Your Crying Baby

by Rachel on December 19, 2011

Imagine yourself as an adult in distress, calling for help, only to have people walking by completely ignoring you. How would this make you feel? You can imagine if this happened to you repetitively you could develop anxiety, severe problems with stress, depression and any other countless types of emotional problems.

This analogy makes it easy to realize how this could happen to a baby who is left to “cry-it-out”. This article:
http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/crying-dangerous-kids-one-expert-says-222400379.html discusses why it is more of a convenient option for parents these days, but is more than just a few days of torture for your baby. This method of sleep training could leave your child with long-term emotional problems.

When it comes to night time, we’d all like to have an easier time and get a good night’s sleep. Think about how many books are written about getting your baby to sleep. It can be a tough transition in life, but giving just a few years of your time to hold and soothe your babies at night may be the answer to having an emotionally stable and very secure child.

The solution is going to be different for all parents, but for me I have found bed-sharing to be the easiest transition. My baby goes to bed with us, and when he wakes at night and needs to feed his food is right there next to him. With my first son I did not discover bed-sharing until later, so I was up and down several times at night when he woke because I could not stand to just let him cry.

What methods have you found that have worked at night? What can you suggest to other parents struggling with night time routines?

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Article by Rachel McFadden

Before motherhood I had an appreciation for our planet, but once I knew that I was bringing a new life into the world suddenly my urge to live a greener life was much greater. I knew that I must do my part to help create a beautiful place for my future generations to live. I take steps each day to reduce my carbon footprint. This blog is dedicated to documenting the changes I make in order to help others do the same.

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  • Autumn Canter

    I’ve never been able to let my kids cry it out. I tried it once with River and it drove me to tears myself. How could I ignore my crying child? From then on, I just did whatever felt right for us despite what people thought. My parenting takes a lot from what I learned by living on a farm and seeing other mammals with their newborns and young. It seems odd, I know–but what creature makes their bed in a different room than their children? Doesn’t that seem odd when you can answer–why no animals do that! Each young baby nursed comfortably whenever mom was close and my children–by sleeping with me–can do the same thing. I feel so strongly about keeping my babies close (especially when they are young). It feels right in my gut. In the very core of me to be close to my children physically–especially when they are sleeping. And if it sometimes makes my life a bit more difficult because of that–I take it as part of the package of parenting which I willingly, happily signed on for when I chose to have children. These things only last so long and one day, when they are grown, I will miss these needy years when my body was public property to the entire family. LOL!

    • Anonymous

      I think you are right on when you compare human behavior to animals. That’s a great analogy!
      I also think about the total package when we are having children. One day we will miss cuddling with them each night and we should cherish it while it lasts!

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