Author Topic: 1st night of pu/pd & pat/shush....going on 1.5 hours...help!  (Read 1261 times)

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Offline rossilu

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1st night of pu/pd & pat/shush....going on 1.5 hours...help!
« on: January 26, 2006, 09:19:08 am »
we have been using pat/shush for naps on our 5 month old (just started this program last friday) tonight was the first night we tried though....ugh.  it usually takes him 30 minutes to fall asleep for naps w/ pat/shush.  well, tonight  he went to bed at 8, i woke him for a dream feed at 11:30 and when he woke at 3 i started pat/shush...NOT WORKING.  so i started pu/pd which only seemed to wake him more???  so we have been going at it for 1 hour and 15 minutes (i HAD to use the rest room, so DH took over).  my question....do i have to continue w/ this at all night wakings from now on?  what should i do if he wakes again at 5/6 (assuming he has gone to sleep by then, lol)?  do i do this every night for all night wakings now?  please help, we want to stick w/ the program but have hit lots of bumps along the way (more night wakings, shorter naps, etc.) since we started.  i have gotten great advice here, as i have yet to finish the book (i have the newest one).  any advice would be great.  (and ds is breastfed)  thanks!

Offline Katet

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Re: 1st night of pu/pd & pat/shush....going on 1.5 hours...help!
« Reply #1 on: January 26, 2006, 11:03:50 am »
I am a bf mother & I think that if it takes me longer than 5mins to settle my ds's in the night I bf... they need the sleep & so do I. The key at this stage is to make sure they go down at the start of naps/bedtime without a prop eg by being fed to sleep etc.

If you are doing sh/pat etc & your baby is crying they will need extra fluid. so feed, you can work on the night wakings when he falls asleep independently for all sleeps, that way you can pretty much work out if the feed is needed or not & for a bf baby 2 (& even 3) night feeds is actually not unreasonable for babies under 6months old.
dc1 July 03, dc2 May 05

Offline rossilu

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Re: 1st night of pu/pd & pat/shush....going on 1.5 hours...help!
« Reply #2 on: January 26, 2006, 13:42:46 pm »
thanks for the response!  so have i broken his trust by not feeding him now??? or is it ok?  he actually fell asleep around 4:30, then woke again at 5:30 ~ so i fed him then...he still didn't seem that hungry, though.  he ate on one side, but fell asleep very quickly.  so, now i'm confused.  should i not follow the program as closely since we are breastfeeding?  did i "ruin" things by using pat/shush and pu/pd during the night? 
when he wakes tonight...just give it 5-10 minutes and then feed?
thanks so much ~
colleena

Offline Katet

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Re: 1st night of pu/pd & pat/shush....going on 1.5 hours...help!
« Reply #3 on: January 26, 2006, 21:24:44 pm »
No i don't think you have broken his trust at all, what I think is that the longer they are awake trying to be got back to sleep the more other problems with overtiredness & longer day sleeps that you can develop. I think you will find that if you get the start of the sleeps right & only offer a small feed (one side) & until the sucking slows, then take off you will find you all end up having a less stressful time  :)
Also if they are awake & upset for long periods it is hard to know if the crying then becomes due to hunger rather than tiredness, so in a younger baby it is better to go with eliminating an extra variable.

You didn't ruin things by doing pat/sh etc, just if it was going on that long, it obviously wasn't working for anyone & I personally don't think that is fair on you or your baby & you need to look at what is "workable"

once you get to a point where he falls asleep in say 5mins or less at naps & bedtime, then I would try pat sh at the night wakings, but otherwise you are going to be in for a long haul... as night wakings are often harder to settle in the early days of "sleep training"
dc1 July 03, dc2 May 05

Offline NikkiS

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Re: 1st night of pu/pd & pat/shush....going on 1.5 hours...help!
« Reply #4 on: January 27, 2006, 19:19:11 pm »
Hi, I couldn't help but reading this post and finding that at our nightwakings, shush/pat or pu/pd only produces a hysterical baby.  Our dd is 14 weeks old and is beginning to wake almost every 1.5-2 hours after her df at 1100PM.  At first we thought it was a growth spurt, but she doesn't take in much at all- she's b/f at night (we've begun bottles during the day last weekend).  She nurses maybe 4-5 minutes and is out.  We're going on two weeks with shush/pat sleep training for naps and going to bed...and going to sleep is easier on all of us even though she still fusses a bit.  She has never been an easy baby to put to sleep... we've even tried to use AP and props!  Crying and fussing has always been a part of sleeping but like I said it's getting better.  Anyway, you've suggested not using shush/pat or pu/pd if it doesn't calm a baby in 5-10 minutes.  So at night, do we just continue to pick her up and put her to breast?  Or, do you think that we should try wake to sleep (all though I need to find the link in which it's explained thoroughly)?  Thanks!
Nikki
Mom to Emma 10-14-05