https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sat, 06 Jun 2026 23:23:03 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/chronically-over-tired-baby#post-1733489 Tue, 01 Jul 2014 08:07:53 +0000 abbydabbydoodlebug 1733489@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Well, we had a pretty great day yesterday actually. She took 2 1.5hr naps and a short 40 min nap. Pretty much textbook! Nighttime is still ugly. We had her awake for 1 hour and 30 min and she was getting cranky. Normally we had been waiting 2 hours to put her to sleep that last awake period. We let her cry for 20 min because they were sleepy cries. My DH went up and pretty much as soon as he picked her up, she relaxed and fell asleep. She woke after 40 min like she normally does and was able to roll around and whine a bit and fell back asleep! Huge win. Now, she still is waking every 3-3.5 hours at night, but daytime yesterday was so awesome. Hope it repeats today. :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/chronically-over-tired-baby#post-1733358 Tue, 01 Jul 2014 03:46:43 +0000 Grace 1733358@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@luckypenny: I found it from Mrs High Heels blog post, I think. I've used it a lot. One day the Baby Center link to it went down and I nearly had a fit. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/chronically-over-tired-baby#post-1733324 Mon, 30 Jun 2014 23:51:40 +0000 luckypenny 1733324@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Grace: SUPER helpful chart!!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/chronically-over-tired-baby#post-1733300 Mon, 30 Jun 2014 22:33:28 +0000 Mamatang 1733300@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Oh how I feel your pain! My LO was having trouble to sleep on her own and waking up multiple times a night! It got to the point where I almost fell asleep driving one day than I sad enough is enough! I did hire a sleep coach at 23 1/2 weeks and there are pros and cons. Because of her age the sleep coach said CIO was the only method and that's what we did. I definitely saw improvements but there are still areas to work on.</p> <p>One of the thing that is important is to be consistent and have a schedule. We always nap 2 hours after she wakes up in the morning. The 2nd time usually happens between 2-2.5 hours and 1 cat nap in the late afternoon. The sleep coach wanted me to put her down for the night at 7pm but we are now on the 4th week and I think 8pm is optimal for us (less amount of protest). She usually sleeps from 8ish to 6ish now than after feeding she'll sleep till around 8ish again. And during the day she can usually nap for about 1.5-2 hour each time after working on it for weeks.</p> <p>Long story short, every baby is different and even if you decide to get a sleep coach you may still have to find what works best for your LO! </p> <p>Feel free to pm me if you want me to share more and good luck! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/chronically-over-tired-baby#post-1733288 Mon, 30 Jun 2014 22:06:57 +0000 singingbee 1733288@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@abbydabbydoodlebug: I reached the end of my rope when LO was six months old. We got the sleep sense book and it helped. We had a week of getting used to it and LO took to it beautifully. We still have some bad nights, but they are a few times a month, not every night and only when she is teething or something. It doesn't hurt to look into it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/chronically-over-tired-baby#post-1733235 Mon, 30 Jun 2014 20:53:36 +0000 jessibear 1733235@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This is almost exactly what happened with C at the same age. After weeks of misery we sleep trained (gently, going in after 3 minutes of crying then stretching it a couple minutes longer each night) and it changed our life. Almost a year later, my husband still regularly brings up how life saving it was. </p> <p>We went from having a baby with zero sleep cues to a baby who asked to go to bed. Three nights in, she had moved her bedtime up 3 hours by her choice and was sleeping almost all night without waking. When she woke up in the morning she was a happier kid. She just didn't want help going to bed any more. She still tells me when she wants to go to bed and gets excited to get in her crib. Hang in there, I know it's rough. I fully support the birthday gift idea!! Sleep (and learning how to sleep) is a priceless gift. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/chronically-over-tired-baby#post-1732714 Mon, 30 Jun 2014 15:04:40 +0000 Grace 1732714@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@abbydabbydoodlebug: whoohoo! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/chronically-over-tired-baby#post-1732573 Mon, 30 Jun 2014 13:54:02 +0000 abbydabbydoodlebug 1732573@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Grace: I think it might be possible she doesn't want to be helped to sleep anymore. This last nap I tried patting her, but again, she kept rolling to her back and messing with my hands/paci, so I left after like 2-3 min of trying and she cried just a little bit and went to sleep! I think I timed it right this last nap too.