Author Topic: Instant hysteria !  (Read 1032 times)

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Offline manuela c

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Instant hysteria !
« on: May 19, 2009, 10:38:09 am »
Hi there

I really need some advice with getting my baby to sleep. She is 3 and a half months old and breast fed. Up until recently she has slept by being rocked in her bouncer chair, then put in her cot.

For the past week I have started her in a sleep routine, putting her in her cot for most naps and bedtime, however the problem is that the minute I lay her in her cot she starts crying and its instant hysteria. No amount of patting and shuushing helps, Ive tried doing so before I lay her down, but to no avail.

The only thing that works is laying her down on her back, letting her cry for about 2 minutes, then going in and turning her on her tummy, patting her and then she falls asleep.

I would really like to find a more soothing way for her, to avoid this hysteria and to help her settle herself. I dont think its a great thing that she has to be on her tummy to be calmed down.

Am I being too impatient with it ? Perhaps its that it will take more time and I should persevere with the patting and shusshing ?? Just not sure what to do.

Help !

Manuela

Offline anna*

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Re: Instant hysteria !
« Reply #1 on: May 19, 2009, 12:11:22 pm »
((((hugs)))) and welcome to the BW boards!

How long are you doing shush-pat for? How long is she awake before her nap?





Offline manuela c

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Re: Instant hysteria !
« Reply #2 on: May 19, 2009, 12:33:30 pm »
thank you ! ive only really tried Shush pat a couple of times actually and am not sure Im doing it right or for long enough ? Would you explain the best way to do it ?

she is in the following routine,( give or take 15 mins ..)

AWAKE 730AM

NAP   930 AM - 45 mins approx

NAP   1230PM - sleeps anything from 1 - 2 hours

NAP  430pm - about an hour

BED TIME  - 730PM


Offline anna*

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Re: Instant hysteria !
« Reply #3 on: May 19, 2009, 12:43:51 pm »
Thanks for posting your routine :)

I think she might be bit overtired, which will be making it harder for her to settle herself. 2 hours awake time is what most 5 month olds are managing, at 3.5 months I'd say try not letting her be awake for more than 1.5hrs after a LONG nap (1.5hrs plus), or 1hr-1hr15mins after a short nap (less than an hour). That probably means you'll have 4 naps most days - 3 x long ones plus a short catnap.

OK here's the info on shh-pat. This is long! Is she swaddled? A good swaddle help, as does white noise. Also make sure you have a consistent wind-down routine in place, it doesn't have to be much, just 5 mins before all sleeps where they same things happen in the same order, so it signals that it's going to be sleep time: http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=64277.0

Put your baby in the crib, turn her on her side (I used a rolled baby blanket tucked against his tummy and thighs to keep him from rolling back), and begin to pat her back - firmly (not hard) in a 'tick tock' fashion. I used to imagine the rhythm/pace of a slow, steady heartbeat. You also want to make a loud, "Shhhhhhhhh Shhhhhhhhhh" noise. If after a while those two things don't seem helpful, you may need to experiment - Stan didn't like his back patted, so I patted his butt. Or you could rub the back, or just rest your hand on her back, or jiggle her in the crib. The important thing is that it is something that you can do gradually less until you stop. (ie, if she is in your arms, you can't 'gradually' put her down, she is either in your arms or in the crib). Also the sound, if she hates 'shhhh', try humming, or talking softly - find what she likes.

So here you are doing shhh-pat, or your variation of it. If she starts crying, pick her up, hold her against your shoulder and keep shh-ing and patting until she's calm. Then lay her down and keep shh patting. If she starts crying again, and won't settle, go ahead and pick her up again, keep shh-patting all the time. Once she's calm in the crib, keep going for a good 10 minutes after she's completely settled. Gradually, gradually, quieten and slow your shhhing, then stop. If she cries, shush again while patting and pick up if necessary. Eventually you will get to the point where she is settled in the crib and you have stopped shhh-ing. Then you gradualy slow down the patting over a minute or two, make it slower and lighter, but keep patting until she is asleep. Stay beside her in the crib - you may need to keep patting her until she is in stage 3 of sleep, ie more than 20 minutes after she first settled. Or you might just need to keep your hand on her back.

This is how to help guide her to sleep, without accidental parenting.

When you suspect she is sleeping, you can gently remove the front rolled blankets and let her gently move to her back. Personally, I would tend to leave Stanley sleeping on his side, and after he stopped being swaddled on his tummy, but that is your choice.

The key is not to stop just because she has calmed down, keep it up. And stay with her, don't leave, until she's melted into the crib!

Now, it's true this can take a long time. If she is crying really hard, just remember this is the only way she has to tell you that she doesn't want to sleep in her crib, she wants to sleep in your arms! If 40 - 45 minutes of shh-pat have passed at nap time and she is still not asleep, take her out of the crib, feed, change her nappy if necessary, and try the nap again starting right from the 4 S's. If it's bedtime or the middle of the night - keep going until she sleeps.

This sounds so overwhelming, but it's really OK once you get into it - for me, I always felt better if we had a plan. With shhh-pat you can help her less and less, stopping before she is asleep and letting her put herself to sleep.

I hope this is helpful to you





Offline manuela c

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Re: Instant hysteria !
« Reply #4 on: May 19, 2009, 12:56:46 pm »
hi anna

thank you, yes its very helpful.. just so i get this right...i do a wind down routine before each nap/bedtime, then begin shh pat before placing into the cot and then also once in the cot for as long as she takes to settle and for some time after too ?

should i just sssh pat through the hysteria ? i did try a couple of times but she gets so so frantic that her eyes are bulging and she is gurgling on her tears and almost losing her voice. should i just persist through it ?

as for the nap times, when should i add the extra nap ?

much appreciated !!

manuela

Offline anna*

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Re: Instant hysteria !
« Reply #5 on: May 19, 2009, 13:13:19 pm »
You do shush-pat until she's calm. Keep holding her, shush and pat until she's totally calm. Then lay her down and continue to shush-pat. If she starts crying again and won't settle, pick up again. You can keep doing shush-pat in your arms even if she's crying very hard. You keep going for 45 mins - if she's still crying after that time, take her out of the nursery, feed, change nappy, then try again. She will sleep eventually. And remember if she hates shush-pat you can try to find some variation that she likes.

In terms of the naps, you would aim for something like this:
7.30am E/A
9am S: nap 1.5 hrs (use shush pat to extend nap if necessary)
10.30am E/A
12 S: nap 1.5hrs (if her previous nap was short and she did not go back to sleep, this will need to be earlier)
1.30pm E/A
3pm S: nap 1.5hrs (if her previous nap was short and she did not go back to sleep, this will need to be earlier)
4.30pm E/A
6pm: catnap 30 mins
6.30pm awake, start bath and bed routine
7pm: last feed before bed
7.30pm: asleep





Offline manuela c

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Re: Instant hysteria !
« Reply #6 on: May 19, 2009, 13:20:00 pm »
great thank you anna !  ;D ill let you know how it goes after a couple of days.

do you think i should avoid her sleeping on her tummy ?

Offline anna*

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Re: Instant hysteria !
« Reply #7 on: May 19, 2009, 13:39:02 pm »
Honestly it's up to you. If she's swaddled, then obviously it's a no-no. It's worth a try to see how she takes to it. Advice here in the UK is to put on their back to sleep until 6 months, but tbh if that's what it's take to get some decent sleep for mother and baby, and there are no other SIDS risk factors, I would (and did) let them tummy sleep.