I've found myself letting my baby cry - but am confused as to whether this counts as CC?

[Maenad]

With my first baby, I never let her cry at all. She never had a 'tired cry' - would just go straight to hysteria and could keep screaming for at least 2 hours if I didn't feed her to sleep. I was absolutely adamant that I would never leave her to cry.

This time around I have a baby who lets me know when she is tired. And I have found (while sorting things out for dd1) that if I let her cry on her own for a few minutes she will go to sleep. Is this what is meant by controlled crying? I'm not sure what I think about it really, as I came from a starting position of not wanting to leave a baby to cry. But this baby will cry if I cuddle, shush, walk etc, and settle herself if I leave her alone. I think the longest she has cried for is about 5 or 7 minutes.

It doesn't feel as though I am being unduly harsh to her, but she is still very young - 12 weeks - and I'm not sure whether it is ok or not. And am genuinely unsure whether this is CC, CIO, or something else. Any thoughts?

IMO you are listening to your baby and have worked out what she wants.

Why worry what sort of "crying" it is?

If you think you are harming her in some way then don't do it - continue jigging/rocking and cuddling!

Thank you gagarin, that's reassuring. I do feel as though I'm listening to her. I think I'm just concerned in case I'm kidding myself that I'm hearing what she's saying correctly, especially because I really would have felt that this was so cruel for my PFB. But then I think she would have reacted differently to it.

I had a baby who definitely preferred to be left alone to go to sleep that to be carried, rocked etc.

I felt slightly guilty that I was just leaving her to it so I think I was extra careful to be sure there couldn't be any other reason, then left her to get on with it. It was great

Don't think it's CC, CIO, or any kind of regime or plan. It's simply your dd's way of going to sleep. And it bodes really well for the future too.

I found with DC2 that I better "understood" her cry. I left her to cry when I knew it was a tired sort of cry, and as a result I started to put her down in her cot and she would get off to sleep herself, whereas with DC1, he was always breastfed to sleep.

In short, I think you are doing the right thing, always trust your instinct and, at any time, if you are unhappy at letting her cry, then pick her up.

btw, its not controlled crying, its tuining in to your child

Oh, thank you theinsider and Flier. It sounds as though your experience was very similar to mine, Flier.

And after one disastrously non-sleeping child, I very much like the idea that it bodes well for the future theinsider!

i find the same with my ds, that he must better off left to it. if i try to hold him, rock him to sleep, he starts rooting for the boob as a sort of sleepy instinct. also, in case this is of any interest, last night was the first night for a couple of weeks that i didn't bf my 13 week old to sleep. he was more awake than normal as he'd had a nap later than usual. i put him in his moses basket awake, he cried a bit, then sucked his fingers and the next thing i knew he was asleep. he slept the best he's every slept. from 8pm until 6.30am. i'm wondering whether it's because he put himself to sleep, rather than relying on my boob and then waking up and wondering where it had gone