Has anyone actually had any success with PUPD?

[yawningbear]

The fact that I am actually even contemplating trying a BW 'technique' should indicate how desperate I am getting. Have a 2.5 DD who has always been a terrible sleeper and a 3 month old DS who started pretty well, slept better than DD ever had in his first few weeks but that has all now gone out the window. He is currently needing to be rocked to get to sleep for all naps and at night, its taking longer and longer for him to fall asleep and he cries loudly throughout which I hate. He does sometimes feed to sleep but I have been trying not to get into the habit of doing it every sleep time as this was one of the main problems with DD and it was so hard to stop. I am currently very, very tired. DD still dosen't always sleep through, she needs me with her to get to sleep and she tends to wake early. Have been up since 5am with them both and throughout the night with DS. Am shattered and am now contemplating trying PUPD with DS. I really don't want to have two terrible sleepers on my hands. I also just don't have the time to spend ages helping DS get to sleep as DD needs me during the day. Anyone tried it with any success? TIA

Yes, when DD was a baby though...took 3 nights. It is a question of giving them the confidence to fall asleep for themselves...we also had an old jumper of mine in the cot, stuffed under the bottom sheet.
To this day I don't know if that helped!
I also used the "badger balm" Green Baby sell for helping get to sleep.

Also, my MIL showed me the "rub the back" technique, where you don't pick up but rub their back making soothing noises (mostly mmmm in my case). Make the rubbing a little less each night.

I used a lot of the BW techniques after I read the book when DD was about 5 months. I found it really really helpful.

I think 3 months might be too young for PUPD - not even the Baby Whisperer herself recommends under 4 months iirc.

I've used it twice - once at about 5 months when I stopped feeding to sleep and again at 8 months when ds was waking lots standing up in his cot. Worked quickly both times.

We did the PUPD with DS2 when he was 6 months old as we took the dummy off him at the same time. It took 4 nights. My best advice is to decide who is doing it and the same person does it each night.

Thanks everyone, really appreciate your replies and good to know that folk have had some success with it. I had thought that the BW recommended it from 3 months Rita with sshhpat prior to that but I will double check. I am just really struggling at the moment and the thought of DS following in DD's footsteps in terms of terrible sleep habits is worrying me big time! Interesting too Fab, I think it would be much better if DP could do it, no smell of boob and he does seem to settle quite well with him. He is going to be off work for a couple of weeks as of next week so we could try it then but obviously not if it is not recommended til 4 months. I am not sure I could cope with any length of crying anyway. How long did it actually take each night? I think I read somwhere that it is usually anywhere between 20mins-1 hour with as many as 100 PUPD's?

Just googled it and it def sounds like we would be best to wait and try it in a couple of months. Just not sure what to do to help DS in the meantime, DP starts a new job soon and will be even less available at bedtime so really need to find a routine where I can settle DS without any upset and where DD isn't left on her own for any length of time. Ah well, this too will pass, this too will pass.....

When we first did it it did take a while - an hour the first night sounds about right! Second time was a lot easier, took an hour again but it was one night and that was it.

Have you tried putting him in his cot and ssh-patting?

Thanks Rita, good to know how long it might take, so we don't crack after 20 minutes, if we do decide to try it in a couple of months. I have tried the ssh-pat but only half heartedly if I'm honest. The ssshing does really help him and we have white noise playing too but I can't get the hang of patting him in the cot. If I cuddle him to me he loves being patted on the bum but when he is in the cot on his back I'm not sure where to pat. I have tried him on his side and patting his back but it seemed to upset him more and he doesn't want to be patted on his front. Any suggestions v welcome. Another 5.30am wake up following on from numerous night wakings from DS and one from DD-grrrrrrrr!

With my ds I would lie him on his side and pat his bottom - I'd pat quite firmly so his head would wobble a little bit, kind of how it would if you were jiggling them in your arms. It became such a strong sleep cue that almost as soon as I started sshing and patting his eyes would roll back

hello

we've had a fair bit of success with shush pat and we pick her up is she is very upset. So a kind of shush pat/PUPD combo with the golden rules of no feeding and no rocking! That combined with a rock solid bedtime and nap routine have helped hugely here. We also find DD responds well to the BW's suggestion sitting with them upright in darkened room for 5-10 mins prior to sleep as a wind-down and sleep cue.

Ooo, that sounds good Rita! I will give a firm bottom pat a go, and thanks Zimm, I think he would also respond to the wind down so will try that at bedtime when I have DP here to watch DD. Really appreciate the advice, have been feeling so rubbish, had been so determined to not repeat mistakes I had made with DD and DS seemed to be a very different baby to begin with.

Just a thought: does ds go to bed "early"? ie at 7 or 8 in the evening? I always had my babies up with us in the evenings until my bedtime when they were really little. They might have a quick nap of about 45 minutes at 7ish, but would then wake up again and seem to naturally prefer to stay up until about 11pm when we would both go to bed and I would feed them to very nearly asleep, take them off the boob and make sure they had their eyes open (just about) and looking at me, then a kiss "night night, sleepy time now" and in to the cot. Usually they would self settle then, other nights they would cry a bit, but I did try very hard not to feed to sleep. I am fairly sure this went on until at least 4 months, if not a little later. Rather unfortunately, I can't remember how we got them to change to an 8pm bedtime, but they were going to bed at a reasonable hour by about 5/6 months.

They were both fairly good sleepers. Dd started sleeping 8pm - 6am from about 6 months onwards, although later we did controlled crying with her at 10 months after her sleep went haywire after a cold, which worked within a couple of nights. Ds was never quite as good, but he never kept me up ALL night, he might wake a couple of times. Again we tried controlled crying at about 10 months. Since when they have both slept through unless ill or spooked by a dream.

Hi Bibbity, he does go to bed early, mainly because I find it harder and harder to get him to nap as the day goes on so by 6ish he is shattered and miserable and so goes to bed. It has also then meant I have had some time with DD on her own. Today I tried to get him to nap from 4pm onwards but although I had caught him when he first started yawning he just got himself in a total state and by 5pm I gave up and started getting him ready for bed, he had a feed at 6pm and despite best efforts not to, he was so shattered he just passed out as soon as I took him off. You are right though, probably would be much better if he would stay up later, but without another nap happening he would just be miserable. Oh dear, I hear him crying .