Is there an age that is too young to have baby cry themself to sleep?

Question

My son is 2 months old. I want him to learn how to soothe himself to sleep but whenever I put him into the crib he starts to cry. Is he too young to do this? Does this make him think that I am not there for him if I let him cry?

Once he falls asleep for the night he is fine, it is just the initial putting him down. He usually talks himself to sleep after a night feeding. And he has been sleeping 7 hours straight. Thank you to everyone who has responded. I just wanted to make sure I don't spoil him!

Answer 1

I've read that it's impossible to "spoil" babies under the age of 6 months, their brains are not developed enough to cry for manipulation. Before the age of 6 months they learn safety, love, security, etc. from being comforted when they cry. So therefore I think before 6 months old you shouldn't let them cry themselves to sleep, they are simply too little to self-soothe at that point.

Answer 2

Personally, I think anything younger than 6 months is too young to let them cry it out. It's natural for an infant to want to be close to someone, so why fight it? There are other methods like waiting 5 min then going in briefly, then wait 10, 20, 30....that way you aren't just letting them cry for hours alone. It's okay to let a 2 month old cry for a while if you're getting frustrated, but I don't think any sleep training should happen until around 5-6 months....just my two cents.
P.S. The Elizabeth Pantly method didn't work for my kid! I did Ferber when he was 6 months and that's teaching them how to fall asleep on their own by putting them down drowsy but awake. Some crying involved, but not crying it out.

Answer 3

I agree with one of the remarks that you can not spoil a baby under 6 months. That came from a registered nurse in lamaze class.

And for one of the remarks above, no way does a 12 week old baby know how to cry for what they don't get. Think about it, does that make sense?

Answer 4

I agree that a child should be able to soothe himself to sleep but not at 2 months old. 2 months isn't too young to start working on sleep teaching though, and you can work toward that goal without letting him cry it out.

Hold and rock your child until he's very sleepy. Wait until his body is good and relaxed and his eyes are drooping, then lay him down. Likely, he'll cry at this point. Pick him up and repeat the process many times as necessary, and eventually he will be so sleepy that he can't fight it anymore.

After this has become successful (it may take several days), start laying him down when he's a little less sleepy. He'll soon learn how to soothe himself to sleep. I found it helpful to have a little mobile or music box in my daughter's crib that we only played at nap time. This, and her blankie, were her 'triggers' to go to sleep.

Answer 5

i think 2 months is still too young they still need the feeling of tight comfort they were in tight warm place for 9 months so its definitely an adjustment. try laying your son down in the crib when he takes his small naps. its all about weening and make sure around 3 months ya ween him off any nighttime feedings if hes getting a nice size bottle at night before bed and hes not underweight. but just use his naps to ween him on different sleep patterns, nighttime is definitely not the time especially for you when your so tired.

Answer 6

Two months is a little young for Cry It Out (CIO). The baby only has one way of communicating with you, and that is crying. I think most people recommend at least 4 to 6 months, if that is the approach you want to take.

Head over to babycenter.com (where they have RAGING debates about Cry It Out).

Answer 7

If you have went to him every time he cried and comforted him - then by now he is secure and bonded. I recently had a student, a new mom, who was worn out. He baby was 12 weeks and was waking every hour and a half. I was the first one who told her it would be fine to let him cry. She did that night. Apparently it worked because for the first time she came to school rested. He slept or kept himself contented for 4 hours without bothing her. He was a big boy- and weighed 10 1/2 pounds at birth.

If it doesn't cetainly in another couple of weeks it would be fine to let him fuss. It probably won't be long until he figures there are interesting things to do instead of crying. I think music and light devices in the crib work wonders.

Answer 8

He's way too young, even the cry-it-out advocates think this is too young. Personally, my brother-in-law did this to his kids at this age and they are all very clingy and they refuse to go to bed. Buy The No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. You can start using this today. It's easy to read (because you're sleep-deprived) and focuses on taking baby steps toward the desired result. Letting baby cry it out is outdated. So is the lung strength thing. Our grandmothers were told to do this, but we know better now.

Answer 9

2 months old is too young to try the cry it out method. Your baby does not know how to manipulate you at this age. If he is crying, he needs something, simple as that. Crying themselves to sleep is a method used by parents to stop older babies, 6+ months, from waking up at night to feed. I don't recommend it anyway, but that is just me.
At this age your baby needs to know that if he needs you, you will come. Leaving him to cry like that sends the wrong message.

Answer 10

2 mos old is WAAYYYY too young for this. Personally, I never advocate CIO. But the few professionals who do believe in CIO DO NOT recommend it prior to 6 months of age.