Quote:
Originally Posted by Maritime Q-Scout
My wife noticed this the other day.
For the last week our son has slept through the night about half the time. The other half he would wake up at about 3 or so crying. When he does that we have to get up to soothe him or take him into bed with us (yes, yes, I know the cry it out theory, not my question).
Here's what's interesting.
When I put him down he sleeps through the night.
When my wife puts him down he wakes at 3am.
Last night we experimented by me putting him down, and again he slept through the night.
Why would this be?
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I didn't say anything at first because it wasn't your question, but I am not a big fan of the "cry it out" approach. There are a lot of sources that do not believe the method is helpful and that it could be harmful.
For our baby, we tried the "cry it out" method, and it was brutal. A lot of people disagree with this, but we have co-slept with our daughter from the time she was an infant until the present (she is just over 3 years old). She has always slept through the night for the most part. Sometimes she will wake up and ask weird questions or babble about dreams, or sometimes she will want to sing a song. But it lasts minutes and she goes right back to sleep. And those moments are amazing to me.
It was never our plan to co-sleep, but when she was born, she was a sickly baby. She spent the first 6 weeks in the NICU where there were always people around and sounds. When we took her home, I think the silence at night freaked her out than most babies. Plus, the valve in her stomach was underdeveloped for several months which meant that if you laid her flat, her stomach contents would pour out of her. There was no easy way to get her to hold anything down and sleep without holding her upright and co-sleeping.
She can sleep on her own now and is showing interest in having her own bed, and I think it will come along naturally. But for now, it's fine. We never endured the sleepless nights or waking up at 4 am with a crying baby or toddler. Nor does she fight to stay awake since we all go to bed together at first.
Some people tell us that she is going to become too dependent, but I really don't think so. Our pediatrician is an advocate for it as well. Aside from the co-sleeping, she is the most independent toddler I have ever met. She wants to do everything on her own. She even makes her own toast!
The bottom line is, I don't feel that there is a right or wrong way to do it. It is whatever works for you and your baby. They are all individuals with their own needs.