Hi there
Could you post your LO's current typical EASY routine? Some of his restlessness may be due to being too tired or not tired enough from naps.
I think you are likely right that a big part of your issue here is that your LO hasn't yet learned to fall asleep independently and so is relying on you for help--wanting that same help repeatedly throughout the night. It's also likely that the paci has become a prop that he relies on yet can't control without your help that is contributing to his night wakings.
For me, the first step would be to get him falling asleep in the crib. Shush/pat would be your first strategy here--done with LO in the crib, so he gets used to falling asleep in that environment. Yes, this will take a while at first as he's used to falling asleep in your arms, but once he gets the hang of it, then you can start to phase out the shush/pat, with the goal of putting him down awake and walking away and letting him settle on his own.
If shush/pat doesn't seem to be getting the job done (and by this age, for some babies it's become too stimulating), then pu/pd would be the next sleep training choice. Yes, it is recommended that you wean the paci as part of the pu/pd process because the paci is a prop and so is counterproductive to the independent sleep you are attempting to teach with pu/pd. Here is a cheat sheet with instructions for pu/pd at 5 months:
4-6 MONTHS OLD - The process changes slightly when your baby is starting to get more mobile and has more strength. They will typically start to fight you when being held and they may throw their head back and/or arch their back, so the following adaptations are made;
· If the baby is burrowing their head into the mattress, turning their head side to side, getting up on their knees or flopping side to side you don’t pick them up right away or you will get kicked or your hair pulled. Instead you continue to talk and soothe in a low tone voice.
· When you do pick your baby up you only hold for a maximum of two or three minutes then put them all the way down even if still crying. You then pick up again and follow the same routine.
· At 4-6 months a baby tends to put up quite a physical struggle and the biggest mistake made is holding too long. Watch your baby’s cues, burrowing into your shoulder or arching their back is a sign they want to go back down EVEN if they are still crying. Holding them too long will reinforce “I cry I get picked up”. You can label what you are doing eg. “Let me pick you up”. “Let me put you down”.
Whichever method you choose, you want to use it consistently at all sleeps and to try to plan for all sleeps to be at home for a 2 week period so that you can really firmly establish the new habits and new way of doing things. With either approach there will likely be a lot of crying and resistance because you are changing what is habit and comfortable for your LO, but, as Tracy said, if you are as consistent with the new way as you were with the old, your LO will get the hang of things soon.
