How to put 6month baby down awake?

[inspireme]

Our DS has always fed to sleep even for naps, but will sleep in car buggy etc but I really want to get him to go into cot awake at night. Recently a couple of nights a week he won't sleep on last bottle and the only way we can get him down is to give him another bottle an hour or two later.

So basically if he doesn't fall asleep on bottle its nearly impossible to get him to sleep for a couple of hours, he then fights it and is cranky as hell, rubbing eyes etc.

Tried putting him down when he's definitely tired and he goes crazy and gets himself in a real state.

Anyone got any ideas on how to put him down awake, and fall asleep on his own?

neither of mine ever did it so I can't help, just bumpin for ya

With a magic wand! DD didn't go down awake until she was 14mo

The was for DD - not you

My DD is the same age and it's a real struggle tbh. I currently spend half hour to a hour sat in the dark holding her hand threw the cot bars until she drops off. If I let go of her hand though she cries so she's still not settling her self to sleep.

With my dd I followed the EASY routine - eat, activity, sleep, you. So in theory the baby learns not to associate eating with sleeping. It's pretty much worked - she doesn't feed to sleep (though I don't give her any activity after her last feed), but she did become quite reliant on being cuddled to sleep. Over the past week or so I've been putting her in her cot while she's sleepy but still awake but leaning over her, shushing, stroking her face in a downwards motion etc until she's almost asleep and then leaving the room. Perhaps you can try stopping the food/sleep association throughout the day, even if it's just by doing a nappy change inbetween? Mine got the hang of it pretty quickly, but that might just be dumb luck.

Never heard of the EASY routine, would love to stop the eat/ sleep association during the day but then the only way he would sleep would be car/ buggy.

He doesn't sleep on every bottle, he takes his in 2 halves so only sleeps on one the second 4 oz, so at least he knows that it doesn't always mean he has to sleep which is a good thing.

Probably wishful thinking to think someone was gonna come and tell me a magic way to do it. Suppose I should be thankful he goes down easy the majority of nights.

I breast feed to sleep and what I've started doing is gently waking him after he's fallen asleep (and during night feeds) and then putting him down in his cot and leaving. I don't wake him fully, just enough so he squirms a bit/his eyes open for a second but if he wakes fully I still leave and then go back in and repeat if I need to. I found at first he had a bit of a whinge for c10 seconds but generally he'd just go back to sleep. He may just be lulling me into a false sence of security but now, 8-10 days later, I can put him down awake if he doesn't fall asleep on the last feed and he'll talk to himself and then go to sleep when he's ready. HTH x

I just re-read and not sure if I've explained properly (insomnia robbing me of my ability to think) but hope it helps you come up with an idea of something you can try - I felt better just knowing I was trying something rather than contemplating all the nights ahead of being a human dummy. Good luck!

I used some methods from the no cry sleep solution to break to feeding to sleep nause. It took lots of patience but he eventually got the hang of it. He got so bad at pbe stage he kept feeding and feeding until he made himself sick. Seems to have done the trick (for now!) if you can borrow a book from someone?! Good luck.

I fed my DTs to sleep until it stopped working (8/9 months ish?). Since then, I've struggled to put them to bed on my own as they've wanted cuddling/rocking/more feeds to get to sleep. My DH and my mum can put them to be either after I feed them or with no bedtime feed at all, in about 10 mins of cuddling/patting/laying them down in the cots again, but if it's me then they fight it and fight it, wanting me all to themselves and throwing jealous strops if I pick the other baby up!

So, my advice would be to hand over to DH after the last feed! My DH cuddles/rocks them to sleep very quicky (time wise, not quick rocking!), and can often put them down awake and then rub/pat/shush through the cot bars.

If DH isn't here, my latest trick is to put my duvet on the floor, feed them both down there on it, then I pretend to go to sleep (sometimes not much pretending is needed). They seem to get the message that it's bedtime and the playing gets more duvet focused and eventually they pass out on the duvet. Takes about 30 mins and is a whole lot less stressful than battling to get them into a cot! I then out them in the cots asleep and pour wine make dinner.

In the day, I generally feed to sleep if we're at home or push to sleep in buggy if we're out. If they don't sleep in the day, I don't worry too much - if they're really tired then a feed will always send them off ....

