Hi there,
We started BW at 11 weeks as well. Arwyn would cry as soon as we walked into her dark room! So, what we did was stay in the room, let her snuffle on our shoulders until she was in Stage 3 of sleepiness, then put her down. We did hold her until she was completely asleep a few times until we got the hang of being able to identify how sleepy she was.
Gradually, we began to put her down sooner and sooner. Within a week, there was no more crying, she was able to go to sleep from wide awake to fully asleep. She was able to put herself to sleep very consistently... we endured short naps this way too. :roll: God only knows how she was able to put herself to sleep but not back to sleep. Anyway, this continued up until a few weeks ago.
Arwyn is now 6.5 months old... we are experiencing some regression but it only requires a few minutes of pat/shushing for her to fall asleep. I figure it is all the new stuff happening... solids, sitting up, mobility, etc.
Well, good luck! Stick with it and soon, you will have a baby whom you put down wide awake, kiss good night, shut the lights and that's it! Your friends will be SO amazed!