loosely and found it worker well for dd and me as she coped better in a routine and needed lots of sleep (much like me )

I found doing anything like taking her out, putting her in the car or anything that was remotely stimulating made her 100% worse. One evening a friend came over and was giving her loads of attention and afterwards it was like dd was on drugs, she just was so over stimulated it took hours of screaming before she could settle.

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