how old before you leave a baby to cry?

[mindy26]

my dd is 8 weeks old and every1 keeps saying im going to spoil her because i wont just leave her to cry, the way i see it is shes too young to leave and when she cries its for a reason, i dont jump up to her at the slightest wee noise but i just wont let her cry and cry, dp and mil make me feel terrible about this.

my dp sugested the other day that we give her calpol every night at bedtime cos he seen how well she slept the night she got her jags after having some, i love him but wot a plonker!! he always say just get her on a bottle if shes havin a growth spurt and bf more than usual and im getting no sleep, i honestly could shake him at times bless him, he just hasnt a clue really

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Hi Mindy. If you want some ammunition to show your DP or MIL, get "WHy love matters" cant remember who wrote it. It gives loads of examples of how studies have shown that if you leave a baby to cry, the stress hormone cortisol goes up, which could lead to future health problems, both physical and mental.

its quite a dense read, and i must admit to skipping a few of the more in depth paragraphs, but at least you could blind them with science whilst you just got on with responding naturally to your baby!

good luck xx