For a sleep-deprived parent, there is no greater joy and relief than waking up refreshed one morning and realizing that your baby slept all the way through the night.
For some lucky parents, it's just a magical occurrence that happens one day with little or no extra effort. For others, it's something that you struggle to achieve for months on end. And then just about the time you think you've got it all figured out, your baby starts cutting teeth or gets a cold, and you're back to square one.
What's a parent to do? Some, like myself, tried the cry-it-out method or "Ferberizing" as it is often referred to, with great success. My son has slept through the night in his crib since he was about 12 weeks old, give or take a few for teething and illness.
Others are adamantly opposed to the cry-it-out method, and cite the emotional distress it causes both the baby and parents.
I believe you should do whatever works for your family. For mine, it took two nights, which I have been told is fast. So for us, those two nights of hell were more than worth the results. Don't get me wrong. It's not easy. Listening to your baby crying is one of the hardest things for a parent to do. But I found that by sticking to my guns (not giving up after 15 minutes or 30 minutes or an hour) and having support (my husband is a super hero), it was the best thing for all of us in the end.
What do you think? Are you for or against crying it out? What methods worked for your family?
Photo by Flickr member sethbaur, used under a Creative Commons License.