Hi -
I need some help.
I have a 4 1/2 mo. old little boy who is trying very hard to get into a good routine. I bought Tracy's newest book on Labor Day and have been quite determined to see this through. The first week and a half were really tough. One night I was up doing PU/PD & shush-pat every hour! Luckily, our persistence has paid off as he can sometimes put himself back to sleep and has slept through the night twice this week. Things definitely seem to be going in the right direction. I don't want to screw it up!
Sometimes he wakes at night and we have a bit of trouble. Also, sometimes he has trouble staying asleep for his whole nap.
When I respond to his genuine cries, shush-pat is now usually enough to calm him, however, he then proceeds to want to play with my fingers, talk, and maybe blow a couple of raspberries. I'm not making eye contact. I've been then moving out of sight to help keep him on task, but he quickly goes back to a genuine cry. We've gone back and forth like this for a whole hour, by which time the nap is over and I feed him (on schedule).
When is a good time to step away from the crib, or to leave the room, if he is not crying, but not sleeping either?
Sometimes, I can successfully do the wake-to-sleep, but if not, we tend to get stuck in the above rut. Am I not doing the wake-to-sleep right? Is there something I could be doing inadvertantly to draw out this struggle?
The way I've been doing wake-to-sleep is to be there when I think he is going to wake early, and just ease him back to sleep if he wakes. I'm not interfering if he doesn't stir. I used to pat him right at the 30 minute mark for as much as 20 minutes, but then noticed that the patting sometimes woke him up more.
How do I break this cycle?
