Sh-pat tech getting worse...Please help!

[ever55]

Hi,
I have been trying to do the sh-pat tech with my 8 week old for nap times for the past week. It seems to be getting worse not better. She sleeps well at night after being bf, 6-9 hours usually.This week her night time sleep is all over the map! We are on a 21/2-3 hour easy routine. Her A time is usually about 1 hour or less, we wind down then swaddle and into the crib. She cries for only a minute then seems to pass out, I continue to pat, 2-5 minutes later she wakes and cries again. This continues for up to 1 hour . Sometimes in the middle of this she stays awake staring at me for 5 or 10  then drops off only to awaken again cryingWhen she does actually sleep it is for a max of 45 min .I need to hear some info about how long before it will improve. I'm so frustrated I feel like it's just not worth it.Oh, my LO is a textbook baby, I'm quite surprised that she is having such a hard time.Please help!

[kallaroo]

im not sure what the A time for an 8 week  is- but im sure one of the moderaters does.
my ds is textbook but a spirited napper. i know with my ds he had to be shh pat each time i put him down. He would fall asleep but would only sleep for 45 mins for his nap at a time no matter what. i use to spend ages (infact months) trying to get him to sleep longer. for me personally if i had hind sight i would have just gone with the flow. He coped well on 45 mins (how does your ds).
He was sleeping 11 hours a night at 8 weeks and when i formula fed him at 4 months he went to 12 hours at 8-8.
when he was younger He would go to bed at 7 but wake up most nights one or two times before midnight and this stopped completely at 6 months.
When he was 8 months he started sleeping 1.5 hours for his morning nap.
i felt like it was not worth it so so so many times, was so close to just getting rid of the book etc but in the end it did work. there was a time i was crying more than the baby. For it to work for me i had to chillout a lot about the routine, nap times etc and realise that we are all different and so are babies. My mum kept telling me the baby cant read the book so he doesnt know what i want. When i had crap days i knew that there would be better ones.
It is very early for u yet and she still has many growth spurts and changes ahead. Dont get too frustrated as it goes so fast- my ds is almost one and i just cant believe it.
Enjoy!!!

[marensmama]

Not an expert, but short naps are apparently a developmental thing also, so try not to stress too much about that.  My lo has some short and some long, but she seems happy with the amount that she's getting. 

RE: erratic night waking after being able to sleep through, this is usually growth-spurt related, so I'd just grin and bear it for now.

[Gawblyn]

I feel your pain...sounds like we are in the same boat...
I know this is not advice but it is sometimes nice to know you are not the only one going through it. I am sure you are a fantastic mother no matter how you may feel sometimes....read my posting
"8 week old cries hysterically with shh/pat HELP!" it may help. Lots of love to ou and your little one

[ever55]

Thanks for all the advice. My LO slept from 8:30 last night until 6:30, had a feed then went back to sleep until 10am. she was up for 1 hour then went down with minimal sh-pat but slept only 30 min and woke up crying, I picked her up and she went right to sleep. I think she is catching up from yesterdays torture. With the old method of naptime she would sleep 1-2 hours or sometimes longer if she had a car ride. I'm trying to be optimistic about today. Oh did I mention I have a very busy little 3 year old that is missing me while all of this is going on? she loves to be noisy while I am trying to put Lo down. Oh the guilt! Do most people find that the sh-pat gets easier and faster over the course of days or is it very sporatic until the end.

[kallaroo]

my ds use to go down ok with shh pat but when i tried to extend his 45 min nap would scream his head off.  Prior to babywhisperer he would nap 20mins.
He then went thru a phase where he would take a while to go to sleep with it. He eventually loved it and i started thinking he was getting addicted to it!! (always something to worry about). He loved it so much that i have never had to do the put up put down technique. It got alot easier but It still took five or six months before i could finally put him down in his cot and walk out the room while he settled himself.
It is hard work but she is still only little and your still getting to know what works for her. Hang in there

[ever55]

Has anyone had a day that it all went perfect and then the next day an absolute failure? My LO seems to need almost no effort one day and then absolutely will not go to sleep in her crib the next. It is such an emotional roller coaster! Night time slleep has gotten back to her normal sleep thru the night that goodness!