Am I doing this right?

[WinkyisbackontheButterBeer]

Dd is almost 8m. Until 5.5m we could pop her into her crib at night and she would go to sleep with her dummy no problems BUT she would only nap on me. So we started jigging her for naps and putting her into her cot. Stupidly we also started to do this at bedtime so she has completely lost the ability to go off without the jigging.

So, I am attempting gradual retreat. I have started by trying to reduce the amount of movement. Holding her to sleep and only jigging slightly when she starts to gets upset then holding her still until she goes to sleep. Redoing the gentle movement everytime she gets unsettled and then stopping again.
She still has her dummy and a white noise app.
It just took 20 minutes to get her down for a nap but I'm not sure whether what I am doing will work.
Any ideas?
Also can anyone and use me on the next step and how long before moving on to it?
Thanks

Sounds like a good plan to me.

Keep going until she doesn't need movement to get to sleep at all. What you're looking for is the instances when she's unsettled and needs jiggling to be a rarity, so she accepts going to sleep in a stationary position without any upset or bother.

The next steps are working on getting her into the cot. Two ways to do that, depending on your tolerance to crying.

One is the most gentle way. Pay attention to how long it takes to get her into a deep enough sleep (in your arms) to be able to put her down. And also start putting your hand on her chest/back/shoulder as you put her down

Gradually put her down a minute or two earlier and spending more time with your hand on her in the cot instead. The long term aim is to replace being held with the firm hand on her as she goes to sleep in the cot.

A faster, more crying route is to just go straight to putting her in the cot. Once used to going to sleep stationary, move straight to putting her in the cot with your reassuring hand on her. She will cry. The idea is that you do all the reassuring she needs (patting, stroking, tickling, shushing, bending down and cuddling) whilst she is in the cot. Over time reduce the intensity of the reassurance needed until you reach the same points above - that you just use your reassuring hand on her as she falls asleep in the cot.

I can't find or the life of me see how tickling would help a baby get to sleep

I think the approach that you are taking sounds very sensible OP

I can't find or the life of me see how tickling would help a baby get to sleep

There are many weird and wonderful ways children develop self-comforting mechanisms. I can find no way to predict what it will be (I had one who self patted, one who self-tickled and one who seems to like smushing things into her face) so there is no way of knowing if a baby will find tickling soothing.

It's certainly equally as likely that a baby might find tickling soothing, as much as the next thing.

I know two who tickle their own ear (while holding a muslin square/toy) as a self-soothing ritual. And one who tickles his own nose with his forefinger while sucking his thumb.

My youngest son likes to tickle the back of his neck.

It might be tickling his hand (like round and round the garden) or face, or arm or torso or back. Anything really.

But i can certainly see ways some babies will find tickling soothing. What I don't mean is uncomfortable, highly or over excited tickling.

Thank you for your replies. It's good to know that I am taking a sensible approach and that the next steps that I had planned make sense.
Just need to make the little monkey stop purposely pulling out her own dummy now.

My brother liked a muslin over the face and soft tickley stroking in his back when he was little but he was, and still is, a strange creature

You mean very gentle stroking then. I thought you meant actual tickling

My cousin used to like a large circular tickle around the edges of her face. She's in her late 40s now, still likes it!

I wasn't aware until my mum pointed it out, but I used to cycle my ankle joints when I was tired as a toddler. I didn't even know this, i had no recollection. I was unconsciously doing it while sat on the sofa a couple of years ago and she pointed out that that was my "tell" for being tired was when I was little.

Yes my husband rubs his toes together!!

Both myself and my dad rub our feet together. Haven't noticed dd do it. Will have to keep an eye out.

Not to get too excited but she is asleep, in her cot and has been for an hour without any jigging.
Damn why did I decide that this month would be alcohol free. I feel that I deserve

Oh jeez I would 100% crack open a bottle!

Ok, me again!
I wrote this 3 months ago and am no further on, in fact due to holidays and lack of routine we have gone backwards but still we never got anywhere to start with.

The no jigging was fine but dd will still not settle in her cot at 11mo. I have tried laying her down everytime she stands up and stroking, handholding, patting but I just cannot get her to go to sleep. Trying to hold her still or lie her down just ends up with her becoming hysterical.

We have a good bedtime routine and she has 2 decent naps a day. Most nights she goes off ok in my arms but wakes around 1:30 and ends up in bed with me. Some nights she won't go back off for a couple of hours or more.

I know that the two things are linked and feel like I've completely failed to teach her a basic life skill. I am almost at the point of considering controlled crying which I said I would never do.
Any pointers would be so appreciated.

You haven't failed in anything. Some people like to encourage independent sleep early on and some people are ok to wait for it to come naturally. It WILL come! It could be next week next month or next year, but it will come. I've always found controlled crying should be an absolute last resort (this is just my personal opinion, no judgement to anyone but it doesn't sit comfortably with me). If you're keen to get her settling on her own before she is ready have to tried gradual retreat?

Thank you for your reply crazycatlady the gradual retreat was what I was trying in May but didn't get beyond the first step.
Anyway, after that last post I gave myself a shake and made myself pull up my big girl pants and get in with it.

So last night dd fell asleep in her cot for the first time ever. It took 80 minutes, a few tears and a little bit of dodgy singing at points put she went off with me rubbing her back.
She woke at 1am and at 4am but I was able to resettle her in her cot rather than her ending up in bed with me as normal.

She took 35 minutes to go off for her morning nap but again this was in her cot.
All was going well until this afternoon. I have been upstairs since 3:30 with no luck and have eventually given up and brought her down as it is getting too close to bedtime to let her sleep.
Oh well, we'll have to have an earlyish night and see have we get on.

Meant to say, crazycat thank you for being so kind. You made me feel much better when I was feeling really shitty.