Crying Baby

[mandspice]

A friend of OH told him yesterday that she used to pick up her baby every time she cried until she was 6 months old - as a result she has only just settled into her own bed and is nearly 2.

Dexter is only 1 month old and at the moment we always pick him up when he cries....when should we stop this, if at all? Do you leave baby to cry sometimes as long as you know they're not hungry / need a nappy change / have wind etc?

 

[charlie84]

Calleigh rarely cries and i mean rarely so when she does i pick her up. She sleeps in her own cot and always has since she was born. She only comes into my bed in the morning for a feed so hopefully i wont have any problems.

 

[Charlie:-)]

Sometimes I will leave her depends on the tone of her cry, if she's just winging for the sake if whinging then I would leave her to cry for a bit to see if she stops and if not then I would pick her up. Sometimes in the afternoon when she's trying to nap she will cry, so I tend to leave her then and she just falls asleep. When she was Dexters age though I don't think we left her for very long and always picked her up, sometimes they just want a hug,only recently have we left her.

 

[LisaJ1986]

When Angel was smaller i'd pick her up whenever she cried. My HV told me if she cried it was for a reason, even if it was just a cuddle, so i did. But as she's got a bit older i can define her cries. So i'll pick her up unless it's just a whinge.

 

[CoreysMummy]

The 1st 3 months baby is adjusting to the outside world, they want lots of reasurance, and cuddles, food offten and dont like sitting in their own poo.

When my LO cried, I picked him up By 3 months we had a skettchy routine, and I could tell what his crys were for gennerally. and he was happy as a clam to play on his play mat, or in his swing and be left. He settles in his own bed and is not clingy at all!

Please, dont worry about anything fir the 1st 3 months, we did every no-no in the books, and now at 4months he just fine!! Trust your instincs.

 

[sarah2807]

I agree with th eothers...when they are tiny they usually want something...my Lo always wanted holding when she was tiny, I think she just felt insecure.
Now she's 3 months the cries are still usually for something, but you can definately tell the whingey cry which she does when she's tired and then I'll try leave her a bit to see if she falls asleep.

 

[jennifer1981]

i agree with the others. Dylan cried quite a bit in the first few weeks and it took a while to get to know the difference between his cries and why he was crying. I believe if a baby is crying they need/want somethingl It is there only way of communicating with you. Even if they just want some attention from you or a cuddle i would pick him up in the early weeks and try to distinguish what he wants.

 

[Sherlock]

In the early weeks I'd say it was important to pick LO up when crying. Once you start to recognise the different cries you can then decide if you need to pick LO up straight away or leave him a little while and see if he'll settle.

FWIW I spent some time getting Galen used to not being held every time he cried once I got used to his cries. I used to put my hand on his head and gently soothe him that way instead of picking him up straight away. Also would talk to him when in the room so he didn't seem to mind me not being right there with him. It wasn't easy as then they are small they just want to be close to you. But my health problems meant it just wasn't possible for me to do that.

He is really good now at amusing himself. Before he started sitting up he used to be quite self contained for anything up to an hour in his moses basket. Just him and the mobile Same in his cot. He never cries when he wakes and is happy to gurgle away for a while in the morning.

He did cry but I was often able to just leave him be for a few minutes and he settled himself well. Same now when tired. But if he is wide awake then he just wants to be doing something. He loves sitting and playing with his toys and also to be held up so he can see everything. However I make sure I don't spend my entire day carrying him round or sitting with him. He spends time on his own on his play mat, in the basket etc and is quite content.

He goes off to sleep in his cot no problems at night. Always out like a light within 15 minutes.