7 week old many questions

[ashsirimom]

Ok dd is 7 weeks. i have no idea how to tell if she is tired so i probably miss the window for sleep. she is SO hard to settle. she cries for long periods of time when she is obviously tired! her eyes rolll and close but doesnt stay alseep for more then a few mintues. i have no time during day or even because i am trying to get her to sleep!! help me please!!! i'm going nuts! i also have a 3 yearold too. what do i do. what are the signs of tired and over stim?

[LaNita]

I don't necessarily have too much help for you b/c I have the same problem. My DD is 14 wks and she'll start to fuss from being OT and will be smiling at the same time...I just start the 4 S's with the first yawn. Sometimes my DD will get really quiet and lose interest in toys or w/e we're doing at the time and/or she might get a glazed look in her eyes but most of the time, neither of these are the case. Lately, I've noticed that she'll start sucking on her fingers towards the end of A-time so I take that as a cue too. But for the most part, I'll just start wind down 45 min-1hr in A-time and I'll get lucky and catch the window. And lately, I've been revising her activities b/c what you do in your A-time can actually be why she's overstimulated. Hopefully, I've helped a little. I know exactly how you feel though so Hang in there!...I'm going through it too.

[vuhoo]

My DS never showed signs of tiredness and he still doesn't.  He's 2 1/2 yrs old.  Rather than waiting for signs, I watched the clock and just go by that.  After a few trial and error, I was able to determine his A time.  My DD is different, she'll definitely let me know when she's ready by whining.  At 7wks, my DD could only handle 1hr of A time.  If I miss her OT mark, it can take me 45mins of rocking to get her down.

[deckchariot]

At 7 weeks, my dd didn't sleep during the day    But I also had a hard time reading cues, I  know that I would feed her, have maybe 5 min of staring at mommy time (anything else was too stimulating for her), then a diaper change and start the wind down routine.  Like you, I had no Y time....but it does get better - really it does!  I would say watch the clock too, she probably can't handle much more than a hour - and that includes the time it takes to feed her.  Establish a routine as best you can (check out the EASY boards) and  you will get to know your lo....and it will get better!!