Ok. There are a lot of opinions on self soothing. This is where your baby learns to calm themselves down when they are upset. I know that my mother's generation is often very pro "crying it out" where you let your baby essentially cry themself to sleep or cry until they are all cried out. This might work for some babies. This might work for your baby. My rule for mothering has been to go with my instincts so far, and my instincts say that this is not an okay thing for Evelyn. We are attempting now to help her set her own schedule. At 3 months, most babies start getting into a routine as far as naps and bedtime go. So, we're trying to lay her down for naps around the time she usually gets sleepy instead of letting her just conk out somewhere. And now the self soothing becomes an issue.
So I'm trying to forgo "crying it out" for my kiddo. Doc and I know this will be a frustrating choice, but I don't believe that Evelyn really cries for no reason. I do think she cries because she is so tired she doesn't know what to do. I remember learning about the Trust vs. Mistrust phase in developmental psychology. I think being there for her when she is upset is important even if I can't really do anything to help her.
Sounds good in theory. Let's see if it works.
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hehe great back ground! I think I'm a more cry it out theory... but thats now. That is also why I'm reading books before baby.
ReplyDeleteLater on I think I might be more okay with it. We'll see. Last night Doc and I spent an hour switching off trying to get her to go to sleep. They aren't supposed to be able to self sooth until 3-6 months and she's just now in that range, so in a few months it might be something I'm willing to try. Apparently there is a book called "The No Cry Sleep Method" or something like that. I'd like to read it, but haven't made it around to that yet.
ReplyDeleteWe did CIO at about 9-10 months. I knew at that point he was only crying because he wasn't happy. He was full and clean/dry. I was too tired to get up in the middle of the night anymore for those 3 am feedings when he would only nurse for about 2 minutes before going back to dreamland. His thumb is his best friend now.
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