I am a first time mom, is it safe to leave my 3 week old in his crib crying if he's really fussy?

Answer 1

ideally you should hold your baby and see if there is anything wrong with him to cause the crying. try the 5 s's. suck (bottle, breast or paci), swaddle, swing, shhhhh, and 2 others. i don't remember. basically if you have tried everything and he's still crying and you feel like crying yourself, put him in his crib and shut the door. go take a bath or cry or call your mom or friend. do not leave him crying all day but do not put yourself in the position that you are at your wits end and do something you regret. you can call the hospital you delivered in and see if they have someone there you can talk to. just remember tiny babies have no way to comunicate except to cry. he's not doing it to make you miserable, you just don't know what he's saying. he could be colicy if he's doing it alot. is he breastfed or bottle fed? you might try giving him the dosage of tylanal that your ped. recommends and see if that helps. it could only be a little headache. good luck and remember that baby just needs your love! go take a break if you need it then go love your baby some more!

Answer 2

Some people think by picking up a fussy baby will spoil the baby. And that can happen WHEN THE BABY IS MUCH OLDER. At 3 weeks old, your baby needs to feel secure. Try to look at the world through your baby's eyes. She is confused, unsure and maybe even scared. That's where you come in to nurture provide love, comfort and assurance that this place isn't so bad. That is crucial to her development. Now, once she's older then she'll be able and willing to manipulate you. But at this age she needs you to be there for her at all times. We held our son every waking hour of his day for the first six months. Today he is a confident well-adjusted kid with a great esteem. God bless you and your child.

Answer 3

Yes, its okay to let them cry.. what I did with my son is put in his crib for about 5 mins and then he was ready to eat....
The one thing about babies is you dont know why they are crying...so you do need a break from all the fussiness..The baby at 3 weeks cannot roll over so he wont be in harms way..I added to this because the others are probably not parents...btw: i reported the dumb azz that made that comment!! Good luck

Answer 4

If he is really fussy then, no I probably wouldn't cause he is likely looking for comfort from you and at his age building trust and providing security is crucial.

That being said, if he is just a little whiny, it may be his way of unwinding before a nap. In this case you can put him in his crib but stay very close by - not close enough that he can see you (cause then he'll want you to pick him up), but definitely close enough that you can keep an eye/ear on him.

After 5-10 minutes, if he gets fussier, rather than calmer, pick him up...you can't spoil an infant his age by picking him up too often!

Answer 5

Due to his age, I would suggest that you did not b/c he needs/wants something or he would not be fussy. Does he have colic? If you get too stressed over his fussiness, ask some family or friends to help you out a little while so you can relax. Being a new mom is hard, good luck.

Answer 6

if he is fed, has a dry diaper and you can't seem to calm him down, some "time out" in the crib may allow him to calm down and you to get your sanity. Make sure that he is not in pain, hungry, etc first though. I recommend no longer than 10 minutes and maybe trying a warm bath first. My baby also loves her swing and rocking in the chair. If you're totally frustrated, though, it'd be better for you to lay him down until you can be calm too--and he'll be easier to calm down if you yourself are calm.

Man that guy is getting reported. By the way, my baby had colic and turns out was really gassy so we got Zantac and she's much better. Just do your best to calm him and occasionally you can let him cry for a few minutes alone!

Answer 7

Don't feel bad if you need to put baby down for a minute when he is crying, should you need the loo, a drink, etc. But a 3 week old baby should never be left to cry, they can be very clingy. Have you thought of using a sling to carry baby around? My 13 day old is quiet as a mouse in his sling.

Answer 8

Is it safe? Probably. The likelihood of him actually doing long-term physical damage to himself is pretty small. Is it a good idea? Definitely not. It *will* hurt the relationship you are trying to develop with him. It will teach him that when he is totally dependent, the people who love him the most won't care for him. And it will result in his secreting high levels of cortisol--a stress hormone--even after he stops crying. So he will burn up calories he needs for growth and development on dealing with stress. Even the advocates of "crying it out" like Dr. Ferber (before he retracted much of what he wrote) said not to do it before baby is 9 *months* old.

If you do it very rarely when you just can't deal with one more minute of crying, and only for a few minutes (long enough for you to relax a little), it probalby won't *hurt* (although it's *still* better not to)...

Answer 9

No I would not,I would only do it if you feel overwhelmed or feel that you might harm your baby.If you feel you can not handle the crying call someone to help.Mabe someone (mom,family member)could take the baby for a couple of hours.My first daughter had colic from 3wks.-6months old,I know it can be hard to listen to a baby cry & I felt so helpless but you will get through it.Best of luck with your little one.

Answer 10

I really wouldn't.

I'd always make sure their okay, because even though they're probably just being fussy 99% of the time. You'd hate to miss that 1% where it could be something serious.