pupd am I doing it right?

[lmg2011]

My 5 month old dd will only nap on me during the day
even though she sleeps in her basket at night. She can't
really self settle so I am trying pupd. So far without much
success. I usually give up after half an hour feeling quite
sure that another 10 mins won't make any difference. So I end
up rocking and cuddling her as usual.

Am I defeating the purpose here? What do you do if they simply
are having none of it? I really want to do this but I am
worried I'll end up doing more harm than good if I'm
not doing it right... argh!

Any tips gratefully received. X

Just do what feels right for you and your baby. It's not going to do any harm back tracking, especially if it's just cuddling/rocking. Just do it as much as you feel you should, or as little. The only thing it will do is slow down the process slightly, but it's good to go slowly anyway :)

Ah thank you its nice to hear you say that. I have read so much that I got confused about how long to do it for. I am sure I read somewhere to do it for a max of 40 minutes..then I read other posts where people persevere for an hour or more! I have found it hard to do it for longer than half an hour as she gets more and more annoyed and more and more tired... and every time I pick her up she is calm straight away and almost asleep so quickly. Then I put her down and she cries.. feels cruel!

I want to do it right though. And its been said that It's not easy..just a case of keeping going ... I might set aside a few days and bite the bullet...

Yes, it will be hard and it will take time, and if you want to succeed you'll manage. However I don't feel that it is that effective as it takes a baby 15-30 minutes to go in to a deep sleep. So, if she's dropping off on your shoulder and you move her within 5 minutes she will wake up because she's not deeply asleep.

Saying that, it is my opinion and it could work for you/others eventually, it just seems like a lot of bother for nothing. I feed my DD to sleep, then let her sleep on me for 15 minutes, with a blanket over her so that it gets nice and warm, and then put her slowly in to her bouncy chair (baby bjorn babysitter) and wrap the blanket around her. it's the only place she naps apart from the wrap sling (moby wrap) they are both wonderful inventions imo. (before I had these it was mummy or nothing)

Anyway, the best of luck to you, you certainly have more drive than I do - i'm just lazy

Tried it "properly" for the first time this morning ie i didnt give up. Nearly two hours later she finally dropped off after a short cry when I put her down. Must have been just too tired to protest any more. She slept for 25 mins..(not enough but not complaining - its a start) I hope to keep it up and continue with it tonight too. She has started not settling so well after her night feed(s) whereas she used to go back down fine. And then there's the post 4.30/5am time when she only seems to sleep for one sleep cycle at a time. So a bit of work to do at night too!

If it was just the napping on me that was the problem then I might not be so inclined to put myself/her through it. But she wont be put down for her nap even when she has gone into a deep sleep and it seems to be a habit that is creeping into the night time routine which just fills me with dread.. So..wish me luck and thanks for replying :-)

I have never tried pupd but for the past two nights, I tried putting DS down in his cot after the feed. He would moan but I rubbed his tummy gently and let him know I was there and he managed to doze off on his own. I don't know if this is a temporary blip! For weeks, have been cuddling and rocking him to sleep and it has been so frustrating because he cried as soon as I put him in the cot.

I second the moby and baby bjorn bouncer. The latter is pricey but the best thing I bought for DS. It has given me so much more freedom as I don't need to hold him so much during the day. I think the design makes babies feel quite snug.