Pick up put down? Can anyone explain this technique to me please

[memoo]

DD is only 11 weeks old but we are having a terrible time with her sleeping. Its our own fault but she now won't sleep unless she is been held and rocked. Didn't mind it so much in the day but now she needs it at night too.

Have heard this technique can be used with young babies but don't really know what it is

I think your dd is too young- whatsername only recommends doing this from 4 months I think

basically if they cry you pick them up then put them down when they stop

and keep going

and going

til they sleep

Have never tried it, mind. Always sounded like hard work to me!

Don't want to do it if she's too young. Just don't know what to do to get her to sleep

have you tried swaddling her?

it helps not to let them get too overtired too.

at this age dd2 could only really stay awake for an hour and a half or so at a time.

Dd1 needed holding/rocking to sleep til she was 8 weeks or so...after that it actually kept her awake and annoyed her and I realised that if I put her down to sleep she would have a short cry then go to sleep on her own. I think she was glad to be left alone!

I do swaddle her but she really fights the sleep. She drifts off for a few minutes and then wake up crying. So I pick her up and get her settled again but within a few minutes of being put down she is awake. This can go on for hours

Pick-up put-down is one of the techniques recommended in the Baby Whisperer books, but Cat is right, it's for 4 months plus. For younger babies the author had another technique 'shush - pat'. You really need to read about it properly and do it consistently. Look at the talk boards here. Actually the advice on the website is more complete than in the books.

FWIW, I've posted about this lots of times before, but pick-up put-down worked dramatically well for my DS at 8 months, he went from waking every couple of hours for bf, to sleeping from 8 till 5, in a few days. And it's gentler than controlled crying.

My DD is the same, but I've worked out that she will sleep in her bouncy chair if I rock it, then once she's asleep I can stop rocking and go and do something. Occasionally giving it a quick rock if I hear her stirring. Not ideal, but at least she's sleeping, and I'll worry about her napping in her cot when she's a bit bigger - she's 11wks.