Sleeptraining 3,5 month old who never slept in her cot

[Aimi]

My DD2 has done pretty much all her naps in a sling since she was about 4 weeks old when she didn't seem to want to sleep by her self anymore. We decided to just do that since she was so young and sleeptrain a little later. So.. later is here and it's time to put her in the cot.. I'm a little unsure of how persistent we should be.

Is it to confusing to have some naps in the sling still while ST? We wan't to be able to take her out when doing things whith her older sister.

If she doesn't go to sleep in the cot do we give up after a certain amount of time and do the sling to protect her getting OT or will that ruin everything?

I also cosleep with her at night which I was going to keep doing unless it's also to confusing for her? I'm thinking that her day and night sleep have been diffrent already but similar in that she has bodycontact..

The last thing I'm thinking about is our wind down, the times I've tried with the cot I've walked around with her a few minutes in the darkened bedroom with white noise like we do when she's in the sling but is that enough? I've tried just sitting with her before but she just wriggles.

I dread doing this as I remember a lot of tears and feeling horrible with DD1 but if I'm at least confident I'm doing it right I know I'll feel better.

Advice would be much appreciated!

[newkidontheblock]

Hi there and welcome:)
This is a great time to get started as they are just out of the 'fourth trimester'. I'm posting a few links that you can go through. There's a ton of information/ advice and helpful tips from fellow members. To get started I would say just follow a rough routine. The essence of BW is following your baby's cues. The most important thing is to simply stay consistent.
Starting EASY - all you need to know and more! https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=186622.0
Sample EASY Routines from 0 - 13mths+ https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=164253.0

Is it to confusing to have some naps in the sling still while ST? We wan't to be able to take her out when doing things whith her older sister.

I would suggest for a few days, while you are getting started, stay in and stick to your routine. It's just so that you can be consistent. After she gets used to it, you can adjust as per your family's needs. A sling is super handy to have. You can always plan for one or two naps to just be in the sling and work that into your routine. With my daughter, we did all the long naps in the cot but the evening catnap was in the sling.

If she doesn't go to sleep in the cot do we give up after a certain amount of time and do the sling to protect her getting OT or will that ruin everything?

Yes, absolutely use the sling whenever you need to

I also cosleep with her at night which I was going to keep doing unless it's also to confusing for her? I'm thinking that her day and night sleep have been diffrent already but similar in that she has bodycontact..

I have never co-slept with my kids so no BTDT experience but it could be confusing. If you are fine with it, you could put her to sleep in her cot at night also. It is safer for them. It is recommended that baby sleeps in their parents room for at least 6 months

The last thing I'm thinking about is our wind down, the times I've tried with the cot I've walked around with her a few minutes in the darkened bedroom with white noise like we do when she's in the sling but is that enough? I've tried just sitting with her before but she just wriggles.

This should help What does a good wind down consist of (Includes 4S ritual) https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=212645.0

All the best! We're here to help you through this. What I LOVE about Babywhisperer is that it helps us to connect to our babies and understand them better. There might be tears but you will always be with her guiding her through it. Let me know how it goes. Xx

[Aimi]

Hi and thank you for your answer! Just to clarify I'm starting sleeptraining; we've been doing EASY for about two months and have a (hopefully) good routine! 🙂

[Sleepymum88]

Hi, just bringing up your old thread as I'd love to know if your LO sleeps in the cot now?

My son is 12 weeks old and won't nap in his cot in the day so will be trying shh pat tonight in the hope it'll help his naps!

[Aimi]

Hi, yes actually sleeptraining went really well and she slept in her cot and went down by herself after about a week of shh pat if I remember correctly, and she needed less and less each day. I didn't put her in the sling or anywhere else for about two weeks so she wouldn't be confused but after that we do some naps in the sling now and it never affected cotsleeping 🙂 i did stop cosleeping at night after a few days as i felt it was confusing to her. Let me know if you have any questions, don't know if that's what you wanted to know!

[Sleepymum88]

No that's helped thank you. So you kept shh patting her until she fell asleep? Because I tried it for 30 minutes and gave in and rocked my son to sleep in the end. I can't find anywhere on the net as to how long you do it in terms of minutes/hours or if you carry on until they're so exhausted they fall asleep.

[Aimi]

I found a post where someone had asked that and got the answer to do Shhpat max 45 min. Then feed and try again or take out of cot for 15-20min quiet  atime and try again. I never did it for that long though, she fell asleep after max 20-25 I think. I did it way longer with my first DD though and it was really tiring.. we used white noise which kind of works as a substitute for shh and worked really well for us. I also stroked her between the eyes/eyebrows when she was calm and tired and sometimes that helped her fall asleep. If you give up and start rocking I think it could be confusing for him, I'd rather give up and get him out and try again in a bit

Max 5-10min trying resettle for naps

[Sleepymum88]

OK, thanks for the advice!