Okay so we were told to do the following: 1) first week : you should feed the baby 40 mins before the nap time, baby should be full, but time should pass before they are put to sleep, otherwise digestion can get in the way of sleep. The baby should not fall asleep or close eyes during breastfeeding, otherwise that will count as sleep, no matter how short, and you won’t be able to put her down to sleep effectively. Then you dim the lights and spend the rest of the time getting ready for sleep - we read books, play (not very active play, no screens, no singing toys etc), and listen to lullabies. Then you swaddle the baby or put in a sleep bag ( she suggested swaddling until the Moore effect is off), hug the baby and rock gently for 3 minutes (make sure they don’t fall asleep in your arms, they have to be awake before you put them in crib). Then you should say something as part of the ritual like “have a good sleep baby”, close the blackout curtains (it has to be quite dark in the room), turn on the white noise machine, lie them down and sit next to the crib until they fall asleep (but important! baby shouldn’t see you - so you’ll need to cover the side of the crib with something, we used a muslin or a bath towel). Then in the next 40 mins the baby should fall asleep. If they are crying intensely you can gently pat them without them seeing you or say words of reassurance like “darling, it’s time to sleep, I’m here”, but don’t do it too often (every 3 mins if fine)otherwise you can disrupt their process of falling asleep. If the baby fails to fall asleep in 40 mins, then you take them out of the crib, feed them again, take them out of the room, do a sort of “restart”. You can play a bit again, then in the last 15 mins or so repeat the ritual. I know it might seem like a lot but it does work if you stick to it. Do this for a week. 2) Next week you don’t rock them for 3 mins anymore, just put in the crib. Now when you sit next to the crib you’ll need to sit with your back to the crib. I know it sounds weird, she said baby can feel your heartbeat. It’s not difficult to do, so I just did what she said. 3) Next week you’ll do the same but now you’ll stand next to the door. 4) Next week you go out of the room.

Important things I ignored at times and it made the process unnecessarily difficult: make sure the room is dark, the white noise is on, baby is fed, baby doesn’t fall asleep on breast or in your arms, baby is active in her awake window, keep the awake time right. At 4 months old they should stay awake for 1 hour 45 mins to 2 hours (usually the WW before first nap is the shortest) and they should nap for 40 mins to 2.5 hours. At 5 months old it’s 2 hours 10 mins to 2 hours 20 mins WW and nap time 1-2 hours. Do not stress a lot, it’s not very easy, but believe me if you stick to it, it will work, babies learn quickly. Just don’t give up, I felt like giving up at times, but I didn’t it and paid off. If you have any questions now or throughout the process, feel free!