I have been trying with my 6, nearly 7 week old.
the patting and shushing does not calm her, I've tried patting bottom, back, with the shush, without it, rubbing back, it doesn't make a difference as to what i do, the only thing that calms her is me holding her to my neck, which I have done whilst trying all the variations. Variations in wind down does not make a difference either.
We have only ever had one nap in the cot using short wind down, rub back, and then back in after 40 mins with hand on back to take through to next sleep cycle. I think it only worked as i held her until she was half asleep- she cries, suddenly stops and then i put in cot after 30 seconds with eyes shut but some wiggling in cot.
Can someone tell me what to expect as I've tried for about 15-20 naps since 1 week old, not consistently, all other naps times are pram or sling with lots of walking. A time is not the issue and neither is stimulation from my observations although OT and OS make it worse.
Today i've tried from first nap (8am wind down) to 1pm with progressively harder crying and only x1 10 min light sleep, and x1 20 min light sleep. I've fed every 2 hrs as a consequence.
I will not do this for bed time. We wash, feed in room, and put down in cot, she happily drifts off after around 40 mins. My 3 year old is distressed by the crying and it disturbs her going to sleep.
Is it worth pursuing if it shh pat shows no signs of working? Do i need to commit to doing it all day with hard crying all day, until she is exhausted?
Did anybody's babies just grow out of the need for pram and sling sleeping after a few or several months?