So confused about conflicting sleep advice

[blueberrypudding]

Hi all! I posted a while ago about struggling to get my baby to nap. I've been looking on the web and some sites have advised getting her to self-settle from six to eight weeks old? www.babycentre.co.uk/a7654/establishing-good-sleep-habits-newborn-to-three-months

Is this part of controlled crying/sleep training (where we leave her to cry for a bit) or is it a case of, once the window where she will settle by herself passes, we go back to rocking her? It seems a bit early to be leaving her to cry! :(

Don't leave her to cry at such a young age.

Sorry posted too soon. How old is she? There is no 'window' and no schedule. All babies are different. Rock, shush, feed, whatever it takes. When she's older than 6 months you can introduce gentle sleep training. Try not to stress and forget the idea of missing the window.

I would read up on pick up pick down method. It's about getting them relaxed and drowsy and putting them down awake and NOT leaving them to cry at all. Worked very well on mine whilst still very young but you need be calm and perserevre.

most babies need help getting to sleep with bottles/feeding/dummies/stroking etc

nothing wrong with any of the above

it is IMO too early to leave a baby to cry

don't worry about missing windows to get her too sleep - do whatever it takes to get her to nap at this stage

Thanks for the quick replies!

I thought it was a bit much and all my instincts were going against it so I didn't follow through - got her relaxed and drowsy but she didn't drift off, merely got annoyed and fussy, so picked her up again.

Struggling to interpret the myriad sources of advice, so getting some reassurance is definitely very helpful!

Yes pick up pick down, means if she got at all upset you would hten pick up again and do whatever until drowsy again - can take many many repeats. It's about teaching them that being in their cot by themselves is a safe place. Has to be taken slowly and carefully at their speed.

Stop reading books and websites and genuinely listen to you instinct.

She's so young. Google "4th trimester" and that will tell you to keep her close

Congrats btw

Some babies like to grizzle quite a bit as they drift off, but you will know whether it is grizzling or actual crying.

We completely fluked out when DD was a few weeks old and found out that she would self-settle and fall asleep alone if she was in a completely dark room. Could be worth a try one night if you would like to see whether or not she will self-settle? (And obviously that depends on whether you have the baby in the room with you at all times or whether you put them down slightly earlier).

However if they are crying and unhappy then yes, it's far too young to do cry it out, but your gut is telling you that anyway!

my dd2 did have a kind of 'going to sleep' cry at that age. I only realised because I couldn't get to her immediately sometimes due to dealing with toddler dd1. I must have only left her for a minute or so but realised that her cries were reducing, then she was asleep. if her cries increased or I thought she was really distressed I picked her up. It was really hard sometimes to just hang on to work out whether she was settling herself.
It's possible that dd1 also did this but I never knew as I'd always pick her up at the first cry, not having another child to deal with then.

Dd2 is now nearly 9 months and unfortunately seems to have lost her ability to self settle so it isn't necessarily a permanent thing.

An update: tried the pick up/pick down method today for her afternoon nap and she just went down after four repeats!

Not sure if it'll stick, but you ladies might have just saved us! Thank you all. :)

I always view PU/PD as your dc knowing that if they need you that you will magically appear and cuddle them