| Ftm here. I never imagined hearing my baby cry would bother me so much. I feel desperate when he cries and try to keep myself from getting frantic to fix whatever is the cause. This is impeding sleep training of course and I don't want to let him cry at all. Hes 5 months. Anyone have tips? |
| This is how you're supposed to feel. There are plenty of alternatives to CIO you can try first. |
| Can your DH handle it? My friend wore headphones when they were sleep training and her DH handled it. After 3 nights he cried for a couple of minutes and then was fine. Plus, having a good night's sleep and a happy baby in the morning helped assure her that a couple of minutes crying was worth it in the end |
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That's a natural response.
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Yes. Don't CIO. Problem solved. |
| Babies cry whether you do CIO or not. It is really one of the only ways they can express themselves - think of it as communication or as a natural response to stimuli - it doesn't always mean there is anything wrong. |
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Babies cry because they need something. That includes sleep.
CIO is not for every baby. Every baby is different. But, I think most babies will cry regardless of whether you do CIO or not and if they are tired and need to sleep. If the only way your baby will fall and stay asleep is to fuss, let him fuss. We did CIO with our oldest because nothing else worked. Our other two barely needed any sleep training. |
Pick him up and hold him. Problem solved. I'm totally serious. I'm a nearly 40 year old mother of four and I can't stand to hear a baby cry. I've nearly approached strangers to admonish them to pick up their baby
Try it...it works. |
Wow why didn't I think of that! Oh yea. If I picked him up and held him he wouldn't sleep and would become more and more overtired and would scream and scream and scream and scream... |
| Ah, yes. "Problem solved." The universal response of idiots. |
LOL I love when parents project how they feel onto their babies. Sorry, newsflash, babies don't sleep like adults do. Adults don't nap, babies do. |
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OP I'm still like that today. It's a natural response and a good one.
There are several non CIO methods and that's what saved us. Happy non crying well tested baby and mommy. Oh and as the baby grows teach sign language. It helped a lot with whining and frustration when they didn't yet have words. Here at home crying is only when they are hurt. |
| The squeaky wheel gets the grease! And it gets way better. Try not to let yourself stress out about it (if you're in the shower and feel like you have to jump out dripping with shampoo, know that crying for a few minutes will NOT harm your baby), but it will get better. The older they get, the less they cry because they can do more for themselves. |
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Totally agree with the PP mother of four. I am a 45 year old mother of five. I've never let a child CIO. All five of my kids were great sleepers. I agree with the many experts who suggest that babies who have their cries responded to immediately cry much less than babies who are allowed to cry for longer periods of time.
The reason you don't like the sound of your baby crying is simple - You are supposed to respond to a crying baby. |
This was my DC. Picking him up meant 3 hours of screaming some days because he was so alert and stimulated by my "helping" him sleep. And then there was the every 15 minute waking at night leading to even more overtiredness. Well-rested babies (at least baring health issues) cry less. Try it...it works. |