Nap Issues/Accidental Parenting

[stephanie01031]

I've been reading up on the different threads and while I'm finding helpful information, I think there's one thing missing that I need to know...

What does it look like when they start to get tired?  I think I'm missing some cues or something because she's getting really hard to calm down.  I also just weaned her off the swaddler and pacifier...was that too much at one time?  Both had become a serious prop for her sleep, to the point where she would wake for her pacifier and wouldn't go back to sleep without it.

My 4.5 month old just recently started waking anywhere from 20-45 minutes into her (what used to be) 2 hour nap.  She was on a great schedule:
7am- Wake and feed
9am-sleep
11am-wake and feed
1pm-sleep
3-wake and feed
5-catnap
6-wake
7-feed
7:30-bathtime/bed

She's sleeping through the night fine...she just seems to want to wake during her nap.  i'm afriad i've reinforced something that I shouldn't have.  The rocking thing is a problem so I've nipped it...I'm not through reading the BW Solves All Your Problems, but does she address what to do when the PU/PD method doesn't work?  My lo doen't calm down when I pick her up, in fact her crying escalates.  She wound up crying inconsolably for an hour yesterday--and nothing worked until I took her outside to distract her.  So obviously her nap was disturbed.

Ok, since this is a little scattered, here are my issues all in a nutshell:

1.  What does it REALLY look like when they're getting over-tired?
2.  How do you get them to stop crying without props when they wake up from their naps?
3.  How do you know if you've reinforced something bad if they're habitually waking up?  Could it be the pacifier making her cry because she can't have it or did I take away too many props at once?

Please advise, any advice would be appreciated!
Stephanie01031

[nattymarsh]

Hi there.  I don't have answers to all your questions but I can tell you what it looks like when my lo gets overtired.  She yawns (although that's not always a sign), she rubs at her face and eyes, and pulls on her ears.  I have found that once she gets to the point that she is rubbing her eyes she is usually overtired, much harder to settle down for a nap, and tends to wake up early (i.e. the 45 minute mark).  From trial and error (and help from the BW boards!) I've discovered that the best thing to do with my lo is start her wind down routine 1 1/2 hours after she's been up whether she is showing signs of being tired or not.  Her wind down routine is about 1/2 hour so that gives her a total of 2 hours awake time which seems to be all she can handle now.  If she starts rubbing her eyes, pulling at her ears during her wind down I cut it short and put her in her crib.  I have found it's much easier to get her to go down before she starts showing too many visible signs of sleepiness.  Hope this helps a little 

[Jenifer]

My 11 week old starts to get whiney - then I know its time. 
She yawns 20 minutes after waking up  .. so I can't go by her yawning alone.