sleeping?

[BrettsBaby6907]

How old do you think is appropriate to let your baby cry themselves to sleep? If there is nothing else wrong what else can you do? I don't want her to get to where she has to sleep in my arms

[jadie_f]

Dont let her cry herself to sleep, if shes crying there is a reason. Let her fall asleep in your arms, every night if you have to until she doesnt need to anymore. I know how hard it can be, my DD was super colicky and could only sleep in my arms, but as long as she knows you are there, she will eventually get secure and comfortable enough to fall asleep on her own. When newborns cry, they need something, dont ignore that. You wont spoil her, you wont set her up for a lifetime of needing you to fall asleep. Even if you have done everything you can, you can always just hold her, talk to her and love her. IMO, the more responsive you are to her and the more you hold her now, the faster she will develop her own patterns. Remember, she doesnt just want to be held, she NEEDS to be held. IMO, newborns shouldnt be left alone, even to sleep. They need you too much in the first few months, the closer you are to them, the better it will be for both of you in the long run. GL

[KatieJo3]

Not before 6 months. Babies younger than that shouldn't be left to cry. (see info in sleep training thread in this forum). These months are fleeting and the days of the baby needing your help to fall asleep or sleeping on you will go by so quickly. Actually sleeping with you/near you will help regulate the baby's breathing if I remember correctly.

[Bubble1]

How old is your newborn? My little one took quite a few weeks before he stopped needing to be cuddled all the time. At first he just wanted to be held all day and night, which we did. I think it takes them some time to get used to not being inside you. Now each week that goes by he gets a little happier to be on his own and will sit in a baby bouncer for a while without crying and at night we can often put him down with his eyes open (as long as he's not crying and he will go off to sleep, although he'll gurgle and look around for a while. Although it was exhausting I think that all my efforts in making him feel secure have paid off and he's not afraid of being put down now.

[brenjay]

You CANNOT spoil your baby. You cannot hold her or love her too much. Newborns are used to being held by you every minute of every day, like they were in utero, it is natural that they will want to sleep on you for the first couple of months of their life.

You are the only thing that feels safe and secure for them, the world is a bright, loud, scary place. Your infant needs you to provide that feeling of safety and security.

Please don't worry about letting her sleep in your arms right now, and do not consider leaving her to cry until at least 6 months old. All cries should be answered as soon as possible until then, it is essential for your baby's proper development.

And if your baby is crying, and won't stop, just hold her and rock her and love her. But never leave her to cry alone. There is a huge difference, developmentally, between those two scenarios. In one, your infant feels safe, even if they are upset. In the other, they feel abandoned, which is incredibly stressful for them.

Good luck! This time when they want to be near you all the time is so SO short! I wish my sweet boy wanted to sleep on me and snuggle with me like he did when he was tiny. It is sad for me, I wish I'd appreciated those snuggly newborn moments more when they were here. They don't last, sniff that head and love that newborn as much as you can!