The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Newborns

While your newborn is unique and will present you with a very individualized language, there are many similarities among babies. So let’s talk about some common signals to give you a guideline as you begin the process of learning your own baby’s language. Once you get through the first few weeks or months you won’t need a list of any kind – as you will learn how to read your baby better than anyone else in the whole entire world. But in the meantime, knowing what things to be looking out for can speed the translation process.

Signs that your baby may be tired:  

• A lull in movement or activity; calm, slower movements
• Quieting down, making fewer or simpler sounds
• Losing interest in people and toys
• Looking away from you
• Appearing glazed or unfocused; staring off in the distance
• Limp, relaxed face and jaw
• Fussing or whining
• Eyes open wide and unblinking
• Rubbing eyes, ears or face
• Not settling down in your arms, squirming
• Yawning

Other factors that indicate tiredness:

• Being awake for one to three hours
• Last sleep session was disrupted, and your baby woke up before ready

Here are a few signs that your baby might be overtired:

• Fretful crying (which can also indicate hunger)
• Arching backwards or going rigid
• Flailing, jerky, uncoordinated movements of arms and legs
• Chin down, head nodding loosely
• Drooping eyelids, slow blinking, eyelid fluttering
• Dark circles appearing under the eyes; eyes appearing red or bloodshot

Other factors that indicate overtiredness:

• Being awake for more than three hours

Excerpted with permission by McGraw-Hill Publishing from The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Newborns by Elizabeth Pantley. (McGraw-Hill, 2016). [email protected]

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