Pick up put down

What It Means

Pick up, put down is a sleep trainingSleep trainingTeaching a baby to fall asleep on their own, both at bedtime and after waking in the night, using a planned, consistent method. See more method in which you lift your baby out of the crib when they cry, soothe them, and lay them back down as soon as they calm and their eyelids start to droop, before they're asleep. You repeat the cycle as many times as it takes for your baby to fall asleep in the crib. Cleveland Clinic says some parents see it as gentler than cry it outCry it outA sleep training method, also called extinction, where a baby is put to bed awake and not comforted again until morning. See more or the Ferber methodFerber methodA sleep training method, also called graduated extinction, where parents check on a crying baby at timed intervals that lengthen over time. See more, though it can demand more time and patience.

How Parents Say It

• "I picked her up and put her down about twenty times."
• "We're doing pick up, put down for naps."
• "He calms right away in my arms, then fusses in the crib."

The Breakdown

By age

The steps

1. Finish your bedtime routineBedtime routineThe same short series of calm steps a child goes through each night before sleep, such as brushing teeth, reading a book and lights out at a set time. See more and lay your baby down drowsy but awakeDrowsy but awakeLaying a baby down in the crib when they're sleepy but still awake, so they practice falling asleep on their own. See more.
2. If they cry, pick them up and soothe them until they're calm.
3. Put them back in the crib as their eyes start to droop, before they fall asleep.
4. Repeat whenever the crying starts again, until your baby falls asleep in the crib.
5. Use the same approach at every bedtime so your baby knows what to expect.

When to talk to the doctor. Before starting, ask your pediatrician if you're unsure your baby is ready or still needs night feeds. Call any time your baby seems unwell.

Good to Know

Cleveland Clinic notes this method can take many rounds of picking up and putting down, so plan for a slower pace than the other methods. Every put-down follows the AAP's safe sleepSafe sleepThe AAP's rules for lowering the risk of SIDS and suffocation: baby on the back, alone, on a firm flat surface in their own sleep space, every sleep. See more basics: baby on their back, in their own crib, on a firm, flat surface with only a fitted sheet and no pillows or blankets.

Related Terms and Categories

• Sleep training

  Teaching a baby to fall asleep on their own, both at bedtime and after waking in the night, using a planned, consistent method.

• Gentle sleep training

  Everyday name for sleep training methods that keep a parent close or step back slowly, such as the chair method or pick up, put down.

• Chair method

  A gradual sleep training method where a parent sits in a chair by the crib until the baby falls asleep, moving it farther away every few nights.

• Drowsy but awake

  Laying a baby down in the crib when they're sleepy but still awake, so they practice falling asleep on their own.

• Cry it out

  A sleep training method, also called extinction, where a baby is put to bed awake and not comforted again until morning.

• Safe sleep

  The AAP's rules for lowering the risk of SIDS and suffocation: baby on the back, alone, on a firm flat surface in their own sleep space, every sleep.

Baby and toddler