You know your baby is tired, do you let him cry until he falls asleep?

Question

Be sure to include in your answer: (1) if yes, at what age did you start letting him cry to sleep, and (2) how old and how many are your kids?

Answer 1

my children
17
15
12
2
9 months
NO, i have not, and would not, when my children were baby's and my 9 month old i rock to sleep, and when they went to a toddler bed i read a story after a warm bath, they just fell off to sleep, i have never forced naps on my kids, but sometimes they took them and sometimes they did not, i remember being put to bed first, i have 5 older siblings, the bedrooms were upstairs, so i was put to bed alone upstairs, i was frightened, i cried myself to sleep every night, , i am 39, and still remember the feeling of fear, it was horrible

Answer 2

i have 3 kids and they are 17 yrs old and 2 11 yr olds. i worked taking care of babies for years before having my own so i have slot more experience than just with my own kids. i found it really hard to ever let my kids "cry it out." it made me a wreck. i never tried it at all until they were close to two years old. then i only did it when i was at my whits end. a good book to get is Richard Ferber's "How to Get Your Child to Sleep Through the NIght." He doesn't recommend letting a baby cry it out but he does have methods that work. he's worth reading. habits have a great deal to do with how easily a baby falls asleep. some babies seem to get used to needing to cry before they can manage to fall asleep but that doesn't mean they should be left to cry alone at a young age. an older baby is a different thing as far as needing to cry in order to get themselves through to the sleep stage. a routine for going to sleep really helps the baby know whta to expect. do the same thing every time they are being put to sleep. something calming and relatively short. a book? a song? or two? a comforting blanket or something to hold? a pacifier? (not a bottle) talk to the bay about it if they are old enough to even maybe udnerstand. good luck! this too shall pass...

Answer 3

I have three children, 4 fostered children, 4 grandchildren and one on the way. When the child has been fed, burped, changed, and cuddled then I let them cry but if the crying is prolonged then it depends on their age. 0-6 months I go pick them up if still crying after about 10 minutes, 6mo-2 years i let them cry up to 20 minutes but mostly they fall asleep before that.
For the little ones I do the whole routine over, a little milk, a little burp or a big one sometimes thats why they cried, check the pants and most of all the loving n'cuddling!
My children are: 32,27, 26, 24, 24, 21, 19 the grands are: 8, 5, 2, 2 and one on the way.

Answer 4

That is a situational question. There are times when I would let my children cry themselves to sleep, If you feel that they are becoming dependant on having you hold them, bottle feed them, entertain them etc, then I say yes, let them cry even if for a while. If the crying doesn't stop and become excessive, then reassureance is needed. If there is just too much stimuli and your child/baby is crying then try to comfort them and get them to relax and sleep.

My oldest didn't have any trouble falling asleep. BUT my twins were all switched around. awake at night and sleep during the day. We had to let them cry to get them to switch back around.

I have 5 children. 23, 21, 20, 18, 18
Good Luck

Answer 5

There were times when I let our daughter cry herself to sleep. I usually did not go more than 5 min without checking on her. Opening her door, trying to calm her down, shushhing in her ear. I would put her down and leave the room. If there was hard crying, I would check again, if she got down to a wimper, I left her alone. It usually only took 10-15 min and she was asleep. Sometimes you just have to hold them. Make sure it is not becoming a pattern to rock them to sleep or having them cry themselves to sleep.

We started around 6 months. Our daughter is now a happy 2 1/2 years old.

Answer 6

I never ever let my children cry themselves to sleep. I believe that just creates insecurity in them. I have a 3 year old and a 6 month old, both sleep in bed with my husband and I. The baby usually nurses or is rocked to sleep.

Answer 7

I have one baby, she's just shy of 5 months. She moved from a bassinet in my room at 3 months to her own crib in her own room. At 4 months I established a nap routine since she became more awake during the day. She sleeps great through the night and as long as I follow her night time routine and she gets plenty of sleep during the day, she goes right down to sleep. She doesn't usually like her naps, though. The only way to make sure she gets enough sleep is to put her in her crib and let her fuss. If she fusses for more than five or ten minutes or her crying gets worse, I pick her up, soothe her and try again. If it gets worse again, I either let her stay up or snuggle. It depends on the type of cry. I have more problems with intense crying on busy days. I make sure she's not still hungry and her diaper is changed and she's had a short period of play before I put her down. The few days before I figured out the importance of her naps I tried to keep holding her and rocking her until she got sleepy and she got worse instead, so I had to let her scream herself to sleep. I'd much rather have her cry lightly a couple minutes during the day than scream herself to sleep at night. During naps and at night, 98% of the time if she wakes up before she's ready to get up, she might give a small cry, then she settles herself down and goes back to sleep.

So, the short answer is yes and no.

(And wish me luck that my success continues...)

Answer 8

I have a 4-yr-old boy and a 2-yr-old boy (and a new boy coming any day). Each of my boys had once when they just wouldn't/couldn't sleep no matter how much I tried to rock them, sing to them, nurse them, the swing, the bouncy seat, the car...I had to just let them cry. It was only once each. The rest of the time, I helped them with rocking, singing, nursing and later a bedtime routine. With exception of the once each (the older was 9 months old, the younger was 4 months old, I might even have the date written down) my kids never cried themselves to sleep. Teaching them to go to sleep will ultimately help them feel important, special and empowered. My older son learned to put himself to sleep at 6 months, after we nursed and sang our nighttime songs (the same handful of songs in the same order), he would go into the crib sleepy and drift off on his own. My younger son is a very light sleeper and we had to get him a radio but then he managed to drift off quietly by himself at 5 months. My theory has always been, if I woke up and called out to my husband in a different part of the house, he would come, always. If my kids ask for me, I will be there, always. Even now, at 4 and 2, if they call for me, I come. I make it clear that I will help them with their need and they will go to bed but I would never ignore a cry for help.

Answer 9

If I have tried all other methods, and i know all needs are met and there is no pain or fever, I have always let my son cry himself to sleep. Or at least to the place where he will calm down so I can put him to sleep. I've been doing so since birth.

But those times are few and far between, since I am anal about sleep and nap times, we have routines for both and he RARELY diverts, no matter how interesting the day is.

Just the one baby in our house.

Answer 10

No, i dont believe in letting your baby cry himself to sleep.. in some babies it will introduce fear of crib, or sleep itself.. some babies lose your trust as a caregiver and distant from you.. I couldn't bear the sound of a child crying for such a long time.. i believe there are healthier ways to get your baby to sleep. When my son is tired all i do is swaddle and give him a passy, let him lay down and watch me read or play a puzzle for a while, he becomes bored and closes his eyes. soemtimes he fusses, of course and seems like nothing will get him to sleep, thats when i know he's overstimulatied and i missed the sleep window.. i sit with him in a dark closet to shut out everything and he calms down, then i put him in his crib, and it's Dreamland after that. ( it doesnt work in minutes, trust me).. 2) Shayne is 2 months old. he's my only one.