If you have not already done so, please read Blog Posts 1 through 5 that describe how sleep is important and beneficial. I will post specific information for parents and children based on my book, “Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child.” Please do not be put off by my book’s length. This is a reference book. Read only the topic of interest to you.
Parents might not see fatigue signs because they are distracting their baby with playing or having a meal together. Here are mother’s descriptions of their child during the hour or so before a bedtime that is too late.
Usually, we eat dinner together between 5-6pm, which usually involves significant engagement with parents. But today I fed her earlier so I could observe her alone with her toys. For most of the hour she kept wanting to engage with me. Brought me books to read to her. Brought me a puzzle to do with her. Continuously looked at me to see my reaction to certain things she was doing. When she didn’t do that she was somewhat calm and focused on her toys. She got excited and talkative from time to time depending on what she was doing. She rubbed her eyes for the first time at 5:45pm, after which she became a bit more clingy to me. Soon after asked for a bottle and became attached to that for a short while. I tried to start her evening routine at 6:10pm. When the lights went dim and I took her to our chair to read a book, she whined and fought me a bit.
I would say her mood between 5-6 pm while alone is a bit fussy. She will play with toys but becomes fussy without interaction. We don’t usually use a pacifier during the day during waking hours except for before bedtime. We tend to do our best to distract her before bed and keep her calm.
Behavior before falling asleep: we watch for drowsy cues which starts as glassy eyes/yawning and that’s when we take him to get ready for bed (it’s usually sometime around 6, sometimes earlier, sometimes later). Routine is lotion, meds, diaper change, and a nursing session which has become short in the recent weeks and he usually gulps his milk down, then cries to be put down in his crib.
“But between 5 and 6 pm if he is just left alone, he starts getting fussy, rubs his eyes, seems tired and hungry, stares off into space. He will even start fussing in his swing a bit unless he’s given a pacifier, at which point he’ll just stare off into space.”
“Lately she’s been very clingy and on the grumpy side, so I imagine she would only tolerate playing by herself for a short period of time.
” I do know that she tends to be fussy at bedtime (8:00pm)”.
I watched the “drowsy Max” video; I think that is somewhat helpful. I’ve never seen her ‘bob’ her head like Max, and I don’t think she regularly has the lack of focus to the degree that Max does, but she does a bit. Her main drowsy cues seem to be irritability and clinginess. She seems VERY sensitive to light; once put in a dark room, it becomes more clear whether she’s tired: she will scream and resist if not (she knows that darkness means we’re trying to put her down for a nap), but if she is tired, she will settle down within a minute or two, cling to us more, and start closing her eyes.
He does not like to be left alone!! Fussy.Around 4 her mood is pretty good and she likes to crawl around and play with her toys and try to get into stuff. As it gets closer to 5 she is usually fussy and will still play if I’m there playing with her but is not as interested in her toys
He is so-so with being left alone with toys. About 40% of the time, he will play and entertain himself and be happy to moderately happy, but about 60% of the time he is crying to be held, or to be sitting next to someone while playing.
After 4:45, I’d say she gets more emotional.
To better understand Fatigue Signs and Presleep Arousal. Look at the following Blog Posts:
