Non cry it out sleep help

[lizzyttc2017]

Hello,
My baby is 2 months old and i would like to start getting her into good sleep habits and learn to self soothe because I feel it would benefit her and me. I've already slipped into the bad habits of rocking and singing her to sleep which sometimes takings 40 mins and then she will either wake when I lay her down or only sleep 20 minutes. I know she would benefit from a good long nap a couple of times a day and so would I so I can actually get things done (especially since I'll be back to work as a photographer in the next couple of months and could do with nap times for editing)

What are your top tips for helping your little ones fall asleep for a good nap? (At night time we already to bath, massage, nurse routine but sometimes i still end up having to be rock her after that for almost an hour!)

It's developmental and you can't teach it

She's still tiny in the fourth trimester

She should still be inside you.

Read up on the fourth trimester. This is way too soon to be doing anything but attending to her needs. No harm comes from rocking babies to sleep - we’ve been doing it for millennia.

Bouncy chairs can be helpful, as can slings, prams, white noise/shushing.

You’re trying to recreate womb environments.

Okay, I don't mind rocking her I just wasn't sure if it was going to be a bad thing to do as she wouldn't learn to soothe herself. I want to do what's best for her even if it does mean rocking. It's easy to feel like you're doing something wrong when family members make comments like 'do you not put her down?' 'I got into a bad habit with mine rocking them for hours'

Further down the line the no cry sleep solution has lots of ideas but it’s not a quick fix! Enjoy the cuddles if you can!

Euan the dream sheep
Dummy
Swing chair
Classical music

I have twins so rocking to sleep has never been an option for me, a combo of the above works and a routine works nearly every time for us.

@lizzyttc2017 please don’t worry, you can’t form bad habits at this age! Just hold and soothe your baby as much as you can, whichever way works best for you both- I know is knackering, but it lasts for such a short time. I recommend this book loads - Sarah Ockwell-Smith’s Gentle Sleep book gives you an idea of what’s ‘normal’ and what to expect at each age. She’s also really helpful in understanding about baby’s needs and how to meet them.

Don’t worry OP. She’s tiny at the moment and not developmentally capable of self soothing in the true sense.

I’m no expert but if you makes you feel better then my DD lived in a sling for the first few months of her life but with time learnt to go from awake to asleep in the cot although I still sit with her. She’s 18 months now. She sleeps through the night has long naps now etc etc and has done for a long time.

Their sleep goes up and down though so just get through however you can! 4 months can be really tough!

Slings are great - you’ll be able to edit as she naps on you.

The only thing I did was always give my dd the chance to fall asleep on her own but if she cried I cuddled her straight away.

And I introduced a soft toy comforter from about 10 months I think. There’s not much point before that I don’t think.

@Dontfartbackinanger thank you! I have a stretchy wrap sling but I feel like she will be too hot in it against me in this awful heat wave :/ when it cools down I will definitely give this a go so I can edit hands free but keep her happy and able to sleep well

Yeah as I typed that I was thinking “hmm not sure I’d fancy that in this heat”! I had a winter baby!!

OP you could do skin to skin in the stretchy wrap in the house and that would regulate temp and probably actually be lovely. I never got a stretchy wrap as not co-ordinated enough to tie plus heavy baby but I used to love napping with him beside me/ on boob

My DS was a nightmare for sleeping anywhere but on me or against me until recently (he’s now almost 4 months) and would fight fight fight the naps! I found it really helps to look out for his sleep cues and to not either keep him awake for too long or try putting him down too early. If I do, I would have to spend ages trying to get him down. At 2 months, your DD needs to be awake no more than 45 minutes to an hour before going down again and keep an eye on those cues so that you catch her when she’s just getting sleepy. That way, you should be able to rock her to sleep without too much resistance.

Also, as others have said, it’s far too soon to be creating bad habits so just do what you need to do for both of you, for now