Does shush pat teach to self soothe?

[crazyyear]

So we've been sticking with A time of 2.15 and she's settling quicker and showing tired signs so I've no doubt it's the right amount.
However she is still struggling to transition through sleep cycles, I'm going straight to her and doing shush pat which always ends with PU/PD and I'm doing this for another half hour and end up putting her in the stroller and pushing her back to sleep.
I'm only working on one nap a day, have been doing this for 3 weeks and haven't got a nap longer than 30 mins yet.
Is this a developmental age thing do you believe? Feel myself wishing this time away and hoping she'll eventually learn to get the rest she needs!

[creations]

It sounds to me like she could do with another A time increase to help with that resettle.  It is a developmental phase where short naps are common but often it's a time when we mums tend not to increase the A time as rapidly as is needed (I did it too!), I would think you'd see some results after 3 weeks of trying for this first nap.

Not sure if you're trying a W2S at the same time?  This is useful as it helps to avoid LO totally waking which means they can be easier to get back to sleep and to teach to transition into another sleep cycle.  If you get 30 mins naps then I's suggest going in at 20 mins and beginning your shush/pat (or adapted) to sooth her right trough the transition and all the way into deep sleep, this could be another 20 mins. I know it sounds like spending almost the whole time in her room patting but it can be a useful tool for sleep training.

[Buntybear]

Ah yes - W2S and HTTJ helped us with the transitions too 

And yes another increase in A time might just help her to be tired enough not to rouse so much at the transition

x

[crazyyear]

Thank you both, do you suggest w2s and httj once or every time they transition during a nap?
On w2s-do I stir her and then start shush pat to resettle? Or wait for her to start stirring then resettle?
On HTTJ- do you hold the arms down until after the jolt?
I will increase A time to 2.30 for next few days....
As always thanks for the advise!!!!
X

[Buntybear]

I am sure there was a FAQ on this but I can't find it now!

W2S - TBH I would just watch closely and see if she needs shh/pat.

HTTj - that is what you do!

Do you know if she is jolting herself awake? If not the just try W2S.

[creations]

Here's the FAQ
How do I address habitual wakings? (wake-to-sleep and other methods)
Have a look at naps option 1 please.  This method of W2S is the best start for your LO, the post also covers holding through the jolts.
As I said above you will need to go in and begin your shush/pat at 20 mins into the nap (not 30 as the FAQ says, 30 is too late for your LO), continue to shush/pat right through the transition, and an additional 10-20 mins until she reaches deep sleep (it is usually 20 but with a shorter sleep cycle it may be only 10).  The method involves beginning before LO is awake however you can adapt this if you find it more useful to hover by her with a hand ready to begin but then to not begin until she starts to stir then that is fine, all methods are adapted to what works best for your LO.

You can use W2S several times in one nap (I did this with mine when he dropped to one nap, I had to go in every 20 min to W2S but I only had to stay 2 mins, I had it down to a fine art through that tricky phase!) but this can mean staying a very long time in the dark room. Some parents are fine with this, perhaps just one nap per day and have enough energy to keep at it through the nap. Some are not fine, it can be quite depressing sitting in a dark room and getting no Y time or even a cup of tea so if you want to do it just once in the nap that's fine too, if it worked you'd still increase the nap from 30 mins to more like 60 which is still a step in the right direction in sleep training