Baby & Toddler Sleep Cues - By Slumber & Sprout

One of our signature pieces at Little Archer & Co. is our newborn baby nest. We're constantly told how convenient they are for helping their little one during rest and awake time.

But what are some other hacks to get your little people into dreamland? We spoke with sleep specialists Kate and Hayley from Slumber & Sprout, who kindly shared with us a blog to help look out for those tell-tale signs. Happy sleeping folks!

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Do you find it tricky to work out when your baby or toddler is ready to sleep?

When it comes to easier settles, timing really is everything. And when we talk about timing a baby’s or toddlers sleep perfectly it means taking into consideration their age appropriate awake windows but also their sleep cues. When we use those two things in conjunction with each other we can avoid overtired little ones.

Slumber & Sprout have put some great tips together to help you to navigate your little ones tired signs and readiness to sleep.

When timing is good most little ones will generally go to sleep easier and sleep better. An overtired baby or toddler though, with too much cortisol and adrenaline, can become too upset and/or fussy, making falling asleep and staying asleep hard for them.

There are 3 stages to sleep cues 👇🏻

😶 Stage 1: Baby or toddler is starting to get tired⁠
⁠🥱 Stage 2: Baby or toddler needs to go down to sleep⁠
⁠😭 Stage 3: Baby or toddler has missed their ideal sleep window and is overtired⁠

So what can you look for to know if your little one is sleep ready? Things that you might you see in each sleepy cue stage?

Baby Sleep Cues

Baby is starting to get tired
Pink Eyebrows

Starts staring & zoning out

Loses interest in toys & people

Baby needs to go to sleep

Starts rubbing eyes

Yawning

Getting a little fussy

Rubbing/pulling at the face/ears

Baby has missed their ideal sleep window and is now overtired

A very upset baby

Arching back

Difficult to settle & resisting sleep

Clingy & needing more comfort than usual

Rigid

Toddler Sleep Cues

Toddler is starting to get tired

Seeking more attention

Starts staring & zoning out

Loses interest in toys & people

Toddler needs to go down to sleep

Starts rubbing eyes

Yawning

Getting a little fussy

Grizzling / crying

Toddler has missed their ideal sleep window and is now overtired

Lots of crying

Meltdowns & tantrums

Difficult to settle &

Resisting sleep

Demanding more comfort than usual

Hopefully these tips help to get your little one off to sleep more easily. If you are unsure about your little ones awake windows you can find these on the feed over @slumberandsprout.