How long should I let my baby cry? Should I attend to my baby every time he or she cries?
There are so many questions that parents want to fill the void into; from proper diet, increasing breast milk supply to attending the baby’s miserable to hear cries that sends distress and anxiety to you.
After pregnancy; you’re probably wondering the next tasks you have to achieve now that you are an official parent; worried that your baby is crying more than usual? Don’t be it’s normal and a vital process in their own development.
Why do babies cry a lot?
Crying is a common mechanism of young babies to signal that they want something, crying can mean either the baby is distressed or just asks something from you.
Babies especially newborns have a very fickle and underdeveloped nervous system which explains why they cry a lot; it is their way of communicating their needs and distress; that’s the reason why you don’t always have to be parent-wise and look for the answers on how to calm down your baby; if your baby is crying it doesn’t necessarily mean the baby’s in pain; its just that your baby is simply wired to cry it out
Letting your baby cry or not highly depends on the age and current situation of your baby, you should let your baby cry; especially if he/she is 3 months old or more; this is due to the fact that the baby should be able to cry it out to be able to train them in going back to sleep without the parents’ attention; especially if you have given all of the baby’s needs in the first place; this technique of baby parenting is called cry it out method (CIO)
However, the newborn babies should never be kept uncheck especially when crying because it means they are communicating that they need your attention; breast milk or comfort through touch.
There are a lot of debates and arguing mothers on whether they should let their baby cry or not; besides that every parenting skills are different; there is no exact answer to the question and often it’s just a matter of gut instincts of when you should let your baby cry or when you should fully attend to the baby.
What are some known solutions to babies crying?
There are a number of sleep training approaches that many parents consider, one technique that people use and was mentioned before; the “Cry it Out” (CIO) is a type of sleep training that lets your baby cry for a period of time without parents supervision; thus making the babies fall asleep before they get any attention from the parents; only during the baby’s sleep then can the parents give the baby comfort.
This method was popularized by the parenting book created by Richard Feber called “Solve your child’s sleep problems”; although he did not necessarily create and invented the CIO method, some of his suggestions that are in the book were extremely similar to the CIO method that people especially parents may also refer the CIO method as ” Ferberizing”.
This method popularized by Feber was also backed up by medical professionals and pediatricians as they believe that the method is effective; safe and works well in families.
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The theory on why cry it out method is effective is due to the observations accounted by medical professionals studying on the baby’s development pattern.
The theory states that the baby’s sleep cycle is fickle and it is normal for them to wake up at night; when he wakes up crying and you tend to him or her by nursing or rocking them to sleep that could result in a dependency; if you let your baby cry out during the night; the many learn independently and soothes himself or herself into sleep.
Overtim, the baby adjusts to the sleeping cycle; learn how to self-soothe and parents can enjoy a good night’s sleep without any breaks or worries.
If you want to entrain your child through the CIO method; first make sure that the baby’s old enough to try the method; possibly 5-7 months of age and then follow the guidelines.
- It is advised to put your baby in a comfortable and clean crib; wherein the baby is usually in the middle of falling asleep and being awake.
- Leave the room and wait for few minutes; if the baby cries, it is sending a signal that it does not want yet to be left alone; go to the room, soothe and reassure your baby, leave again even if your baby is still crying.
- Do this process between intervals until the child falls asleep; this sleep training should be introduced gradually and as the training goes on make the intervals longer.
What are some other tips that can help the child be more used to cry it out method?
The cry it out method may seem a little harsh for many parents; however, when done properly it can set a stage to a wonderful and less hassle parenting; that’s why before trying the CIO method it is best to try some of these tips to help you and the child be more in tuned with the sleep training.
- Develop a bedtime routine; as early as 6 months the baby can already process time-memory information and it is necessary for you to help them be more familiar with a bedtime routine that soothes their needs; try patting and communicating with your child, read them a bedtime story or anything that is relaxing during the night.
- Don’t force it if the CIO method doesn’t work for you and your child, or if you think it isn’t right to let your child just cry out in the crib; there are plenty of other techniques that you can use.
Final notes
Although we are presented with a viable strategic sleeping technique, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it would work for your baby; babies are different; they react differently and they have different personalities.
Some things would work out and some would not; just like the CIO method presented above; it doesn’t necessarily mean that it would work for your baby.
Always trust your guts; a mother’s instinct will always be the viable answer to the baby’s needs; don’t wait for 3 hours of miserable crying if you feel in your guts that it isn’t right.
At the end of the day; taking care of a baby and parenting can be of different varieties, there are different styles on the spectrum; give CIO method a try and if it doesn’t work out stop it; always remember that good sleeping patterns are important and poor sleep from endless crying should be corrected in one way or the other.
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