Cry it out method

bberg0521

Has any one done the cry it out method with their babies? I'm trying it now and I feel like a horrible mom! Normally I rock him to sleep and then put him down. He's seven months old. Day care did it and he cried at first but now he goes right to sleep when she lays him down.

confettibetti

I did it, and I too felt like a horrible mom , but it worked for me!!!! good luck, and those feelings are completely normal! :flowerforyou:

AlbaAngel25

I haven't yet... my daughter is 11 months old and up until 6-7 months she was a perfect sleeper...then something happened! She has been waking up every night crying/screaming.... night terrors? I have no idea whats going on but i hope it gets better. I was contemplating crying it out but she almost cant catch her breathe if i let her cry for more than 2-3 mins.... oh well tell us how it goes!!

juliecat1

I'll preface this by saying I'm a super crunchy granola parent.

I could never do it. Only considered it because everyone said I HAD to. I think I cried more than the baby the first time I tried it. In my opinion, they're only babies for a small period of time. My job is to meet their needs, comfort and love them at this stage. They do eventually learn to be good sleepers.
I promise - I have 3 very different kids that all grew up to be independent, healthy sleepers.

skylark94

I didn't run to my son the instant he started crying but I would go to him if he cried for more than a few minutes. I would avoid picking him up. Instead, I talked to him and would just put my hand on him. He usually quieted quickly.

My daughter was 15 weeks premature and really didn't cry much. I think her 3 months in the NICU eliminated her need for contact. She's never been a cuddler.

BronnersHarris

I'll preface this by saying I'm a super crunchy granola parent.

I could never do it. Only considered it because everyone said I HAD to. I think I cried more than the baby the first time I tried it. In my opinion, they're only babies for a small period of time. My job is to meet their needs, comfort and love them at this stage. They do eventually learn to be good sleepers.
I promise - I have 3 very different kids that all grew up to be independent, healthy sleepers.

I parent like this - I tried it with my first as everyone told me to. I would sit outside his room balling my eyes out. It didn't work - just made for a very stressful situation and everytime we went on holiday, or daylight savings etc we would have to do it again.

Second child I parented more by instinct and never left him to cry - carried him a lot, slept with him when he needed it and he is such a good sleeper now. He did take a little longer than most to sleep for long periods - but this was due to his allergies and being in pain rather than anything else.

I don't consider sleeping through the night a milestone that needs to be completed like sitting up, walking etc. It takes time and I think there is a lot of false expectations out there as to what babies need. Lack of sleep is hard! Very at times but there are other ways out there.

Also, if you are going to do any form of crying and sleep - the ones where you go in every certain amount of minutes is a safer option. I have read some articles about the crying it out - as in just leaving them till they finally give up rather than offering any reassurance and it wasn't good.

There are other options so don't feel like this is your only one. There is a book called 'No Cry SLeep Solution' if you're interested.

Good luck with whatever you decide x

country_blood14

I am also a crunch parent, but I tried what other said with my first, and would let him cry it out, and I hated it. I stopped after months of trying, and went back to helping him get to sleep. He still has issues sleeping now, at 4, and I honestly think it is because of the nights that i left him to fend for himself. then with my 2 year old, i co splet, and when we moved him, i would go to him every time he cried(like actually cried, not just a little fuss) and he is an awsome sleep. sleeps better than my 4 year old most nights...

randomtai

Nope nope nope.... babies cry because they need something. I never let any of my 4 kids cry it out.

Im_NotPerfect

Yep we did it with our son. Only took a couple of nights and it worked great. The first night I cried harder than he did! The next night he only cried for about 5 minutes and went out.

I didn't need to do this with our daughter, but now both my kids are awesome sleepers.

JenniBaby85

Only if it's "whining" not for real crying. But, if the crying is too much for me to handle. I'll let her cry for about 5 or 10 minutes, just so I can step out of the room and gather myself to deal appropriately.

chrishgt4

I'm sure it probably works but surely only for the same reason a neglected child stops crying once they learn nobody is going to come?

If they want some attention then give it to them!

megalin9

Yes, I did/do. When my little girl was a baby, it was really tough being my first child. After going through her bedtime routine and finally putting her in her crib, she would of course start crying as soon as I put her down. We would let her cry for about 15 minutes, then I would go back in her room, lay her back down and cover her up, not saying A WORD, just letting her know that I was still there. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. After about an hour, she would finally give up and go to sleep. After 3 nights of this, she stopped crying at all and went to sleep on her own.

My son has been much easier - up 'til the last few days. He all of a sudden doesn't want to go to bed. I had to let him cry it out last night, and after about 30 minutes of crying at his bedroom door, he crawled back up in his bed and went on to sleep. I don't check on him after 15 minutes simply because he is older than my daughter was when she was having a hard time and because he's in a toddler bed, not a crib. If I were to go in there and check on him, it would only delay the process.

Both of my kids are EXCELLENT sleepers. With the exception of my son the last 2 nights, they both go to sleep on their own after their bedtime routine. Hopefully my son will get back into his normal rhythm soon and bedtime will be easier once more.

I know it's difficult and heartbreaking, but I don't think that it's BAD or means you're a bad mom. I think that we have to TEACH our kids to go to sleep on their own.

With that said, do what you're comfortable with. If you just can't stand to let your baby cry it out, then don't do it. If you want to co-sleep, that's fine, too. Whether you try to get them to sleep in their own beds as babies by letting them cry it out, or you let them co-sleep while they're little and then try when they're older to get them to sleep in their own beds, it's going to be difficult either way. I don't believe there's a right or wrong way.

randomtai

I'm sure it probably works but surely only for the same reason a neglected child stops crying once they learn nobody is going to come?

If they want some attention then give it to them!

EXACTLY!! Poor kids.

Fox_n_sox

I do it. But I don't let my daughter scream her lungs out for an hour. The MOST I let her go ( It feels like 10 minutes) But It's probably 5. I turn on her mobile and put her in bed, say " Mommy Loves You!" And I give her a kiss. She is on a routine where she goes to bed at the same time EVERY night. She is almost 2 and takes (2) 2 hour naps a day, sleeps almost 12 hours at night. She is in bed between 8:30 & 9. And is up around 7/7:30 sometimes she even sleeps till 8. She will be 2 in December.

WendyTerry420

I had to do that with my daughter a few times. She was collicky - nothing wrong physically but just cried and cried at night. Nothing would comfort her, so I just laid her in the crib and after about 20 minutes, she was asleep and slept through the night.

Salamanda425

We used the Cry it Out method ever since our daughter was 3 months. She has slept in her own room ever since and goes to bed without any problems. We put her in her bed, she goes right to sleep! She's almost three and goes to bed at 8pm and gets up at 7am. My parents are raising my nephew who is 3, and they still have to rock him to sleep every night b/c they wouldn't let him cry for just 2 minutes! He sleeps on the couch with my dad now!