My DH can get him to sleep a lot quicker than me with patting rocking etc also happyasasandboy think most babies are more attached to mums just and find it harder to leave them/ sleep.

Going to try mar2010's method of waking him when he falls asleep on bottle and then putting him on the cot while he's still drowsy.

Want to break the cycle before he gets too old, and also would like to be able to feel comfortable with someone else putting him down for the night occasionally.

am in the same boat too! Have had some success with same method as mar2010 - used to have to walk DD till totally gone before putting her in cot. However am now trying same method to wean her off sucking my finger to sleep. Like you, broom i spend a lot of time with my hand in the cot! We should have this thread as some kind of trying to self settle support group!

This is very relevant to me as I've always fed baby to sleep at night but now it seems to not work very well and I had an hour last night with another hour of dozing with baby on my chest . I'm also working on breaking the sleep feed association as per The No Cry Sleep Solution but when baby has only had a couple of hours I tend to revert to waiting till she's asleep to put her down. But nothing's working very well just now. I'm not sure how I'm functioning - hormones? Good luck all!

Anyone having any luck since?

Our DS now isn't even feeding to sleep anymore really, and his daytime naps have only happened because he's fell asleep in car. He didn't sleep to near 12 last night (usually sleeping before 9) because be didn't fall asleep on bottle and wouldnt take another one so we had to wait to he was shattered and DH rocked him to sleep. He's sleeping on me now after giving him an extra bottle to get him off.

So things getting worse, bring back my baby who feeds to sleep!!

When my ds (18mo) was this age I used a mobile over his cot.

The slow twirl and soothing sound 'hypnotised' him till he went drowsy and dropped off. Eventually he just got the hang of lying still and waiting for sleep (maybe luck of course). Worth a go though. :-)
hth

I really rate the babywhisper shush pat and pick up put down stuff on sleep training. It "worked" for dd1 at 18 months and dd2 at 3 months and am now following it religiously with dd3. It was just great to have a strategy to try when i was feeling helpless and tearful about it. Look it up if you can- she has a website and it's in the solves all your problems book.

We have a mobile Snowbeetle he just lies and smiles at it when its on, he loves music so see's it as playtime really.

Going to have a nosey at babywhisper technique offtobed thanks.

Just in case anyone is lurking I've been trying pu/pd method from baby whisperer (looked it up online just, there's a forum) since yesterday, DS went down for one nap after 30mins of pu/pd yesterday and also for bedtime (fed to sleep the other nap), used it this morn for nap and took 20mins for him to sleep, so hoping we are getting somewhere with it!

Glad to hear it. :-)

Inspireme - how much crying was there? And did you feel the picking up and putting down was soothing?

Just wondering as I am indeed lurking! Have a 5.5 month old who is rocked or fed to sleep and I need to teach her soon..... ... Can't bear the crying though. And I have a 3 year old so can't spend ages settling her....... I always thought pupd would be irritating to baby but how have you found it???

I'm lurking too
I thought it might be irritating for baby too so very interested
Can't really do anying at the moment as my 4.5 month old has really bad eczema so need to calm that first but she is always fed to sleep !!!

Hey op here, namechanged and can't change back on phone. Been doing pu/pd all week now, first nap today was worst yet 50mins of on and off crying, most other times have been around 20 mins with a few around 8-10 mins.

Really hasnt been that bad overall, DS doesnt seem too irritated,the actual crying doesnt last that long because you are constantly soothing them.

The E A S Y routine she talks about is brill too, according to her book my LO is a textbook baby who responds well to new routine and he definately has, I can predict his naps down 5 mins now.

Worth a read of the 2 books,I got them in local library,or look it up online. Hoping to have less crying over the next few days if all goes well!

reading with interest as im in same position with my 5 month ds and am becoming obsessed with how to put down awake! interested in pupd, might try it in couple of weeks if sleeping has not improved. im a bit worried it could be over stimulating for my ds and just lead to lots of crying. good to hear success stories. read somewhere that 5.5 - 7 months is best time to try sleep training.

op think i read its normal for babies to regress and have couple of bad nights after few days of pupd so hang in there!