Discovery Home & Health

My four month old son is dependent on the breast to fall asleep. I have been trying the pu/pd method recommended by Tracey Hogg. The first few times I tried he wasn't too bad and did fall asleep eventually. But now as soon as I put him near the crib he screams and screams. Most of the time I just sit holding him trying to calm him down because he works himself into such a state...so there is a lot of picking up but not much putting down! I hate seeing him in such distress especially as it doesn't seem to be achieving anything. Have other people had a similar problem? Did the method nevertheless work in the end? Any thoughts/suggestions would be gratefully received.

My son was the same with the pu/pd method, i found that feeding him untill he almost fell asleep then putting him in his cot worked, he knew he was in it but was too tired to care, if he started to moan i would not pick him up but pat him on the tummy and stroak his nose. The first few times i tried he cried but after a few attemps he got use to the routeen, also i did this with every nap he was having so now he knows that he is going to be put in his cot if he wants to sleep. He's ten weeks now and has been sleeping in his cot no problem for about four weeks.


im not sure if this will help you but its worth a try i guess!

Thank you Kell, that is useful advice. It's a compromise method, and compromise is usually a good thing! Does your son still need to feed to get himself to that sleepy state or does he just fall asleep in the cot now without a feed?

i've found that he feeds, then stays awake for a bit and then falls asleep in the cot himself.

[quote]Originally posted by kell_riley
[br]i've found that he feeds, then stays awake for a bit and then falls asleep in the cot himself.


So it worked then. That's great. Thanks for letting me know.

I went throught the same thing with my daughter (now aged 21 months)and I agree that picking them up is not always the answer. I did the same sort of tummy/back rubbing and also stroked her head and this seemed to help. Mind you it did take a few weeks to get her used to it and it was not much fun getting up as much as ten times a night to do it but long term it now means she goes to bed awake, falls asleep by herself and (normally!) doesn't wake until morning. Keep trying!