</p> <p>@edelweiss: I usually will hear a sound when she starts moving around and I'll check, so I catch her pretty much right after she wakes up. I always give her a few min to wake up unless I need to go somewhere. So I'll keep starting the clock when I go get her I think. Technically it's still "quiet, resting" time. </p> <p>She's been asleep 1 hr 15 min so far! I'm hoping that letting her cry a bit and put herself to sleep with no assistance is what is causing this and not because she's catching up on sleep. She NEVER takes 2 long naps in a day. Usually its 2 short, one super long one. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/chronically-over-tired-baby#post-1732009 Mon, 30 Jun 2014 11:09:06 +0000 edelweiss 1732009@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@abbydabbydoodlebug: i support you on the birthday present idea! my friend used a sleep consultant--one that actually came to her house for 5 nights. definitely was not cheap but she says it was the best money she ever spent.</p> <p>i think it's up to you whether you go in right when she wakes up or you wait a little. no harm in waiting if she's amusing herself, still waking up, etc. </p> <p>that's a good sign she's waking up and not crying right away--that could mean that she's gotten good rest. a 1.5 hour nap is awesome! </p> <p>how much of a time lag is there between when you see her wake up on the monitor and when you go in to get her? in any case, timing it from when you go to get her makes sense, at least logistically, because when you see her awake on the monitor but quiet, it isn't clear when exactly she woke up. so if timing it from when you go in is easier for you, then stick with it.</p> <p>one other thing, sorry for the novel--my LO's awake time lagged behind that of the google doc. i used to try and rely on that, but was finding that LO's manageable awake time was shorter than the average range, and he needed more sleep than babies of a similar age. i felt "pressured" for LO to keep up with the pack, but in hindsight that was silly. i felt i was doing something wrong in that LO needed more sleep, but that's how it was. of course he still had problems going to sleep. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/chronically-over-tired-baby#post-1731954 Mon, 30 Jun 2014 10:53:54 +0000 abbydabbydoodlebug 1731954@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>She does eventually fall asleep in the ergo, but I have to keep moving and can't sit down, otherwise she'll wake up. Plus, both of us end up being soaked with sweat from sharing body heat, lol.</p> <p>@edelweiss: I was thinking of doing an in-person sleep consult which is like $400... ugh. We definitely don't have extra money for that, but I told my DH that if she's not getting decent sleep by 6.5 months, we're doing it and calling it my birthday present. </p> <p>So she slept about 1 hour 23 min! Pretty good! Do I start the clock for her next nap from when I saw she woke up on the monitor, or when I go in to get her? I don't go in right away, I wait for her to start whining a little. Should I be going in right as soon as she wakes up, even if she's quiet? I've been starting the clock for her next nap from when I go in to get her. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/chronically-over-tired-baby#post-1731888 Mon, 30 Jun 2014 10:37:28 +0000 Grace 1731888@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@abbydabbydoodlebug: Hopefully that works! The other thing I thought of was that somewhere around that age, my LO didn't want to be helped to sleep anymore. I used to rock and sing to her until she was drowsy and then she'd go to sleep. But then she started to cry and cry and it would take 20-30 min to get her to sleep. Eventually, I just put her in her crib (thinking that if she's going to cry anyways, she might as well do it in her crib), and she was out in 10 min. Way faster than when I was rocking her. The next nap, I put her in her crib and she was asleep in 5. So, if the get-baby-more-sleep-to-get-rid-of-overtiredness plan doesn't work, that might be something else to try.</p> <p>Good luck! I hope she has a big long nap! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/chronically-over-tired-baby#post-1731877 Mon, 30 Jun 2014 10:35:02 +0000 edelweiss 1731877@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>i feel you! i couldn't for the life of me figure out LO's sleepy cues. i tried all different time intervals and had a routine and everything but...LO just didn't like falling asleep. and same with not sleeping in the car or stroller. if he did fall asleep, it was only for 20 minutes or so.</p> <p>there's no perfect time for sleep training. arguably if we waited for our babies not to be overtired in order to sleep train, we probably don't need sleep training in the first place!