Baby hating shush pat

[Jml143]

I have been trying the shush pat for over a week now with my 4 month old and at first it was difficult and it seemed like it was improving after a couple of days as it was taking a shorter time for her to fall asleep for naps on the crib. However the last couple of days when I started the wind down routine, it's like she knows what's about to happen and already starts to whine or cry and cries a lot more when the shush pat actually happens! She is fine right when I pick her up for a quick cuddle and starts all over again. Then u feel like she wakes up more after crying so much so it's even harder to get her to nap. I'll not sure how else to go about it or does that just mean this method isn't for her? It seems like I've tried everything and ensure d the environment is right ie dark room, white noise.. Minus the swaddle as she hated it for a month or so now. Any suggestions?

[jessmum46]

Could you post your routine?  If she is overtired when you try for a nap, or not tired enough she may be finding it hard to settle x

[Jml143]

I try to follow EASYGOING routine but it's difficult at times as she typically will only feed a few minutes at a time during certain parts of the day. Here's a typical day for us:
Wake 6:30
E 6:30-6:35
A6:35-8:00
E8:00-8:30
A8:30-9:30
S9:30-10:00
E 10:05-10:10
A 10:10-11:30
E11:30-12:30
A 12:30-1:00
S1:00-1:30
E1:30-1:35
A 1:35-3:30
E3:30-4:00
A4:00-5:00
S5:00-5:30
E5:30-6:00
A6:00-6:30
E6:30-7:30
S7:30

She went through a phase of not wanting to nap on her own and then it improved but it seems to have come back. From day 1, she hasn't had issues sleeping on her own crib at night so it's only the naps. She anticipates the nap now once I do the wind down routine and cries a lot when I start the shush pat especially when I put her down which just wakes her up. At times she has missed her nap because of it unless I'm desperate for her to nap that once it's half an hour past her nap time, I just end up letting her nap on me. What should I do?
Thanks for all of the help!

[weaver]

I'm just going to chip in quickly here and say your A times are massively long for her age.  If I'm not misreading you, she is doing 3 hours A at least throughout the day.  This is causing her to be overtired, and that's why her naps are only 30 mins long. That's a classic OT nap. 

At her age average A time is more like 1hr 45 - 2 hours. 
Average A times- BOOKMARK ME!

I would cut her A time back and see how you get on. 

[Jml143]

I will try that....I just never did it so early because is didn't see sleep cues that early? Thanks!

[jessmum46]

Often the subtle sleep cues are easy to miss, by the time you see obvious ones it's often too late x

[Jml143]

So I've attempted shorter wake times and start winding her down after an hour and a half. She really knows the routine now that after I read her a book and turn on the white noise and close the blinds to darken the room, she just starts crying! She won't even calm down anymore unless I rock or swing her back and forth but I'm trying not to do that too much as I don't want that bad habit to stay. It's driving me crazy since I can't even shush pat her calm. She doesn't even fall asleep until the 3 hour wake time is up and normally that's just because I've given in and rocked her to sleep because I don't want her to delay or miss her nap any longer. .. And even after all of that i still have to hold her in my arms as she naps out she wakes up crying. What do I do now?

[jessmum46]

I would try closer to about 2h if she is 4 months.  So aim to have her in the crib by around 1h45-50 to give a bit of time for her to go to sleep.  I suspect this is a combination of working out the right routine for her, and needing to be consistent in the way you settle her ie some sleep training may be in order if that's what you want to do.  Have you read this?  Starting E.A.S.Y. at Four Months or Older

With any sleep training some OT is inevitable but it's important that you stay consistent and don't give in and go back to rocking even if she doesn't sleep.  Tracy suggested to try for a nap using your chosen method (shh pat or you could try PUPD) for 45 mins then take a break, some low-key A time and try again.  At some point she will sleep, she will be too tired not to if she has skipped naps if you see what I mean.  And then once she knows she can, it should get easier.

Have a read of the link and see what you think