The Baby Whisperer

[MichelleM]

Just wondered if anyone else has read and followed any of the advice from "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer". I have just spent a week applying her pick up/put down method, and my 5 mth old DS has changed beyond all recognition!!

Before last week he was waking several times in the night, and would only nap when rocked in the pram during the day. For the last two nights he has slept through from 7pm-7am, and is napping in his cot during the day.

Just wanted to recommend this book to anyone trying to sleep train. I am always on Mumsnet looking help for one thing or another, so thought I would share something I felt useful for a change

PU/PD does work with an older baby but sometimes it takes an age the first few times - stick with it!! It WILL work. If you can't cope with going in constantly then CC might be for you. I cried myself the first time I did it but dd screamed for almost 20 minutes (felt like hours) and then settled herself. Next night only about 5-10 minutes and so on. Now she is a fantastic sleeper (dare I say!)
By the way did you realise that Tracey passed away from Cancer last year? It's fab that her magic is still working for all of us.By the way the website is www.thebabywhisperer,com.
Good luck

I'm bumping this as I also want answers to ouioui's questions. Particularly the sleeping longer in the morning one - currently 5.30ish and getting earlier! (been on BW website and couldn't find much).

PU/PD was working really well for us - but seems to be falling apart in last week or so. Crossing fingers for teeth not just an impossible child (nearly 10 months).

I'm feeling like a bit of a prop - (never said that before) Even if I'm not touching him I still have to stand by his cot shhing if he wakes in the middle of the night.

Bump......please!!!

I followed EASY with my baby who is now 8 weeks. The problem I have is that whenever he wakes he wants feeding!
I think the aim of EASY is to loose the association between feeding and sleeping-I have the opposite association-feeding with waking!!

I have a nine month old who goes to bed at 7pm and gets up at 7am but still needs to feed to sleep and wakes up about 4/5 times through the night! Shall try the pu/pd method, well shall persevere as I read about it in bw last night (wish it had been sooner - hence me coming on here for more advice) and I have tried this several times with baby anyway, but he just screams instantly the moment I attempt to lower him into his cot! If only in the early days I was not so tired and slightly neurotic to implement easy and to try to get baby to self soothe, bless him he doesn't even have a dummy, only me - another thing I have regretted often! I do feel more inspired though after reading all your comments, good to know that pu/pd does work and that I am not alone! I shall go on bw website now and I have made a not to look at channel 196 on satellite at 3.30pm weekdays!

Hi givin, just read your comment again there, baby only 8 weeks, my little one was feeding on demand then and a lot, not every two hours often more frequent than that! It is hard, but it does get better, good luck with it. You should soon start to notice more of a pattern with baby, I found around 12wks they start to settle down a bit more with their feeding (only a bit in my case) which helps as you can make some plans at least! :0)

Does anyone know why PU/PD not recommended before 3 months? And has anyone managed it successfully before that stage? (Have 5 WO DD who can only sleep in mummy's arms / sling etc - including in the day - no sleeping in moses basket for her!)

I used the Baby Whisperer book after absolute despair when my sister in law lent me her Gina Ford and Baby Whisperer. The Gina Ford nearly destroyed our family, definitely not good if you want to breast feed and you don't have excessive flow. However, Baby Whisperer was far more sucessful with my very spirited child who also had colic and I think reflux. She started sleeping really well, quite early on and I kept breastfeeding for 15 months. I wouldn't have lasted much more than 15 days with Gina Ford. My daughter also seems a lot happier and more sociable than my 2 nephews who were left with controlled crying (aparently for up to 5 hours). Now I really need to work out whether PU/PD will work on a 17 month old who seems to like the attention at bedtime and has stopped dropping off nicely. Now she only seems to go to sleep after screaming if I walk in the direction of the door. If I stay in the room she just plays for another hour.

I had some success with PUPD a few weeks ago but now it won't work at all! DD is 3 mo and yesterday, after 18 up-downs she got into a crying frenzy and eventually fell asleep in my arms. Not exactly self-settled in her cot. Has anyone found success after this kind of start??? Need to convince DH that it's worth sticking to!

Does anyone know why I can't seem to access the babywhisperer website?

We have been following the BW principles with our 20-week LO since he was 5 days old (proper 12h routine introduced at around 12 weeks). I couldn't recommend it highly enough. I would guess that, as with any other parenting guide on the market, it won't be for everyone, but it strikes me as very sensible and balanced.

mookickkick, 3 months is actually a little too young for PUPD as it's too stimulating at that age - it's recommended that this technique only be introduced after 4 months (most LOs can deal with it from 4/5 months onwards; the 3-4 month stage is a bit of a grey area). Do you have the book? If so, the technique to use at this stage should probably be shh-pat.

Although they are no substitute for first reading and assimilating the books themselves, the BW forums have been a godsend for me too. SamJohnsMum: they do seem to be having server problems at the moment though! I'm hoping they'll be back up soon...

Cheers monopod. I've just re-read the book but probably not carefully enough as I couldn't see where it says that it's best to begin after 4/5 months. Makes sense though! I'll continue with sh/pat and put her down sleepy after a top-up feed, which is just about the only thing that works these days.

mookickkick - hmm, not sure which book it's in! Is it the blue Secrets of the BW book that you have? There is a whole chapter on PUPD in BW Solves All Your Problems which goes into much more detail (and in which the mention of a suitable age is made). There is an absolute load of info on PUPD in the BW forums but they're still down...

