3 month old gets hysterical before naps please help !!

[AllRainbows]

So my DS is 3 months old and since he started getting more alert after the newborn stage I am finding it very hard to settle him for naps during the day. He doesn't seem to show any tired signs could be smiling one minute and 30 seconds later roaring the house down. It is then very difficult to settle him to sleep. I either have to go for a walk with him in the pram or go in the car which I can't keep doing Everytime he needs a nap because I also have an older DD.

At night time however he seems to be able to get to sleep fine. I can put him in the Moses basket and he falls asleep without crying. I really can't figure him out. Last night for example he went to bed at half 8 , woke at 5 for a bottle , was back asleep by 6 and then woke at half 9. I left him for a few minutes to wake properly and then got him up and tried to give him a bottle but he only drank an ounce so I decided to give him another few mins and got him changed and dressed for the day. Tried again to give him the bottle and he drank maybe another ounce. Then he starts to get irritable and starts crying thought not hysterical at 10 past 10 so 40 minutes after waking. He refuses the bottle again and I then spend 20 mins rocking him to sleep as he wouldn't settle in the Moses basket. I really don't know what to do and this goes on every time he needs a nap. I also didn't think he could be tired again so quickly after waking in the morning from a good night's sleep .
Can someone give me some advice please

Sounds like he may be overtired. How much (roughly) is he sleeping in 24 hours? At this age it should be 15-16 hours in 24 as I recall. If it’s much less then overtiredness is likely. The only way to fix overtiredness is more sleep so a few days of loads of naps will help - maybe use the buggy/car at the weekends if your OH is around to help with your older one?

My boy does this, he is not quite 6mnths yet.
We found it useful to establish a routine, time when he last had milk and when he woke up. We know that he wakes around 8am, and needs a 30mins cat nap about 9.30am. He will then be awake and happy until about 11.30am, he will have 6-7oz and then a 2hr nap. He will then have another 30 mins around 3/3.30. And then down for the night at 7pm.

If we miss his sleep cues he can go from being a happy smiley baby to a right a sod in seconds. He also doesn’t like a wet nappy, at all!

remember that he doesn't know that the sensation of tired is resolved by the action of sleep. he doesn't like the tired and wants it to go away. he doesn't know how to go to sleep. he doesn't even understand the difference between himself as an individual with needs that is distinct from other individuals. he has so much to learn.

I think maybe you need to start winding things down towards nap time while he is still in smiley happy phase.

Thanks for all the advice, I think it is definitely overtirredness as during the day yesterday he only had 3 30 minute naps whereas the previous week he was napping at least 4 hours during the day. He just can't seem to stay asleep once he finally does nod off during the day anymore. Will just have to try and bring him in the car or pram a bit more until he settles down into a more solid routine if that happens !

Yes DH is normally better at getting him to sleep as he is able to pick him up in the car seat and swing it forwards and backwards until DS is asleep where I cannot physically manage these ! DS really makes us work for his sleep lol

Yep overtiredness has a cruel irony, the more overtired they get the harder it is to get them to sleep and the shorter they stay asleep!

Good luck OP - keep trying more naps whenever and however you can. Once he’s less overtired you should hopefully find it gets easier, he might stay asleep longer etc.

I used to get DD to nap in the buggy, that way if she woke up at the 30 minute mark I could rock the buggy back and forth and she would (mostly) go back to sleep... worth a try? White noise on loop might also help get past the dreaded 30 minutes.