Wish me luck

[Samanthas mum]

I am about to start on pat shh with DD2 and I am slightly nervous.

I followed BW with DD1 and it was a great help and sanity saver. Problem is with having a 2 year old running around and being very demanding as they are I have struggled terribly with sleep training for DD2 - as a result we have everything from 45 minute naps to co-sleeping going on.

Anyway DD2 is going to nursery for some extra days starting Wednesday - as a result with the weekend included I will have 7 days to solely focus on DD2s sleep.

I know it is going to be hard but I have used a variance on pat shh already so am hoping it won't be such a huge change when I take it a step further. Big problem for DD2 is that movement/rocking is pretty crucial to getting her to settle. Am I alright to rock and sing her a song to set the scene before I start the pat shh or should I drop the rocking altogether? Is 7 days enough to make inroads into the problem? DD2 is 3 months/14 weeks.

Any general words of advice/encouragement gratefully received 

[Cornish smiler]

Good luck with it Sam's mum!  I know how hard it is with another child and mine is twice the age of your 2 year old but still comes in just as I'm trying to get Sam to sleep and he's wide awake then!!!!!

I would say that 7 days should be sufficient time to make really good progress with the sleep training as the earlier they start the easier it is.  As regards rocking to set the scene, I'm afraid I'm no expert on this at all, but I would say it's OK to do just as part of the wind down routine. 

I think the key for the whole thing is to be consistent.  I try to stick to my bedtime routine with Sam as much as I possibly can and do things in the same order etc.  May sound daft, but I'm sure it helps. 

Anyhow, once again, good luck and please keep me posted how it's going - I'll be thinking of you!!!

Ali

[jennyh]

good luck