HELP! I'm completely out of my depth with this sleep training malarky

[WestieMamma]

DS is 6.5 months old and we decided to start some gentle sleep training. So far he has been a very good sleeper once he's asleep but he only falls asleep while I hold him. If he wakes when I put him down, I have to hold him again until he's asleep. This is very restrictive.

So last night I tried the 'pick up, put down' (I think that's what it's called). I expected hours upon hours of yoyoing but it went really well and after 6 or so times he fell asleep happily on his own. Hurray!

But what do I do about naps during the day? Do I have to be consistent and use the same system as bedtime? I did try this morning and he was having none of it. I spent the whole nap time picking up and putting down. Eventually it was time for his next bottle and he fell asleep while I was giving it to him, which was a backdoor way of being cuddled to sleep.

So what do I do? Keep it up until he falls asleep? Keep it up for so long and then change to cuddles which I know will work? Change how we do things at bedtime only and then add in naps one at a time (so a mix of cuddles and putting down)? Sorry so many questions.

I think you have to crack the nighttime for a while before you tackle the naps. It often just follows on from your night training after a week or so. Best of luck. I am also sleep training my 6 month old. I have done it for the past 3 nights and she has just settled herself for a nap - first time ever.

I managed to teach DD to self-settle at bedtime at about 5.5 mo using a combo of ssshh-pat and pick-up-put-down. Barring extenuating circumstances such as illness, teething, or being particularly over-tired, she now self-settles at night no problem. Naps are another matter. I tried pick-up-put-down for a while, but like you it often took so long that I'd miss her sleepy window. She will occasionally self-settle at nap-time (more likely at lunchtime nap than morning nap), but more often than not I have to hold her/ rock her until she falls asleep and then put her down in the cot. This usually only takes 5-10 minutes, so I don't mind too much. And the length of her nap (and whether she pushes through the first sleep cycle) seems totally unrelated to whether or not she's self-settled or been held to sleep. I'll always try to just put her down awake to nap, and it quickly becomes obvious if she's going to self-settle or need cuddling to sleep.

I'm ok with the situation as it is, but if I was going to try to tackle self-settling at naptimes I'd start with the lunchtime nap as she falls asleep more easily at that nap anyways.

I'm so pleased with these responses, I thought I was going to be told I had to be consistent and stick with it all the time. Yesterday was horrible. The poor little mite was shattered and just wanted a cuddle so he could sleep. For now I'm going to stick to cuddles apart from when he wakes after bedtime and see how it goes.

I'm the same. My DS is 14 months. He used to go to sleep really well on his own when he was small, but we got into the habit of cuddling to sleep and if he woke in the night I would have to cuddle him back to sleep which could take ages.
I have now cracked the going to bed awake and settling himself, and he doesn, t usually wake in the night now, and if he does he just settles himself (hooray).
Naps however area different matter, I sit with him but it only takes 5-10minutes and then he has a really good nap, so I am happy with that. I'm not going to go through the stress if I don't need to!!