cry it out?

RachelLaree20

My daughter is 8 days old today.  Is it ok to let a child her age fuss for awhile without doing anything about it or should I tend to her immediately?  If it's ok to let her cry for awhile, how long is appropriate?

Tonight has been frusterating, she's been crying for over an hour.  I've fed her, changed her, cuddled for awhile (she stopped while I was feeding and cuddling her) but starts up again as soon as I put her in her crib.  i want her to sleep so badly but I'm not sure what to do.  I'm a FTM and haven't had this problem yet, though i know it's to be expected.

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated  

Runaway22

At 8 days, babies need to be held. It is WAY too soon to do any sort of sleep training (i.e., "cry it out"). 

It's one thing if you're peeing and she starts to cry; go ahead and finish, wash your hands quickly, etc. But if you can, tend to her immediately. If you're at your wits end, recruit help in cuddling her while you take a quick breather.

Don't just leave her to cry. She's only been apart of the outside world for a little over a week. Everything is still so scary without being snuggled up next to mama.

You might do well to google "fourth trimester." I'd also suggest looking into baby wearing. 

Snuggle that baby and hang in there  

ohlordy

I second everything PP said. 8 days is very young to leave alone while crying and baby wearing saved my sanity. When DD would cry, pop her in the moby and she slept so soundly. Now, she is 14 weeks and sometimes after a diaper check and feed attempt, cries because she wants to be held. She will even cry with DH until I pick her up.  

I've learned to do many things one handed and that the dishes can wait another day. 

Good luck!  

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1and1is3

Kimbus22:

I don't think you really mean Cry It Out, which is normally known as a method of sleep training.nbsp; If she's fussing or crying for 5 minutes while you go to the bathroom or eat something, that's fine.nbsp; Or even if you're alone and need to set her down for 5 minutes to regain your sanity.But generally babies that young need to be held a lot and cry a lot.nbsp; It's good to have back up available in case you are at your wit's end.nbsp; DH and I had a 'no questions asked' policy in place when DS was a newborn and we keep it now.nbsp; As in, when you can't deal with the crying/whining etc and you feel like you're going to lose it, you hand the baby off to the other spouse, just say "I need a minute" and leave the room until you calm down again.nbsp; Other spouse drops what they were doing and takes over immediately.If she's crying when you put her in the crib, have you tried a RNP or bouncer or swing? I know at that age my kid would SCREAM if we laid him anywhere flat but he would fuss for a second, settle and then go to sleep if we had him in something that moved/inclined.

I second this advice. Great advice with the "no questions asked" policy. I think if its needed then USE it... You're not bad mom for letting her cry for a few minutes while you regain your composure. In fact, the few minutes may be just what you need to figure out what she wants.

RachaelM24

I agree. We used a RnP until our LO was 4-5 weeks old then we started the crib. She would fuss a little but we only put her in drowsy and had to sing to her and talk to her in the crib, but at 10 weeks she has learned to love it and sleeps in it all night. BTW- we started at 4-5 weeks by first putting her RnP in her room to get her used to the sights and sounds and smells in her room then started the transition just during naps before we put her in there for the night. 

As far as CIO, we left LO "fuss" for a little bit bc sometime she finds her hands or something and then she puts herself back to sleep. We have a 3 minute rule- if she cries longer than 3 minutes we go in and just pat her, try a paci, calm her down. If she doens't stop crying with that, then we pick her up and start the process of getting her drowsy again.  

mben1119

At that age, all DS wanted was to be held or swaddled. Try the 5 S's, like PPs suggested, and just ride it out. It sucks, but its the age. Don't let her cry, she's too young and her cries mean she needs something, even if it is just affection.

RachelLaree20

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate the advice!  I'm slowly learning the ropes of baby and some days and nights are hard but all in all it's completely worth it

 Turns out I think she was gassy last night because as soon as I fed her again and gave her some gas relief and cuddled her until she was sleepy, she let me have a much-needed solid 3 hours of sleep before she needed fed again.

Schell2013

You can't let a newborn baby cry it out. They need to be comforted right away as its the building blocks for trust. The only time I don't pick up LO right away is if I am in the bathroom and can't. You won't "spoil" your baby by comforting them.