</p> <p>i called a sleep consultant for an initial consultation (for a slightly different issue--by 9 months he had learned to fall asleep and stay asleep at the most part except for waking up at 4.30 every single damn morning), and it was good. it didn't fix our issues, but it was helpful to talk to someone and at least pretend that i understood what was going on. so i say go for it.</p> <p>she also could be going through a developmental gain--when LO learned to walk, it screwed with his sleep for a couple of weeks.</p> <p>lastly, lots of hugs for you. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/chronically-over-tired-baby#post-1731842 Mon, 30 Jun 2014 10:28:27 +0000 kml636 1731842@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The overtiredness cycle is the devil! Ugh. What worked for me when my LO wouldn't sleep was either swing or... the ultimate secret weapon... baby wearing in the baby k'tan or once she got a little older, the ergo. Hope you can get her on a schedule or something soon! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/chronically-over-tired-baby#post-1731826 Mon, 30 Jun 2014 10:25:26 +0000 abbydabbydoodlebug 1731826@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Grace: That chart is super helpful, thank you. I'm not sure if she's teething. She's always chewed on her fist and she's not super drooly. It's always a possibility though. </p> <p>I usually start nap times at 1 hour 30 min. Her routine takes about 5-10 min and normally she's fairly easy to pat her to sleep in her crib, but since she's so over tired its become so difficult. She's talking a really good nap right now though for once so maybe we can get her back in rhythm. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/chronically-over-tired-baby#post-1731632 Mon, 30 Jun 2014 09:39:37 +0000 Grace 1731632@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Oh geez, I couldn't read sleepy cues past 3 months. She just seemed to stop doing it. So if you are a failure, then so am I. What I did was play with the times. At 5 months, you are aiming for the two hour wake time max (according to Oh geez, I couldn't read sleepy cues past 3 months. She just seemed to stop doing it. So if you are a failure, then so am I. What I did was play with the times. At 5 months, you are aiming for LO to be asleep by 2 hours max<br /> (According to <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/11GHo4keUb2TVJUlSL1kD6HQcEgaNFBmzoQoOzcpcyas/mobilebasic?authkey=CPXE1bsO&#038;pli=1&#038;hl=en)" rel="nofollow">https://docs.google.com/document/d/11GHo4keUb2TVJUlSL1kD6HQcEgaNFBmzoQoOzcpcyas/mobilebasic?authkey=CPXE1bsO&#038;pli=1&#038;hl=en)</a>. If you think that's too long, put her down 15 min earlier and see what happens. Maybe her max wake time is 1 hr 45 min or 1 hr 30. My LO needed to be asleep at 1 hr 45 at that age. If you can't read her cues, go by the clock.</p> <p>Other thing I'm thinking is could she be teething? My LO's sleep when just stupid when she teethed the first time. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/chronically-over-tired-baby#post-1731609 Mon, 30 Jun 2014 09:34:11 +0000 abbydabbydoodlebug 1731609@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>She won't sleep in the car or the stroller unfortunately. I mean, she will eventually fall asleep but she only stays asleep a short time. </p> <p>I was just about to go get her after letting her cry and she went from loud crying to asleep. I guess she was just that tired. But she did it on her own, so that's the good thing I guess. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/chronically-over-tired-baby#post-1731594 Mon, 30 Jun 2014 09:30:07 +0000 Greentea 1731594@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DD has/had a hard time sleeping. She just wasn't/isn't into it. I am the same way (well, not anymore!) Does your LO sleep in the car or stroller? We have had to use the ergo as well. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/chronically-over-tired-baby#post-1731554 Mon, 30 Jun 2014 09:19:57 +0000 abbydabbydoodlebug 1731554@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think my DD is chronically over tired. We had a super rough week of staying up past the 2 hour mark, waking every 2 hours, taking 2.5hrs at night to go to sleep more than 40 min. It's a nightmare. I'm currently listening to her scream because she refused to let me pat her. She's 5 months old this week. I'm just at the end of my rope. I have no idea what her sleepy cues are. I think I miss them because she ends up getting fussy and then I rush her to sleep but by then it's too late. I feel like I'm a failure because I can't even read my own kids sleep cues at 5 months. I have no idea how to fix this and I'm so exhausted. I haven't slept since before she was born. </p> <p>I'm so desperate that I looked up sleep consultants in our city and am seriously considering doing that. Maybe they'll be able to figure out her sleepy cues. </p> <p>I feel like I'm in this endless cycle of hell of no sleep &amp; naps. I can't sleep train while she's so over tired like this right?</p> <p>Sorry I'm so all over the place. I don't even know the point of this thread. I guess just to see if anyone has any thoughts about chronically overtired baby and how to get them to sleep. </p>