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We've had a lot of success with the No Cry Sleep Solution book! Its a pick up, put down method that gently teaches baby to sleep on his or her own. C no longer needs to be nursed to sleep, and he sleeps much longer stretches than he used to. I got the recommendation for it from some other Bees

@Revel: I started feeding him twice before bed - once before his bath and jammies, and then a quick one right before bed. I end the quick session as soon as I see his eyes getting heavy. Then I put him down in his crib, turn on white noise, put his pacifier in, and pat his back or bottom until he's almost asleep. I stop when his eyes are fluttering and heavy so that he's still falling asleep on his own.

Its a PUPD method with unlatching or removing the pacifier, but we cheat and still let him sleep with his pacifier. I imagine his sleep would be better if we took it away right before bed.

@Revel: we did no cry sleep solution as well, if you search there are a few threads about it. We rocked, not nursed, but basically started with him 90% asleep, like eyes closed but still muscle tone and then worked from there. It took about 3 days for him to really "get it" and then less than a week until he was going in wide awake/happy.

Before doing CIO at 6 months old, we introduced a dream feed around 10-11pm. We did the normal bedtime routine, etc., then I would wake up around 10pm with DH's help, dream feed, then he would sleep until almost 6am. I highly recommend dream feeds. It put LO on our schedule not his which were steps to self soothing.

We were in the same boat where nursing to sleep just stopped working. We ended up doing CIO, but did a gradual transition first. Like grizz, I did her real feeding before the bedtime routine. So in the living room, lights on, talking, and rubbing her feet or cheeks or whatever I had to do to keep her awake. Then we m would change her, sleep sack, story, and I'd nurse her to sleep in her room- that way she was already full. Maybe she's falling asleep before being really full?

After our CIO (which wasn't as bad as I feared) we now do feeding in living room, then change, sleep sack, book, songs, lay her in bed. Patting and shushing didn't do anything for her.

That said her night wake ups are still not great. We are working on naps now, then I'll try to cut back on the wake ups.

@Revel: yep, he would do the same thing, cry the second he shifted away from me and I picked him right back up and restarted. Looking back, I think I maybe would've put him in the crib gently, and then walked out and down to the kitchen and back. Now that I "know" his sleep a lot better he will sometimes squawk even when he is going down awake but be quiet within 30 seconds -- in the beginning I didn't even leave the room unless he was crying.

He didn't calm with shushing or patting at first either,and it killed my back, but it was worth it! I know what you mean about feeling like it would be easier to transfer asleep. It really goes against your gut to put them down ALMOST asleep at first, I think you have to commit to doing it for a few days to give it a chance.

@Revel: It definitely takes a few days, and it will get worse before it gets better. I think what you are doing sounds like a good plan-- you are letting her get used to falling asleep on her own, and eventually, hopefully, she will being able to resettle herself when she wakes up between sleep cycles. Are you also waiting a few minutes before picking her up at night? Sometimes C will make noises, even cry out once or twice, but go right back to sleep (or maybe she was never awake at all). I try to always wait at least 5 minutes in the middle of the night before going in to her, unless she is really crying. And really, sleep is always changing!

I'm going to follow this thread. LO is 3.5 months and I nurse her to sleep for naps and bedtime. She falls asleep so easily at the boob. Like I sit down on the couch in her room, she starts eating and is fast asleep within 5 minutes. I can easily transfer her to crib and she doesn't wake up. However, I don't want to do this much longer. I want to be able to go out and have DH put her to sleep and I want others to be able to put her down for naps.

@Revel: I've heard a couple of times to give the Pantley method at least three weeks to work. We really need to get back to following it religiously... We got down to one wake up a night, got lazy, and now we're back at 3-4. Its still infinitely better than 10-13 wake ups a night, which is what we originally dealt with!

Just another perspective but six months is when I started nursing to sleep for 99% of sleep! Miss A started crawling, hit a wonder week and started cutting six teeth (!) and I think she needed (and still does need) the sucking action / reflex to relax and wind down enough to sleep. A is now 14 months and has just started to STTN on occasion and she has been putting herself to sleep.

Overall, her sleep over the last months has been up and down regardless of what I've done to help it, we also don't CIO and I think you have to be prepared for the long haul using more gentle methods.