How do you do 'drowsy but awake'?

Can successful 'drowsy but awake' mums share your methods? Do you stay visible or immediately disappear from view? Do you side lie your baby and pat their butt? Do you rock them into drowsiness and then put them down or do you just put them down when they yawn? How young did you start to put them down 'drowsy but awake'?

Share your wisdom and what's worked for you and your LOs so the rest of us!

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A baby with a very specific temperament. Thats it.

Drowsy but awake does not work for the vast majority of babies and is a term pushed by the sleep training industry

At night:
Feed
Lights off
Once her eyes are getting heavy transfer to her cot
Disappear and leave her to it

The first 2-3 nights I rubbed her back and shushed for 5-15 mins (she whined cried) but after the first few nights she stopped whining on transfer and my presence was just distracting her.

Haven’t been able to crack it for naps yet.

This only worked when she was 5.5 months old. Before that no chance.

I think drowsy but awake is like one of these Instagram trends that isn't real tbh... Every baby is different and what works for you won't work for another! I usually put her down when she seems fully asleep... She kind of wakes but I find if I disappear off and go brush my teeth etc she'll have self-soothed in that time..

It’s definitely a temperament thing and not achievable for the majority of babies! Many little ones need physical support to get to sleep, they need you to be able to feel safe and calm and to help regulate their emotions to be able to fall asleep :)

https://www.instagram.com/p/DSSmZPHjYY9/?igsh=bDFhNDhiNGhlYm85

I think its also the routine you have before putting your baby down. A bath can really help to release melatonin which helps with sleep. We do bath, pj's, bottle, cuddles then bed. Try and aim for the same time each night (6pm). Shes always tired by the end of the day but looks for sleep cues like yawning, red eyebrows, rubbing eyes, eyes drifting. Its also the longest wake window for her (usually awake between 2/2.5hrs). Put her in her bassinet with a ewan the dream sheep which shushes her. Leave immediately. No eye contact - it wakes them up.
Been doing this since a couple of weeks old. Shes now 3 months. We do the same for naps although since we have a busy life she does nap a lot on different places but im not as bothered as long as night time sleep is consistent.

I have twins, i would sleep with both of them curled into me.. until they fell asleep and then just popped them ever so slowly into their cots. The first year was difficult as they would wake up again looking for comfort... but now they just sleep in their own cots and dont need me anymore - my daughter has her support blanket and my son just bounces himself until he falls asleep now?... 15 month olds lol 💔

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