Stuck at 6 minutes.....

[Happy-Mom]

My DD is 7 weeks old and until today has been in the arms almost all day. Today I finally convinced myself to begin ssh/pat. She does not seem to get past 6 minutes and begins crying . Any suggestions? I used Ssh/pat with my DS and it was a huge success. However this time around I am finding it very difficult.

Can anyone explain white noise and how it can help? Can I use white noise alone without the pat?

[Activa]

White noise is just a constant sound like a fan or running water. You can purchase CDs or songs from iTunes that will play a constant soothing sound for you. I have a little sleep bear that has four different sounds with a timer so it will stop eventually. It was designed for travel.

I would use it in addition to shhh pat, not instead of. Play it as part of your WD and leave it on in the background for whatever length of time you would like. In you are in Canada or USA you can buy them at toys r us.

Don't forget to experiment with different combos of shh. Pat. Depending on the day the patting will tick my DD off, while other days she loves it. Vary the speed and intensity for both. Make sure you lighten the touch as they drift into sleep. It is possible that your shh.pat is too stimulating to your LO once they reach the 6 min mark.

Hope this helps some

[Happy-Mom]

My pat may be a little intense. Maybe I can slow it down a few minutes in. What do you mean by different combos of ssh?

I am really willing to try anything. I am hoping to get her napping well so that I may also spend some time alone with my 3 year old!

[amayzie]

on the white noise i've downloaded a white noise iphone app- I think it's called 'white noise generator' - anyway- search for one if you have that phone., it was just the first free one i saw... or i'm sure there are similar for android. I used it when starting shh-pat as i needed to shh for a while and was getting tired- so used this app. It also keeps going while you do other things on the phone- like check facebook, or play solitaire... (wow- i sound like a really slack mummy... I can multi task!! I was also watching my LO...) I just found that getting a chair and having the white noise has meant that i can stick to the shh patting without going insane...

Anyway- might help!!

[Activa]

Sometimes the shhh just ticks her off, so I don't do it. Other times I do it right beside her ear or I need to step back and do it further away. Read their body language. If you do it beside their ear and they wail louder, try a few times further away, maybe softer. If they still cry stop it all together. You may find you need it in the beginning and after a few minutes don't or v.s.

Make it your own technique, the bw is giving you the tool, you need to customize it to your own child. No formula will work for every child as we are all unique.

Apply the same approach to the pat and any combo of the two. I have also adjusted the speed of the pat depending on how upset my DD is.