Cry-It-Out is a hot phrase among parenting communities. With sleep training, of course, comes the question, “Are we making my baby cry-it-out?” While the method popularized by Dr. Ferber is usually the one people are referring to (also referred to as “extinction”), there are many different methods of sleep training your baby and, trust us, every single one involves tears.
The main methods of sleep training your baby range everywhere from putting your baby down and not picking them back up until 12 hours later, leaving for increasing intervals of time (also known as “controlled crying”), and the “No Cry” Sleep Solution (which, yes, does involve crying despite the title). With the variances all falling under a similar umbrella, people often have very strong opinions for or against them.
The opposing side typically follows the method of “Attachment Parenting” popularized in the Dr Sears book Baby Book. This involves babywearing, co-sleeping (definitely not recommended by the AAP for safe sleep), and “Nighttime Parenting”. His claim is that “letting your baby cry” may have lasting neurological effects. What Sears neglects to inform parents of is that babies cry for many different reasons, including learning a new skill. It’s hard to learn something brand new and for babies, most everything is brand new!
Carolina Dream Tree is a bit different. The long and short of it is there really is no hard-and-fast way to sleep train your baby without a few tears shed, despite what some branded methods claim. What do we do? We help walk with you through it. There is no “sleep magic” and there is no book, blog, or method out there that will work for each and every baby. By approaching your family with compassion, empathy, and experience, and treating your baby like the unique little human they are, we’re able to produce quick results with minimal tears in the most gentle way possible.
There isn’t an easy answer to the CIO (cry-it-out) question other than, no, we aren’t using a method of crying it out. Our goal is never tears, nor is it to leave a baby who needs something unattended. Our goal is to help baby learn to sleep independently while simultaneously helping parents recognize what cues they need to respond to and what cues are just a baby saying, “Hey! This is new!”
Hint: most of them are exactly that.
With a Certified Sleep Coach walking you through every single step, you’re guaranteed success and 11-12 hours of sleep for your baby a night! We make sure your baby is ready physically to learn and that you remember your baby is loved, cared-for, and safe. The magic key we bring to you is our support and expertise working with Charlotte families.
The bottom line is you need sleep to function as a parent and your baby needs sleep to develop properly. While a few tears may be shed, we’re highly skilled at making sure they’re minimized and the process is as gentle as possible. Trust us, the smile you see on your baby’s face after a full night’s rest? Worth every little tear.