Did you get sleep sorted? How about a thread of WHAT WORKED?

[tinierclanger]

I wondered if it might be a good idea to have a general thread of tips, recommendations, case studies?!

So if you used a consultant, name them, if you had a technique, give some tips, if you just waited it out, post encouraging things! Then people could pick out the bits that would work for them.

It would be nice to make it non-judgemental, so if people want to recommend CC, they can do it without getting jumped on, but also not to tell people that they must get their kids sleeping through for the good of the kids/the marriage/whatever.

Anyone want to contribute?

I'll start by saying that with DC1, I gradually got him to drop his night feeds by using the Pantley pull-off - taking him off gently a minute earlier every night. This was when he was around 8-10 months I think. His sleep still wasn't great but improved enough to get us through until he started sleeping better. At 2 he was in his own bed and I just climbed in with him when he woke sometime between 2 and 4 and we went back to sleep together. By 3 he was sleeping through most nights, and when he started school, a really good sleeper.

Time

Not sticking religiously to a particular technique but knowing when to give up that particular evening and try again the next night.

Giving my children a chance to self settle - eg after a feed, make sure they were winded and rock then to relax then leave in the cot for a bit then leave the room after saying good night. If they screamed blue murder, rescue them. If they grumbled then give them a few minutes. Gradually they start to settle.

Rule out physical causes - reflux/teething/wind/too hot (the latter one caught me out a few times!)

Time and lots of support for the parents in the meantime!

Gentle methods like pantley ull off etc.

Reaistic expectations eg: a 4 month old baby will need help to get to sleep and will need attendiing to and fed in the night, this is NORMAL and you are not a bad parent for responding to your child. In fact, you are a bloody good parent for attending to your child

Self-settling - the Holy Grail! :)

I finally have DC2 self-settling at bedtime. I started by waking her a bit after her feed, then rocking her back to sleep. Then gradually rocking her until not quite asleep, then into cot. Then a little bit less asleep, etc etc. All with white noise in the background. Now I just read her story, sing her lullaby, kiss goodnight and into cot awake with white noise and 9 times out of 10 she settles down on her own.

Not a magic bullet but it's definitely improved things.

Oh with dd, my second, she was a much better napper than ds. With her I had her nap on me or in the sling pretty much for every nap until 4/5 months. Then I started putting her in the cot after rocking her to sleep or using the pushchair on a recline. Sometimes I had to do it quickly if at home as I had a toddler - so feed, quickly wind/cuddle then into the cot with a light up sea horse. If i timed it right, she'd drift off and gradually her naps got longer as she got used to the cot.

I also accepted that sometimes she wanted cuddles for sleep and sometimes she didn't. All phases all passed! Whereas with her brother I was far too stressed out about it all.

YY to accepting its normal and not panicking/feeling guilty. But it's also ok to find it hard!

The thing is self settling didn't mean sleeping through for either of mine. Ds slept through without self settling at bedtime and vice versa!!

Yes def hard. Even with dd I got stressed but let a lot go. I remember with ds panicking if he didn't nap at certain times and worrying about brain development