3 Signs Your Baby is Overtired (And What to Do About It)
If you’ve ever felt like your baby just won’t sleep no matter what you try — you’re not alone. I’ve been there, with both of my girls. In those early months, I spent hours bouncing, rocking, and shushing, only to have them fight sleep like it was their full-time job. 😅
One of the biggest things I’ve learned (as a mum of two and through my work as a baby sleep consultant) is that so often, the problem isn’t that your baby can’t sleep — it’s that they’ve become overtired. And once a baby tips into overtiredness, settling can feel 10 times harder.
So how do you know when your little one has crossed into overtired territory? Here are 3 common overtired baby signs I see all the time (and have lived through myself!).
1. Tired Signs
This is your baby’s way of saying, “I’m done, I need a break.” Both my girls would start rubbing their little eyes, and if I missed it, we’d quickly go from calm to chaos.
Alongside eye-rubbing, here are some other subtle cues that your baby might be ready for sleep:
Red eyebrows
Clenched fists or jerky arm movements
A distant or glazed-over look
Grizzling or fussing
Back arching
Sudden hunger cues (often just wanting to suck to soothe themselves off to sleep)
The tricky part is these signs can change as your baby grows — and sometimes they’re easy to miss. But once you start tuning in, you’ll notice patterns, and catching them early makes settling so much easier.
2. The Meltdown Mode (Crying That Escalates Quickly)
We all know babies cry, but an overtired cry is different — it’s louder, more intense, harder to soothe, and sometimes even has an “angry” edge.
With my youngest, if we pushed past her awake window, she could go from a gentle grizzle to a full-blown scream in minutes. If your baby’s cries escalate quickly and nothing seems to help, overtiredness is often the culprit.
3. Wired but Exhausted (aka The Second Wind & False Starts)
This one used to throw me completely! Instead of getting sleepy, my eldest would suddenly get hyper — squealing, kicking, smiling like she was ready to party. That “second wind” is your baby’s body releasing stress hormones (like cortisol) to stay awake. Unfortunately, it makes falling asleep even harder.
And then there are false starts — when your baby finally drifts off at bedtime, only to wake again 20–40 minutes later. Nine times out of ten, this is a sign of overtiredness. Their little body is simply too wound up to move into that deeper, more restorative sleep cycle.
What to Do About an Overtired Baby
The best way to tackle overtiredness is to catch the early signs before your baby tips over the edge. A few things that help:
Watch the clock and your baby: Use age-appropriate awake times as a guide, but always respond to your little one’s sleepy cues.
Create a simple wind-down routine: Babies love predictability. Think dim lights, white noise, a cuddle, or a short lullaby — it doesn’t have to be long or complicated, just consistent.
If you think bub is already overtired, try a shortened version of your usual routine so you’re still signalling that sleep is coming without prolonging things.
Reset if needed: Sometimes an overtired baby just needs a contact nap, a feed-to-sleep, or even a pram/drive nap to catch up. That’s okay! You’re not creating “bad habits” — you’re helping them reset.
A Little Encouragement from One Mum to Another
I know how exhausting it feels when your baby won’t sleep and nothing seems to work. Please don’t beat yourself up — overtiredness happens to every family (yep, even sleep consultants!). The more you tune into your baby’s signs, the easier it gets to catch that sweet spot for sleep.
💜 If you’d like more personalised support, I’d love to chat. I offer gentle baby sleep consultant tips tailored to your little one and your family. You don’t have to figure this out alone.