Overtired baby will not sleep - please help

[cannotcope677]

My baby has been up 7 hours today after he completely refused his afternoon nap. I’ve been trying to get him to sleep for the last hour and he just won’t - despite being clearly exhausted. The crying is really starting to get to me - what can I do?? He’s 13 months.

Can you put baby in the buggy and go for a walk? Might help to drift off. My eldest stopped napping altogether by 15m it was horrific!

As pp buggy naps, car naps.

Aw you poor thing that sounds utterly awful! In your shoes I'd probably head to bed with baby and if still breastfeeding feed him into a coma and go to sleep myself... if you need to get stuff done sling facing you and bore him to sleep? Take him for a drive and get yourself a drive through coffee and cake?! This too shall pass. Good luck!

Can you put baby in the buggy and go for a walk?

I could, but won’t he just wake up again when I transfer him to his cot?

Overtiredness is the worst

We used to go for a drive when DD was like this.

Yup, I had a circular route.

They build a ruddy drove thru Starbucks a few months after child dropped nap.

Male sure your route has a well deserved coffee stop for you 😉

Make your walk long enough so he’s in a deep sleep, when you go to do cot transfer rock him so he’s still getting the motion.
Same if you were to take him for a drive.

When over tired I usually sit and cuddle them
Tight and rock and shhh them til they sleep.

Extra milk to settle, cuddle to sleep if you don't usually? It won't hurt if you don't do it often.
I used to put mine so their head was on my shoulder with a gentle rock/hum nursery rhymes to sooth. Seemed to work when needed.

Agree buggy or car

The key is to choose when to do the transfer based on sleep cycles. Sleep cycles are around 30-40 minutes, so he will come into a light sleep at 30-40 min from when he went to sleep. You don’t want to do a transfer at this point! The best time to transfer IME is about 15/20 minutes after he’s gone to sleep. Or alternatively if he will stay asleep in the buggy once it’s stopped moving, leave him there a couple of hours and transfer then (this way if he wakes up on transfer at least he’s had a good couple of hours).

Tomorrow I’d take him out in the buggy twice, say 9.30 and 1pm ish.

Good luck, overtiredness sucks.

Can you snuggle him in a dark room until he gives in?

Have you tried white noise? A cuddle and white noise settles my DD when she’s overtired.

@cannotcope677

Can you put baby in the buggy and go for a walk?

I could, but won’t he just wake up again when I transfer him to his cot?

Overtiredness is the worst

Does the buggy lay flat?

Any joy?

Thanks so much for the advice - he finally dropped off at about 8.15!