I've recently been through a thing of trying to figure out my DD's tired signs too, as she's been fussy a lot generally, so it was hard to know when she was fussing generally or fussing from tiredness.
One thing she has started doing from about 11 months is actually get more hyped up the more tired she gets - she keeps boosting herself up as she keeps wanting to go go go, and I was mistaking this for just not being tired, but this hyped up (often cheerful) behaviour combined with other signs is my cue.
Her other signs are (not all at once, sometimes in combination, or sometimes just one of them):
~ Rubbing eyes and face
~ Getting clumsy (not able to balance as well, and getting jerky with her movements)
~ Getting upset and/or frustrated/impatient at the smallest things that she wouldn't react to when first awake
~ Stopping babbling and being more quiet vocally, but continuing to move/wriggle about as much
~ Fussy eating at mealtime/snacktime
~ Doesn't like being handled as much
When she's knackered lol, she'll do all of them, but we're pretty good at not letting it get to that point now, especially as she has transitioned and adjusted to having one nap a day now.
I'm finding it hard now too! She's so active and just on the go all the time. She's so busy I think sometimes she doesn't even know she's tired.
Sometimes she will start to whinge, rub her eyes, and ask for a feed when she's tired.
Other times there will be no signs, she will be playing happily and I will think 'she's been up for ages, it's time for a sleep'. So I pick her up for a bit to quiet her down and then she goes to sleep really easily so she must have been tired but just not showing it.
It is hard at that age...im pretty sure DD is already at that stage now when she will fight tooth and nail to pretend she isnt tired!! :sigh:
But i can always tell by her face, her eyes get puffy, but its normally a tad late by that time. If im good i can catch her before then, she just stops listening to me completely. And runs around like a loon! but before that i think she just gets clumsy!
DD is abit older than yours and she is talking pretty well now soo that is helping ALOT!!! Once she actually came and grabed me by the hand and said ''time, come on'' (bed time) or sometimes will lay down on the floor and make a snoring noise! But most the time she will be fighting it and when i ask her 'are you tired' or 'bedtime?' i get a very firm "NO"!! GL
yeah alot of eye rubbing, thumb sucking, wanting to be picked up and snuggling into me and general whinging...losing concentration, wont play with toys for very long.
It seemed like we'd finally got the hang of picking those tired signs and getting DS down at the right time, when it all stopped working. From around 6 -8 months we struggled on till I finally gave up. Things got better when I realised that DS would NOT go to sleep when he was tired. Oh no. He had to be absolutely shattered. Only then would he acquiesce.
So I ignore the tired signs (hell, he's tired pretty much all the time) and wait for the stumbling, falling over drunk-like exhausted signs.
tired signs 10-12 month old
at the moment.
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks