Don’t let your child go into overdrive

Let’s start with newborns. It can feel tricky to know when your newborn is actually fatigued because the signs aren’t always clear. Everyone just assumes that when the newborn baby is fussy, then they must be hungry?!

If your baby has been awake for over 1 hour, then they’re most likely fatigued, not hungry. How can you tell? If your baby is giving the “seven-mile stare,” which means that their eyes are not really in focus and they’re gazing at nothing essentially. That’s a sign that they’re getting fatigued. You may also find your newborn baby will do some twisting or back arching, or they may get really rigid when they’re fatigued, which can also look a lot like hunger. A lot of newborn babies turn their head in to something which looks like rooting. What they’re really saying is that they’re overstimulated and want to hide and get away, so they turn in to something.

Look at the clock. If it’s been about 40 minutes to 1 hour since your baby last ate and they’re showing those signs, then offer a nap first because it is most likely fatigue. When you’ve got a fussy newborn on your hands, then you can either guess that they need a feeding, or they need some sleep. Often, it’s too late. You’ve waited too long. Overtiredness sets in at roughly the 1-hour mark for a newborn baby. If you let them get fussy and start to cry and get cranky, it’s much harder to get them to fall asleep.

You really want to try to catch it just before that occurs. Sometimes it’ll feel a little awkward or it’ll feel a little unnatural where you’ve got this very contented little baby and you’re going to go ahead and try for a nap. Pay attention to the time. It’s very important when we’re talking about newborn babies.

Now, let’s move into older babies. Around 3/4-month old age, they start having some control over their bodies. You may notice things like ear pulling, nose rubbing, eye rubbing. Anything to do with pulling or rubbing the face is often a very good sign that a baby is fatigued. They get red-rimmed eyes. That can be a good indicator. You really want to have a balance of both watching your baby and the time.

Let’s talk about toddlers. How can you tell if your toddler is tired? Those toddlers are very clever little people. When they’re feeling fatigued, they tend to push into overdrive. This is when you would see your toddler running around, manic in their personality, laughing really hard one minute, then crying the next minute. They really don’t have a real good grasp of themselves by the time they’re getting overtired, and they get hyper. Most children get very hyper when they’re feeling fatigue. The bad news is that when they get hyper, that’s usually a sign that you’ve waited too long. Now, they’re pushing into overtiredness.

If you do see that, catch it before it gets too far. Get started on your bedtime routine right away, or get the nap routine rolling. Allow them 15-20 minutes to calm down with your routine, then get them right to bed. I would suggest to not wait longer because they’re getting more overtired and the situation will very likely become harder to control.