Hi

Just picked up this thread in a google search. If you've got queries with BabyWhisperer, following EASY or techniques like PUPD (including when to use and not to), I think it's best to visit the BabyWhisperer site and click on Forums. There's plenty of information there and loads of Mums who have tried and applied the techniques with success.

All babes are different, sometimes tweaks work here and there, sometimes you can be dealing with a growth spurt - and need to be flexible with EASY for a few days. EASY isn't rigid. It's a routine to help your babe get a feel for the most fundamental parts of their day, to reduce the crying so Mums can troubleshoot what the crys are about... Lots of babes can't stretch feeds to 4 hours until they're 6months... the babywhisperer site can help you with those issues and help you become a Baby Whisperer yourself.

...PUPD not recommended for tiny babies because it's too stimulating, too upsetting, they don't understand / are too young, and sleep is too important. Shh patt is recommended for under 3 months. Some babes can't handle PUPD at all - at any age.

Hope this helps

Charlie

Hi, my first daughter was sleeping through the night and falling asleep on her own from 9 weeks. My second daughter who is now 10 weeks, still wakes at night and also when I put her down in her cot in the evening hell breaks, I started the pu/pd method - its heart breaking, and it took almost an hour last night - am worried about tonight. In the book it suggests that after three days one should see progress - I cant really see it in my daughters case. Then on Bounty website I read that there are demanding babies who like to be rocked and that their needs should be met. Very conflicting advice, not sure what to do...

Don't use pick up put down on a 10 week old baby. If she wakes at night at that age its because she is hungry so you should feed her. If she is crying when you put her to bed at night and you know she is not wet/cold/warm/hungry, then try the ssh/pat technique, or stroke her or cuddle her or rock her to sleep. 10 weeks is too young for any other method, I don't care what anyone else says.

Yes PUPD is only recommended from 4 months old if I remember correctly. It is way too stimulating for a 9 week old. For us, settling in the early evening didn't happen until after 3 months. It was cuddling and rocking the bouncy chair until then, anything to help calm the baby. I didn't have much luck with shh/pat myself but found that gently stroking DS's head worked well. I also found that white noise really helped.

we love the Baby Whisperer - did pat-shh and in under a week she was settling herself down to sleep

I also found the BW forums to be very useful

You have given me such hope. After 16 weeks of very little sleep during the night (not going down until 10pm, waking at 1am, 4am) and only daytime naps happening if in the car or in the pushchair we are starting with the pick up/put down method tonight! Fingers crossed......

We tried PUPD but it seems to upset DS even more, I've found the best thing is a modified shh/pat, where I rest my hand on his chest or his hand and just shh him gently when he becomes unsettled. It used to take ages but now take 15-20 minutes from entering the bedroom.

PUPD doesn't seem to work when he wakes early from a nap, but if I go in before he stirs and I'm there to put a hand on him if necessary it works much better.

I know this thread is a bit old but I can't find the answer anywhere else....

My DS is 3 months and we've been doing EASY for the past few days, the thing I don't get is when do you fit in going out? Eg shopping or picking up your husband's dry cleaning?? DS goes to sleep after 20 mins in pushcair so does that count as A or S??

TIA

Hi,

I have heard about the baby whisperer book and read comments on here and I am desperate for someone to help me before i go insane! I have a 19week baby boy, who has started screaming and i mean horrible crying and screaming.From day one i have breastfed him. He had colic for the first 3 month but seems better now.He now refuses to take the bottle (even if its expressed milk) - wont suck on it and doesnt like the dummy either, which i recently introduced as i needed some peace. He wakes up good few times during the night. But here is a typical day for me:

I will take him to bed about 7pm and will change him, massage him and feed him. He will fall asleep at he breast and I will put him down into his cot. Sometimes when i put him down, he wakes up, then refuses to feed and i cant pat and shhh him to sleep.. eventually he gets angry and starts crying.. so i have to pick him up, sit him on my laptop, talk to him or even worse sometimes i have to take him downstairs. I'll bring him up again about 9ish and feed him.. he will feed for about 5 mins, then fall asleep at the breast but wont let go and is sucking every now and then and this can be as long as 30mins. I will put him into his cot (about 10pm). He will wake up again between 12 - 1. I'l havve to feed him again and he falls asleep at the breast and is put inot the cot (will only feed for about 5mins before nodding off). He will then wake up again about 3 - 4am - so feeed again, then wake up again about 6 30.. I'll brring him into bed... feed and he'll sleep and then wake up 9. We will wake up and then feed him.. about 10 - 11 he desperately wants to sleep.. i'll feed again, and he wont sleep.. i'll pat and he still wont sleep.. and will cry and get frfusttrated cos he cant sleep ... about 1 - 2.. feed again and then he might sleep for 1 or 2 hours.. sometimes just 30...sometimes even after 10 mins i hear screams.. after that he will wake up.. feed and then wont sleep, even though he wanst to and then the night cycle continues.... please please help

I think that a lot of people posting on here should properly read the Baby Whisperer Book, as there is a lot of detail that some people don't seem to be doing right, and a lot of ways of going wrong Pu/pd should not be used before 3 months!