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Post edited 7:53 pm – May 20, 2011 by Sara Rognstad
Post edited 7:56 pm – May 20, 2011 by Sara Rognstad
Post edited 8:06 pm – May 20, 2011 by Sara Rognstad
Post edited 8:08 pm – May 20, 2011 by Sara Rognstad

We're on our first day of sleep training our 5-month-old, using check & console method. Last night went well, only 5 minutes of crying, and she was fast asleep! Big shocker!

This morning, we're beginning nap training. Probably going to be pretty rough, because she's feisty and generally resists naps, doesn't know how to 'switch herself off.' So we're bracing ourselves for it.

We have just one difficulty that we could use some input on. In Nicole's ebook on naps, she states that for all sleep training methods, we need to put the baby down drowsy but awake. The problem is that in order to get baby to the drowsy state, it often takes our holding, rocking & patting her for up to 20 mins, which is precisely the thing we're trying to eliminate with sleep training. And, often, during the whole time, she'll fuss and cry until she suddenly falls semi-conscious in the arms. Sometimes she even falls completely asleep, very, very suddenly, which then would mess up the whole goal of putting her down awake. 

Must we still do the holding/rocking/patting, and consider it a pre-nap routine, just so she gets drowsy and has a 'decent' chance of falling asleep on her own? Or should we just put her down in her crib at the first signs of tiredness, even though she's wide awake, and not drowsing at all? 

We can't decide.