New to this...

[mamawhit]

OK I want to start out saying I have a 4 month old(tomorrow) and I just finished the book.  I have been trying to keep track of Hailey's schedule for the last few days, but our last few days have been out of the house.  So I started today to try the putting her down to fall asleep on her own.  Well that went BAD!!  She got so worked up!!  I did the test in the book and Hailey rates as a mix between an angel baby and a textbook baby.  I think today I missed her window of time for sleep.  However my question is how do I go from rocking her to sleep(she HATES this) to just laying her down to sleep?  I am not sure what to do I figure I should know as I just finished the book, but I am very confused!!  So just to let you know she sleeps in her crib for her 3 naps in the day and at night.  I have tried to lay her in her crib when I think she is tired and she lays there and "talks" to herself.  I am sure I need to leave her in there long enough to see what happens, but I think she is not tired and go get her.  Well until she was 3 1/2 months she would not nap in the day time and was feeding herself to sleep.  So I think we have come along way so far.  I have been rocking her to sleep and she tends to always get upset.  Now when we sit down in our recliner if she is at all tired she will get upset, even if I am just sitting down to feed her.  So I know that is not working even if I wanted it to.  She generally sleeps for around 12 hours at night and takes 1 2 hour nap and her other 2 naps are 20 min to 1 hour. 

So I guess my questions are: 
1. What do I do if I miss the window and she becomes too tired?
2. Do I just let her "play" in her crib until she falls asleep?
3. Any suggestions?

Thanks for listening!!  Sorry if I did not make a lot of sense.  I am just wanting to do a good job with this.

Mandy

[Debi - James' Mama]

Hi Mandy
I'll try and help as i also HAD to angel/textbook lo.  He's now turned into textbook/spirited, which is fun 

If you miss your dd sleep window and she starts crying etc. try using the shush/pat method.  It worked really well with my ds.  Tracy's right when she says babies can't concentrate on 3 things at once so if you shush load enough(not too load though) and pat they tend to stop crying.  When i missed ds window it sometimes would take about 30 mins of shush/pat before he finally went down.
Try and recognise the signs of sleepiness, ds were waving arms and when he was a little older he started to rub his eyes - now he sticks his fingers in his ears!

When your dd is "chatting" in her crib when you put her down to sleep, don't go in unless she really does start crying, then try and shush/pat while she's in her crib.  She may fall asleep on her own and that's what we are all working towards!

It sounds like you are doing an amazing job and you're lucky that she sleeps all that time in the night!

Stick with it, it's so worth it!  I wouldn't have known what to do if it hasn't been for THE BOOKS and this site.

Let me know how you get on xoxoxo

[corrina01]

Hi Mandy,

I also have an angel baby.

What do I do if I miss the window and she becomes too tired

Do the ssshh/pat method which is in the BW solves all your problems book.  My DD never liked the pat element. 

Do I just let her "play" in her crib until she falls asleep?

Could you post her routine for us please.  It might be a bit of tweaking with her A times.

However my question is how do I go from rocking her to sleep(she HATES this) to just laying her down to sleep?

She hates being rocked to sleep? Or just laying here down to sleep?

Do you have a windown routine at all.

My DD's windown routine (I always go by the clock or when I see she is tired) is

15mins before bedtime or when she looks tired, I go upstairs lay her down on our bed, put dummy in her mouth and talk or sing to her.

When it is time, I swaddled, (currently weaning her from it), take her into her room, lay her straight down in her cot, while I draw the blind and shut the curtains, turn on her white noise CD, sing a lullaby to her, then walk straight out.  She goes to sleep straight away.

HTH