Self soothing

Thanks so much Kiwispiers I have your email address :)) Yeah it's only for putting him for sleeps defiantly not during the night. I'm just worried that me cuddling him until he's asleep, (even though I love it) is unfair to him as I have to return to work in Nov. I just thought if I could implement some good habits now it will be an easier transition when I do go back to work :)) Gilly3, if you need to introduce a bottle for when yo go back to work (and haven't already), you might want to do so now as it's much easier to do it before the 2 month mark hits. If your baby will be staying home with a nanny while you are working then its a good idea to get her involved in bedtime routines now and also make sure your husband is doing it in the weekend so you are not the only one to put your baby down for sleeps. By the time you go to work your baby will have developed the circadian rhythms necessary for predictable scheduled nap times but will also be about to hit the 4 month sleep regression, where things can go a bit pearshaped especially if you are rocking to sleep and wish to stop doing so, baby will be well and truly hooked on mummy by then ;)

To be fair Pentel I don't think the OP really meant self-soothe in this case, I think she was really just asking about gently introducing healthy sleep habits, I think the problem is the words self-soothe and sleep through are so bandied around, new mothers start to feel like they are failing if their baby doesn't magically roll over and settle off to sleep from day one. <em>edited by kiwispiers on 11/08/2011</em>

another thread about babies self soothing?? kiwispiers... just ask the mods to put your advice as a sticky! words fail me really.. these tiny creatures don't even realise that mom is a seperate being. why such the rush to make them fall asleep alone?

A 7 week old can't really self soothe, if they wake fully in the night they are likely to call for you and will generally need to be fed. If you mean drifting off to sleep without being held though, then as below, basically things that make them feel like they are not alone (swaddling; feels like being cuddled, dummy ; feels like a boob etc), white noise reminds them of the sound of the womb apparently, it is instinctive for a baby to become distressed if they feel alone, if your plan is to teach them to self soothe you need to gently override this, preferably in a way that leaves them feeling secure. Really at this age you want to aware of soothing techniques that might become dependancies later on, in theory they won't be habit forming until after the 3/4 month mark so if you have really unsettled baby don't worry about just doing whatever it takes until they are a bit older. If possible, during the day give them a feed when they have just woken and only feed again before their nap time if they show signs of hunger, this will help avoid the association of boob and sleep. If you use a dummy as a sleep cue, try taking it out of their mouth before they are fully asleep, so they won't expect it to be in their mouth when they stir in the night. If you are not swaddling or using a dummy, you can try and teach your baby to find their thumb, they won't wake in the night for it like a dummy, but you might find yourself having to break the habit in years to come. I used to swaddle my 6 week old, pop in his dummy (he only ever had it for sleep so it soon became a great cue) turn out the light, cuddle and sing to him then place him in his bassinet. I would then lay down in the room while he went off to sleep, if he spat the dummy out, I'd put it back in, if he cried I would put my hand on him and if that didn't work I would pick him (but only if actually crying, not just making little noises), on a few occasions at around the 6 week mark I turned on the hairdryer or vacuum cleaner until he fell asleep, it was amazing the way he would close his eyes within seconds. DS was a really settled baby from birth though and has always gone off to sleep on his own since he was born, without ever being rocked to sleep, fed to sleep or left to cry, not all babies are the same and what work for one mummy might not work for another. Being consistent with the way you put your baby down helps them learn when it is time to nap, although at this age they will still often fall asleep in their pram, bouncer etc if they are tired. Watch really carefully for the slightest hint of a yawn or rooting for a feed, crying is a very late sign of tiredness and hunger, ideally your baby would never need to cry (although some babies give you very little warning). You can't expect to be able to go straight from noisy playtime to sleep, you need a slow wind down which could be anything from 5-30 minutes before you put your baby in their bed depending on the baby, it might be a 10 minute quiet cuddle in their bedroom before you lay them (awake) in their bed. Thats what books mean when they say "drowsy but awake", basically get your baby very content and relaxed before putting him in bed otherwise he will find it hard to drift of to sleep. If you email me I'll send you a PDF of the no-cry sleep solution by Elisabeth Pantley. <em>edited by kiwispiers on 11/08/2011</em>

Bath, b00b, swaddle and place in cot/cradle, book or lullaby, musical mobile and then leave room. If no success, put on a recording of white noise or a radio off tune. My daughter liked Norah Jones, Eva Cassidy and Jack Johnson:). It has to be loud enough to break the crying cycle if crying (she was a bit older). Turning on their side and gently patting back with cupped hand to rhythm of a lullaby is quite soothing. <em>edited by TwoKids on 11/08/2011</em>