Starting EASY with 6 month old-Help Please

[Caleb's Momma]

Hi, this is my first time posting here and I really need some help. I have read Tracey's book and my husband and I want to start using EASY and then start our son with the sleep training. So today I decided I would start with trying to change his schedule to EASY and so after he woke up from his morning nap I breast fed and then gave him some peas. We had activity time and after 1:45min I noticed his tired signs. I put him to sleep using his usual method of nursing because I thought it would be too hard to change the sleep first. I was thinking I should just try to change his schedule first but it's looking like it will be Eat, Activity, Eat, Sleep. Is this the best way to start changing things for a 6 month old who has been nursed and/or rocked to sleep so far. I need some advice because I really want and need to make a change but don't know where to begin.
Thanks so much for any advice you can give.
-Barrie

[thitz]

Barrie, I started my dd at 10 weeks so I don't know if I'll be much help.  But I'm thinking it is a good idea to get the routine going and then start working on the sleep training.  I know Tracy says in her book that a good day routine is key to sleep training.  Maybe give the routine a week and then start the sleep training.  Good luck.

[Noelle]

Hello and welcome 
How often does your little guy feed? It sounds like you are off to a good start.    The big thing to sleep training, is getting them to sleep by themselves.  I would suggest that you start giving him smaller and smaller feeds and put him down more awake each time.  I would also implement pu/pd to help with this transition.  Please note, that if he has been fed/rocked to sleep for these 6 months the key is consistency.  This process can take 1-3 weeks and it will be hard in the beginning.  It only takes 3 days to start a habit, but they are a lot harder to break  :wink:  Please let us know if you have any more questions...also, do you have Tracy's first book or her third one?  The third one goes into much greater detail with helping to transition an older baby onto EASY and sleep training.

[Caleb's Momma]

Yes, I definitely need to get Tracy's 3rd book. I have only read the first and then last night I downloaded one of her online sleep interviews.

Last night, even though I didn't think we were ready for it, we started the sleep training! I feel like I've been trampled on. Here's what we did...

We started off with his bedtime routine, bath, book, nurse, then I brought him into his crib and told him nice and calmly that we were going to teach him a new way to sleep, that it would help him, etc. Then we started the PU/PD, after about 45 minutes of this with lots of terrible crying, I decided to swaddle him with one arm out. He got much calmer with the swaddling. Then I did PU/PD but when I put him down I tilted him on his side and started doing pat/shush. This seemed much more successful and after another 45 minutes he fell asleep. I have to admit, I did wait for him to fall asleep completely before I left but I figured that might be ok the first time around. He only slept for about 2 hours before he woke up again and we had to go through the PU/PD pat/shush routine again but he fell asleep quicker this time. He woke up another two times during the night and we did the same thing, except around 1:30am I nursed him and then put him down and put him to sleep with pat/shush.

Anyway, it didn't work as well with naps today and he's ended up taking 3 1/2 hour naps, two in the car and one in the stroller. Right now my mother in law is walking him around and I'm getting a break to gear up for tonight again. I also have not been able to keep him on any kind of schedule today as he has been so overtired and cranky, and so have I, so I don't have the EASY part really going yet.

What do you guys think? Am I doing this ok, is this an ok way to start? Any suggestions for improvement? Thanks a million times over. I hope and pray my husband and I will make it through this!

[thitz]

If pt/shush is working better than pu/pd, you should stick with the pat/shush, I think it's easier on everyone.  I kind of do a combo.  I find if my dd is really worked up that I end up putting her down while she's crying tilting her on her side and start patting and this will calm her when she won't calm in my arms.  It's like eventually she decides 'okay, I'm going to fall asleep now'.

Keep up the consistency.  Always do the same thing during the night and during the day.  And do your best to keep with EASY.  It will work with time and a lot of patience.  Keep up the good work!