if I did PUPD how do I know she's not hungry???

[whoisdoingthedishes]

I would like my DD (7 1/2 months) to start taking her naps in her cot......BUT she usually naps in my arms and feeds quite a lot during her nap. So I don't know if PUPD would work. Will she get very upset if she doesn't get fed before?

Should I just try to feed her to sleep and put her down and hope she doesn't wake up? The problem is, I tried this before and after a few attempts she was refusing to feed to sleep.

Please, any advice is welcome (except CC and CIO)

I'm no expert but did use PUPD with my dd with great success. I would suggest feeding her beforehand but making sure she is awake when you put her in the cot. My dd was 4 mths when I did it and although it was hard work for a while it was definitely worth it. Just a warning - all that picking up and putting down made my back really sore - as your dd is older you may have more of a problem with this!

HTH

thanks! I will do as you suggest. It's also great to know it's worth it. I have always been too unsure scared to give it a go as I felt that I would give up too quickly. I hope that she falls asleep without much problem so I don't hurt my back.

Didn't work for my DD, in fact it was awful. Don't forget it is 'sleep training' so if tears aren't your thing you might find it as difficult as CC.

My DD slept on my knee for a while, then I progressed to laying her on a cushion on the floor. At about 8 months she started to sleep longer and more solidly (day time only mind!) so I could put her in her cot and she'd stay there for an hour.

Before you embark on training, because you do need to be committed about it, do what you do normally and once she's in a deep sleep lay her on one of your fleeces or something. No harm in trying that for a few days before you take the plunge with PUPD

I did a sort of version of this with my DD and worked a treat after a few days of ups and downs. (A sort of version because she was too little to do it properly - I think it was what the babywhisperer calls the shush/pat?) She is really chilled at bedtime, and goes down fine (with occasional blips) and is getting better and better. She only had one really upset night and I made sure it wasn't too upset cos I couldn't have handled it, and picked her up and shushed her everytime she got unhappy. Far from being scared or unsure of her cot she is very secure and sleeps well in it now. But I never leave her to cry and don't put her down in it til she's really sleepy and her eyes are nodding, so she's had all the lovely cuddle, story time etc. I try not to feed her last thing but just before, so know she is not hungry but is not feeding herself to sleep.

gingerninja - your suggestion sounds great, I guess I could have tried that a few months ago. why didn't i MN then?

Anyway, her sleep has been very bad recently and she has ended up crying herself to sleep (in my arms) a few times already, so I feel that PUPD could work at this stage. It will be hard to keep her awake during her feeds without upsetting her, thou.

ellieG - how do you make her sleepy? that's the most difficult part for me. she's a very active baby and everything distracts her. I've been trying to read her a book at night and that chills her a bit, but even then she can't stay still.

WDTD, is she just learning to crawl by any chance? I found that at each developmental stage (especially standing) my DD was very very hard to settle.

Have you tried putting her in her buggy / car / sling until she's asleep and then transfering her if necessary? I used to go out for a walk and as soon as she was asleep dart home so I could get some peace. I seem to remember my DD dropping to two naps at about 8 months. Perhaps that's happening and she's not quite tired enough? It's all a guessing game.

The only thing I found that was a miracle cure for my DD who was /is a shocking sleeper, was time.

Try PUPD by all means but give yourself a time limit in case it doesn't work because I remember tearing my hair out and nearly going insane sitting in a darkened room trying to get my DD to sleep. Good luck

gingerninja - yes, she is learning to crawl, that could be waking her up, indeed. last night she was wide awake at 1 a.m. (just half an hour after I went to bed, arghh)

my DH sometimes rocks her to sleep but last night it didn't work either. for the last few weeks the buggy/sling hasn't helped her to sleep during the day. she will sleep once we are back home, so that could work at night. in the case she fell asleep somewhere else, transfering her has always been a problem.

as for nap times, she's already taking two. sometimes I wonder if these are too long/too short.

whatever I do, it'll be in a couple of days when we move her into her own room. So I'm still weighing up the pros and cons and will make a plan. [fingers crossed]

FWIW teeth could be playing up too. My DD always had epic long night wakings when teething. Hope you get some rest soon though, it's crap when everyone is tired.

I guess it all started with her teething, but now she's got plenty (much more than the average 7 mo), I guess it became a habit to wake up. Thanks for the advice!

My DD didn't properly settle down until her canines came through at about 18months. She's now unsettled with the back molars. Teething is the bane of my life!

If you want to make sure she's not hungry, you may need to resist feeding her for a couple of hours before bed, so that you know that when she feeds before bedtime, she has a ready good feed, rather than just a snack. Don't worry-she's easily old enough to go 2 hours between feeds

I did this with DD, and my bf advisor told me to hand DD over to DH and go out of the house for 2 hours-as she and I would otherwise get too upset. I spent the 2 hrs fretting in a coffee shop, and returned to a baby lying on a sheepskin and cooing at DH. Then she had a really huge feed, so I knew that she was full.

Oh, I wish I could pop out to a coffee shop. Will talk DH into trying that.

Well, I started today with her nap but I did it wrong. I left her fall asleep with a feed and put her down asleep (my mistake) but stayed with her to see what happened. She woke up after 20 minutes, shhhh-ing didn't work so had to pick her up. 45 minutes crying before I actually had the chance to put her down again. Then after a few attempts of putting her down sleepy she just opened her eyes wide and started playing with her toys. Left her there for a while to see if she would drift off but she just became more awake... after that I fed her (didn't fall asleep again) and she hasn't slept again since. She may be tired but doesn't look keen on falling asleep again.

sorry if this doesn't make any sense, I just wanted to report my failure but will keep trying.