Crying it out at 6 weeks old??

[laura325630]

Hi, my 6 week old baby girl has started waking at 10pm and not going back to sleep until 1am! My cousin told me she got her 6 week baby into a sleep routine by bathing, feeding and to bed before 8pm. She also advised letting her 'cry it out' for 15 minutes before picking up for a cuddle then back down. Has anyone tried this? Is my baby too young? We have just tried 3 lots of 15 minutes and she has worn herself from screaming and I caved in! Many thanks.

Waaay too young. Even experts who are in favour of this approach don't advise it at this age!

Far far too early. Don't do it!!

too young

Is she waking for food??

way too young!

your baby needs your comfort and hugs

i think guidance on CC or CIO is not before 6 motnhs and some people think before a year

if your DD is having trouble settling i can highly recommend swaddling - very effective at soothing a crying baby

Feed her. She's probably hungry!

she's too young
too young
too young

not before 6 months

she needs to eat and she needs her mummy

Thanks!! I thought as much but wanted to check. She isnt hungry. My other half has just cuddled her for 10 minutes and she has gone straight to sleep!! I think we will put this on hold for a few months. Thanks x

she is far, far, far too young.
as someone else saif, even people in favour of cc etc don't recommend it until at least 6 months.

Cuddle, feed, cuddle, feed - she's tiny! She doesn't need to go to bed early for a long time yet - that really confused me when dd was born - I had it in my head that babies went to bed at 7. DD had other ideas - fed pretty much non-stop from 5-10. Once I understood that things got much easier!

You could try bringing her bed with you during this period. DS2 wakes at 4am every morning but if I put him in bed with us he goes back to sleep til 7am.

Once she's fast asleep you could try moving her back to her cot

I'd agree with all the others and I am not averse to crying it out.
6 weeks is still teeny, even to a routine junkie like me!

Just because her baby was sleeping at 6 weeks, doesn't mean your baby is programmed to do the same. Your cousin happens to have a baby who slept through at 6 weeks, and she puts it down to the routine. I too had a baby who slept through at 6 weeks and I didn't have a routine with him, I always picked him up and fed him if he cried. It really is luck of the draw.

Next time, your cousin may have a baby who doesn't sleep through until 20 weeks, in spite of her routine. Just because she's had one baby who's done it the way we all want, doesn't mean she's doing anything better than you, so don't feel she is.

far too young

I wouldn't do CC until a year

Aarrrgghhhhh 6 weeks is way, way too young to even think about "crying it out" although frankly I would be against it at any age.

Your sister may have a baby that sleeps through now but that situation will prob change completely within a few weeks. Sleep isn't linear - just because a baby sleeps through early doesn't mean they always will.

Please respond to your daughters cries whether it's with feeds, cuddles, co sleeping etc. 15 minutes is a long time to a 6 week old.

I'd say she was hungry if it's taking her 3 hours to settle. At six weeks old they do need to feed in the night, it's quite normal at six months too! Please don't think that responding to your baby's needs as caving in. She needs you and you need to trust your instinct and ignore your cousin who's probably glossing over some facts. Babies don't have watches so 15 minutes is irrelevant. I'd always feed or at least offer a feed to a baby that wakes at this age.

kisses and cuddles and feeding

she might be doing a growth spurt thing and need feeding

my DS1 needed a tiny little cry before sleeping - and I mean 3 cresendo wails (about 20 secs)

any longer and cuddles, feed cuddles

don't do the comparing thing, they are all so different

my friends DS slept 12 hours every night from day 3, took mine 12 weeks and my sister is still working at it (aged 3)!!!

cuddle, feed, cuddle and kiss

She's been in you for 40 weeks.

She's only been out for 6 weeks.

She either wants a feed or a cuddle.

At 6 weeks a lot of them are feeding practically continuously. The quickest and best way to settle a tiny baby is to feed her. Honestly. Their tummies are the size of walnuts - they need to be fed VERY often!

Thanks for the advice. Tonight I will try feeding her if she doesnt settle and save crying out for a long time.

Good luck, laura. FWIW, you don't ever have to "let them cry" if you don't want to...

I can't do "crying it out" - way too distressing for us both. TLC is all that's required.

Hope your going ok tonight.