Need help reading 5 mo sleep cues

[becky1969]

my LO is 20 weeks today. I'm suddenly at a loss with his sleep cues! It used to be when he yawned, up he'd go. But after about 2 months old, I rarely saw yawns, so I used fussiness for a cue - once the toys stopped being "fun" it was time to go down for a nap. About a month ago, I realized THAT wasn't even a very good cue because his "A" time was getting long enough that he'd fuss when he'd get bored and need a change of venue.

So I kind of got that worked out for awhile, and now we have a new problem, where I think I see him finally getting tired, it seems like he's been up long enough, (but not QUITE long enough - like 1h45) and he's fussing so I take him upstairs for a nap. Then he has a meltdown when we enter his room! It used to be this meant that I was taking him up way too early, so we'd go down and play a little longer and try again in 10 minutes. But now I'm not sure if I'm taking him up too early or if he's just protesting because he's getting old enough that he just wants to keep playing! Can someone help me with some other ways to decipher my LOs sleep cues at this age? I feel like I'm always taking him up too early or too late right now, whereas before I had him down pat and he would go out like a light so easily! (BTW, today when he had the meltdown, I took him into an adjoing room and read him another book for 5-10 minutes. by the time that was done, he went down for his nap without protest and really quickly. So maybe I was just a little too early putting him down?)

[chell]

Hi, I remember this happening, it's like just when you think you know what you are doing, it all changes and youare back to square one!
I think you have answered your own question, in that taking him out of the room for a little longer worked. As they get older, picking up on cues is harder adn you may need to go by timing a bit more. I htink you can only do this by trial and error. There may be some subtle cues you might not have noticed before, so you could look out for anything new. I think if you stick to his routine adn are consistent you will be able to ride this one out.

[Idahomom]

I think it was around 5 mo that ds started to rub his eyes when he was tired.  Another thing to look for is poor motor skills, like reaching for an object and missing.  HTH

[Ami ~ 3 girls' mom]

Better to try to put them down early than too late.     Savannah gets fidgety, not interested in anything.  If I take her to the bedroom and she doesn't protest, she will almost always go to sleep without crying.

[becky1969]

Thanks everyone. I have noticed the eye rubbing is a new thing, so I'm starting to watch for that one. I've also started reading our books in the adjacent room first BEFORE going in his bedroom. It seems to keep him calmer since going in the bedroom tells him we're going to start napping soon so I better FREAK OUT! LOL!

 I've also noticed that as long as I keep to our routine, he seems to do OK, but if I vary it he gets very upset. For instance, we tell a bunch of objects "night-night" and turn on the white noise before sitting in the rocker to sing a song. But if I just sit in the rocker, to read a book, then he goes wild! I think he's just becoming more aware of what's going on so I have to be much more certain that I stick to the routine! Sheesh! These little buggers are such drill sergeants! But he can boss me around any day! 

[mrsmynub]

I saw your post and just had to tell you that my lo's cues have changed, too!!! He went from yawning to eye rubbing, which I didn't notice.  AMazing how quickly they change!!!!