"shush-pat” and “pick up/put down Method ?

[LizzeyBenett]

Has anyone tried this and it worked ? My now 9 week old has been fighting her sleep since she was about 5-6 weeks old . It's only really during the day but it's a constant battle and the only way I can get her to sleep is on top of me which is fine but the minute I transfer her to her Moses basket she wakes up 95% of the time as a result I'm a baby mattress literally all day long. I've even taken to using the huckleberry app to log all her naps and sleep to make sure I'm not keeping her up too long to be honest she never makes it more than 30/40 minutes between naps and is tired again so the only reason she ends up over tired is she fight her sleep so much. She is too young to cry it out and personally I won't be trying that anyway . But I'm just wondering if the shush-pat” and “pick up/put down method has worked for anyone ? I came across it in an artical here: www.todaysparent.com/baby/baby-sleep/2-month-old-sleep-training/

I did shush pat with my DS. My friends were all in awe when I took baby DS up for a nap and was back down in minutes.

I thought I had it all sorted.

Then DD came along. She screamed blue murder when I tried shush pat.

Take of that what you will.

9 weeks is still very young. I know it's tough and probably gross having a baby sleep on you in this heat but she's still in that 4th trimester stage and this is normal.

I'd use a sling and let her sleep while getting on with whatever.
That's what worked for me anyway.

I did pick up put down at 11 months and it worked a treat, however I'd say 9 weeks is way too young to try anything like that. Could she nap in the pram indoors or outdoors?

She won't fall asleep on her own has to be held and most of the time after she's asleep if I put her down she wakes up it's nearly not worth trying to put her down .

I shushed patted (can it be used as a verb?!) to get mine to sleep as newborns. It worked. They didn’t cry. They slept in the cot. All good. Then they got older and wanted to be left alone! In fact I was cuddling my 3 year old in bed last night and he told me ‘go away mummy it’s sleep time now’ 😂
It’s worth a try isn’t it? If she cries then you can stop.

Have you tried using a t shirt/top that you have worn in her moses basket/pram. She may settle better if she can smell your scent. Obviously it needs to be done on a safe way so she can't suffocate herself on it ( you might be able to thread mattress into it if it is a big enough top or maybe pull sleeves into the inside and use as a blanket )

Being napped trapped is completely normal. She’s 9 weeks and it’s totally normal to want to be held by her primary carer.
It could be the startle reflex waking her. Maybe try swaddle bags or similar.
Sometimes you just need to lean into the fact that this is how it is and it’s not forever.

Yes ! I really feel like I have tried everything . She is also sleeping a lot when she does sleep soundly on top of me of course but that might be because I do try out her down and she ends up exhausted then because she won't sleep and it spirals

Same here. I tried when my daughter was younger but she’s a tough child 😂 it worked at around 11 months old but it was difficult. I would shush and pat her for a couple of minutes while she was screaming, then pick her up and hold her for a few more minutes and repeat everything again. First night I did this for about an hour! Then it got better and I didn’t need to pick her up anymore after three nights, just pay her and hold hands. I’d say that your baby is still too young for this I co slept until 11 months and I was nap trapped until 12 months old!! Unfortunately they are ready to sleep independently when they are. Just try to make yourself comfortable when baby naps on you, listen to audiobooks, watch movies or just relax. Enjoy it because it will end soon.

9 weeks old is really very young to expect her to sleep in her own. Some babies do of course but many don’t. I just used the sling, pram, contact naps etc at that age. It wasn’t until many months older that mine were able to be transferred! In the end I stopped worrying as I was taking twice as long trying to transfer him and he’d wake up anyway!

OP I know it doesn’t seem like it at the moment and easy to say when you’re not in the thick of it but 9 weeks is still a tiny baby.
Baby will want to be next to you all the time and this is completely normal.
I remember those days of being completely stuck with a baby on me - what worked was a sling to allow baby to sleep while I got on with stuff as others have suggested.
This phase usually passes so quickly and then you’ll be wishing you had them back like this.

Do the contact naps! 9 weeks is sooo teeny tiny and anything else you need to do can wait! This comes from someone who sleep trained at 6m then missed the contact naps 🤦🏻‍♀️ I know it's hard and infuriating and people make you feel bad for just holding them but just hold them ❤️

You've tried everything except acceptance and time.

This is completely normal for 9 weeks. At this age they have zero awareness they are a separate being to their mother, you and she are as one as far as her barely out of the womb mind is concerned... it is normal that she should not sleep soundly except in contact with her life support.

Try not to feel pressure to be getting on with things when she sleeps, anyone who gives you that pressure is being a dick.
Or if life demands you must, get a sling.

The vision you are striving for of a baby who settles and sleeps alone without difficulty is developmentally appropriate later on (and even then it will carry from one baby to the next), it would be very unusual now!

It is exhausting investing effort into something highly unlikely to succeed because the goal is out of step with where baby is at from a normal development point of view.

Much less soul destroying to throw yourself into things which are in tune (I say this as I have been through that learning process and done the futile efforts thing myself)... Have a read up on the 4th trimester and see if what you find can help you choose things to try that are supportive of where she is it. Met her needs where she is and go from there. She will learn and grow and all the things you want will happen when they should happen.

Baby carrier - DD slept in hers for the first few months. It’s really convenient in that fourth trimester. No issues later on getting her to sleep in her cot, I just plonk her in and she sleeps no problem.

I did pick up put down/shh pat with my eldest but he was older than 9 weeks, must have been about 5 or 6 months.

We did shush/Pat with our oldest, but I think she was probably 4-6 months at the time. I remember it being frustrating and draining but it did eventually work, and she became pretty good at self settling.

With my youngest, especially in the first months, I savoured the contact naps more.

If I really needed to do stuff while the baby slept, though, I can recommend a good sling that keeps them securely held to your front.

Hey OP I have one of those. He's 15 weeks now and we are just being able to get him to nap in the pram/car seat/maaaybe the crib for his first nap. We relied on the sling (and lots of walking) for all daytime naps if being nap trapped wasn't an option and it is still our most foolproof method. Best of luck!