Regg - i started being very watchful of when she's tired, then i tell her that if u're tired, u need to sleep. then i will bring her to her room, darken the room and sing her lullaby. Usually if the timing I catch is correct, then when I sing, her eyes will start closing. When I finish singing, I let her die down, say "Sleeping time. Mummy loves you" and then I leave the room. if she starts crying when I put her down, I will pat her and say again "Sleeping time, mummy loves you". After I leave the room, if she continues crying, I will wait for 5 mins before I go in, pat her and say again "Sleeping time, mummy loves you". Then the next time, I wait 10 mins before going in again.
But sometimes, if I go in to pat her, she gets more agitated, then I don't go in anymore. Just let her cry to settle herself.
After the 1st week of training, she didn't really cry anymore when we put her down to sleep. But at night time, she still woke up a few times and needed our "help" to get back to sleep. But our helping her was limited to pat her and say again "Sleeping time, mummy loves you".
Then last week, she started standing up in her cot after we let her lie down. sometimes it's becos she's not tired enough yet and still wants to play. then i will let her play another 10 mins. sometimes she's just being naughty, so I will ignore her, and go back after 5 / 10 mins to make her lie down.
sorry for such a long post. essentially, it's these key points:-
1. have a daily routine and try to keep to the same wake up time every morning.
2. teach baby to nap, catch their tired moment and do your go to sleep routine.
3. be consistent (cannot one day feed baby to sleep, another day rock baby to sleep, then another day let him cry to sleep)
4. be patient
5. expect 2 steps forward, 1 step backwards. (last week my baby started standing in bed. then 2 night ago she slept through the night, but last night she woke up and cried for an hour)
6. u & hubby must decide whether u can tolerate crying. if cannot, then u need to choose one of those no-cry methods.
for no-cry methods, u can read:
1. Baby whisperer
2. The No-Cry Sleep Solution
if you don't mind some crying, you can read:
1. BabyWise
2. Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child
3. Solve your child's sleep problems