Putting Baby to Bed

[kbailey2010]

I have a 7-week-old infant and I'm unsure of whether it's okay to allow her to cry at bedtime. We started a routine about 2 weeks ago of: bath, feed, burp, and try to put her down to sleep by 8:30 PM. If I try to rock her to sleep in my arms, it can take upwards of an hour or more to get her to sleep. My baby's doctor suggested that I allow her to cry for 10 minutes. My friends all tell me that "you can't spoil an infant...pick her up immediately when she cries".

Am I going to cause my baby psychological damage by allowing her to cry at bedtime at this age? Though I would love to have a few hours to myself in the evening, I will definitely "suck it up" and just hold her and soothe her if that's what is best for her in the long run. If this is the case, what age is best to start letting a baby cry? Do you suggest any one method? Any books or literature I should read?

Thanks for your help!

[cameronwyatt]

R U crazy???
You cant establish a bedtime routine at 7 weeks old.  If you try to then you will get very frustrated with your child and yourself.  Because as soon as you get a routine down ,your child will get sick or start teething or be going through a growing sprert and need to eat again in the middle of the night.    The routine is what ever your baby needs.  If it takes an hour to rock a 7 week old baby to sleep then she/he is not tired.  Enjoy this time with your infant.  Its one of the best periodes of your childs life.  You will get to have time for yourself again in the evening soon.  

I started sleeping training my boys at 9 months old but the routine will still got messed up from some reason or another.  
good luck
I hope this helps  

[Jenn124]

That book the doctor is talking about is amazing! It really works! It tells you basically to go through the normal routine, feed, bath...etc. 8:30 is our child's bedtime as well (she's 17 months) It takes basically a week to "break" the habit of what you're used to doing. The book tells you to put the child in the bed, say good night..etc. Walk out. She will cry. Do not go into the room, wait 5 min. then go back in tell her its ok - do not pick her up - whatever you do, that is the cardinal rule. Reassure her that it's ok, you're still there. Let her calm down, walk back out. She'll prob. start crying again, wait 10min. this time. Go back thru it again (it's ok, lay down, mommy is still here..etc.) By this time, she's so tired that she'll be ready to go to bed...once she is calm again, walk back out. But this time wait 15 min. Its 5, 10, 15 min. Each time it goes up by 5 min. That book is awesome and our child was sleeping by herself, without us in there in about 4-5 day. No child has ever died from crying, they have to learn to calm themselves down. But yes, 7 weeks is still a little young, but at 4 months, you should be able to put her in the crib, say goodnight, and walk out without the "tantrum" being thrown. Our child slept in the bed with us until she was 7 months old - NOT a good experience. We were miserable and little did we realize we were doing more harm than good. Now it's a piece of cake at night!! Good luck!

Jenn

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

While it is important that children learn to fall asleep on their own, seven weeks is too young to do so. It's OK at this age to rock her if indeed it helps her to fall asleep. But the risk you run if this doesn't help her fall asleep quickly is that you will be 'teaching' her that lengthy rocking is part of bedtime. So you have to draw the line. If you adhere to the guidelines in Richard Ferber's book Solve Your Child's Sleep Problem you'll be in good hands.