How to Smartly Deal with your Overtired Baby

The joy parents get by playing and cuddling with babies has no comparison. Putting babies to sleep and watching them sleeping peacefully is so satisfying for parents. Just like adults, even babies overtire themselves by either playing too much or over-exerting themselves. It makes them irritable and they find it difficult to fall asleep. It is, therefore important that you must take them to bed just before they get overtired and become difficult to deal with.

Overtired Babies

As babies grow old, their capacity to stay awake increases. By the time they are a year old, they tend to stay awake for more than three to four hours at a stretch. While it’s a good sign – they’re growing and developing day-by-day, babies do not really realize when they overtire themselves. And, many new parents are unable to even identify or understand that their little one is showcasing signs of overtiredness.

Overtiredness in babies typically happens due to the following reasons:

Physical fatigue,
They are caught up in a phase between normal tiredness and extreme exhaustion
They are in a desperate need of sleep, but something or someone is keeping them falling asleep

One of the most common misconceptions about overtired babies is that if babies exhaust themselves, they have better sleep. That’s not true! This is because overtired babies will be extremely stressed out, anxious, and won't stop crying. This will further hamper their sleeping pattern as well.

So, how do you tell whether or not your little one is overtired or not?

Signs of Overtired Babies

Babies have their own ways to signal overtiredness. It’s just a matter of paying attention to their signs and identifying their expressions.

Constant Yawning – This is one of the most obvious and straightforward signs of fatigue. Sometimes babies stop doing everything including crying and simply yawn to indicate their parents, they’re in need of some sound sleep.

Being Fussy and Screaming – Overtired babies usually tend to cry continuously and become extremely clingy. They take their fussiness and crying to screaming levels.

Disturbed Naps – Overtiredness disrupts a baby’s nap and hence, they just keep waking up at irregular intervals. They’ll resist sleeping in their cribs and even wake up in the middle of the night

Dealing With Overtired Babies

It is not easy to deal with overtired babies. As parents, it is important to calm them and make them happy again. Here are some smart tips and tricks to relax overtired babies.

Give Them A Calming Massage

A parent’s touch, especially a mother’s touch, can significantly reduce a baby’s anxiety. When a baby is overtired, giving them a massage with gentle hands makes them calm down and relaxes their senses. Together with your massage, Vicks BabyRub is specially developed to gently moisturize, soothe and relax, helping parents calm their crying and fussy babies. It helps babies relieve their discomfort, allowing them to eventually enjoy a peaceful sleep.

Approved by baby and skin experts, Vicks BabyRub is completely safe for babies’ skin. Natural ingredients such as Aloe Vera and Coconut oil helps nourish their skin. Together with a gentle massage, fragrances of rosemary and lavender helps in relaxing the baby.

Sing Them A Song

Lullabies are a classic way of bonding with your little ones. They help calm the babies and reduce their tension or anxiety levels as well.

Setting The Right Sleeping Environment

Taking exhausted babies to quieter rooms and swaddling them to sleep can do the trick too.

Understanding babies and their signals make for one of the hardest parts of parenthood. As parents begin to understand these signals, it gets easier for them to deal with them. At the same time, using Vicks BabyRub with a gentle massage to soothe your baby not only adds to your baby’s comfort but yours as well.

Disclaimer

Keep Vicks BabyRub the areas of application loosely covered to avoid accidental ingestion or slipping while walking. Read the label carefully. Use as directed.