Crying it Out

I've read a lot about child rearing dos and don'ts. DO encourage tummy time to promote muscle development. Do spend time talking with Baby so she learns language. Do spend time encouraging Baby to explore the world around her, etc.  DON'T over dress Baby to avoid heat rash. DON'T feed baby solids until 6 months. DON'T put Baby on her tummy to sleep. It's getting the Baby to sleep and more importantly stay asleep that is tricky. Baby B is great at dozing off in my arms or snuggled on my chest.  She's even done a great job transferring to the crib. Every once in a while she gets her nights and days switched which is to be expected. I mean, if you lived floating in mostly darkness, would you have any idea which way was up let alone night and day?

In an effort to develop positive sleep habits, we've encouraged Baby to soothe herself. (I read it in a book somewhere). She's successfully put herself back to sleep when she wakes herself up during naps and she hears my voice. There are no tears, no sounds of pain or extreme distress. It's like she just wants to make sure I'm still close by.

Tonight, my husband and I are attempting to let Baby 'Cry it Out'. Literally, right now, she's upstairs crying in her crib. She went to bed about an hour ago woke up about 20 minutes ago. It started out as a whimper then some fun chatting with her giraffe blankie and then onto her bear and even the nice dolly that sits in the corner of the crib (a very safe distance away since she doesn't move enough to warrant taking all that stuff out, yet).

Then it got louder.

Then there were tears.

Now it's an all out screeching but not quite a tea kettle blowing.

Ten minutes passed. I went upstairs and my heart ached when I picked her up. She was crying with her whole body. That gasping-for-air-between-wails-kind of crying. I don't feel as bad as I thought I would...probably because I was able to soothe her. Her eyes were puffy and red and she looked like she'd been through a battle. We discovered that she's inherited her dad's skin (her broken capillaries show through) and my scratchy voice. (It will get worse when she's overtired or goes to church camp - allergies mostly!).

When I picked her up from the crib, I had a flash forward of a day when nothing I say or do will soothe her. Or worse yet, I'm the one who makes her cry like that because I've denied her the latest craze or discourage dating before she's ready. Yikes! She's 3 months old, I have a while before I need to worry about boys, right? Although where did the last three months go? So soon enough, but not today. Time to put Baby back to bed.