Should we let our son cry it out?

OMG, for those who read my posts, I never write OMG! Praise God!! Today is turning out to be the best sleep day ever? Since the last post, he actually slept for 2 Hours! 2 wonderful, marvelous hours! He finally woke up at 2:30 got fed and we start the stimulation right away.



My wife?s friend from church came over brought us lunch and she played and held our son as we scarf down food. The girls went out for coffee and bible study as I took him down to the club house. He is just so happy and playful when he?s rested. We watched sharks, food eating, Michael Jackson, Elvis? he?s just so observant! Yes, both daddy & son are totally addicted to TV; good thing we don?t have it in the house?



I think the key thing you have to watch for is the VERY first sign of tiredness; when his eyes start to glaze over, when he just starts to zone out a little at the TV, or when he starts to just fuss a little. Oh.. It?s time to go! Now we know that he passed the tired phase; and he is completely over tired, and that is so much harder to sooth and put to sleep.



We just stepped back in I start the soothing, read him his book, held him and sang softly to him. I lay him down gently, he cried once. As soon as I walked out and closed the bedroom door, he was asleep!! That NEVER happens?



As I write its 5:05; and not a peep; the wife is home, and she?s ecstatic! We will keep everyone posted. We feel like so many people are walking with us through this tough decision. Thank You so much, for everyone who responded and cares!



oh... it's 5:38 now.. and looks like he's up.. time for mommy,, we'll see for tonight!
 
(I'm home sick today, hence all the posts.)



RC - I draw from your last post that you must be using the E.A.S.Y. method. Am I right? (Eat. Activity. Sleep. You. - from "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer")



I must say, I am really impressed that you are on the internet looking for parenting tips. A lot of men don't take much of an interest in these topics. So, I applaud you for your efforts! Things have changed a lot in this country. A generation or two ago - most fathers would not change a single diaper. Now, they are more involved. Good for you, RC.
 
[quote author="roundcorners" date=1249284966]OMG, for those who read my posts, I never write OMG! Praise God!! Today is turning out to be the best sleep day ever? Since the last post, he actually slept for 2 Hours! 2 wonderful, marvelous hours! He finally woke up at 2:30 got fed and we start the stimulation right away.



My wife?s friend from church came over brought us lunch and she played and held our son as we scarf down food. The girls went out for coffee and bible study as I took him down to the club house. He is just so happy and playful when he?s rested. We watched sharks, food eating, Michael Jackson, Elvis? he?s just so observant! Yes, both daddy & son are totally addicted to TV; good thing we don?t have it in the house?



I think the key thing you have to watch for is the VERY first sign of tiredness; when his eyes start to glaze over, when he just starts to zone out a little at the TV, or when he starts to just fuss a little. Oh.. It?s time to go! Now we know that he passed the tired phase; and he is completely over tired, and that is so much harder to sooth and put to sleep.



We just stepped back in I start the soothing, read him his book, held him and sang softly to him. I lay him down gently, he cried once. As soon as I walked out and closed the bedroom door, he was asleep!! That NEVER happens?



As I write its 5:05; and not a peep; the wife is home, and she?s ecstatic! We will keep everyone posted. We feel like so many people are walking with us through this tough decision. Thank You so much, for everyone who responded and cares!



oh... it's 5:38 now.. and looks like he's up.. time for mommy,, we'll see for tonight!</blockquote>


Like I said, sleep patterns change so rapidly, never fret too much about a current stage. Welcome to parenting. Everyone here does the best we can, don't stress, relax and enjoy the moments, even the frustrating ones, because as I have heard, the frustrations change but really only get more challenging. I have way too many friends with kids 12-18 years old that would trade a few sleep problems for the issues they are dealing with now. As we speak, my four year old daughter has decided that she wanted to go to bed. As soon as daddy closed the door, she turned on the lights, put in a CD and is currently dancing around the room. Last night she got up at 4 am, put on a dvd and watched it quietly for a while, I went back to bed (something I never would have done with my son, but he never would have done this), I woke up at 5:30, the TV was off and she was sleeping in her bed with the door closed. I need to go check and see if she has stopped dancing and gone to bed. Get some rest. Kudos to all of the good daddies out there.



Update two minutes later. She is out like a light. See, kids really do learn to figure these things out for themselves.
 
All this baby talk makes me want another one. How about you, tmare? If money were no object, I would have loved to have three or four -- all boys. (No chance it will happen, though.)
 
[quote author="SoCal78" date=1249293897]All this baby talk makes me want another one. How about you, tmare? If money were no object, I would have loved to have three or four -- all boys. (No chance it will happen, though.)</blockquote>


Why all boys? I guess I could give up the endless screaming while trying to brush the long hair, I'm about ready to cut it off! I couldn't imagine four boys! We chased a family with two girls right out of our playdate because there are so many boys, she just couldn't handle all of the energy. I probably would have liked another, but no time left for that. You have time SoCal, you never know.
 
Its 8:30 as I write right now. We put the baby down around 7:20 he cried for 15 looooong minutes! Again we are back out in the patio; it?s like our base camp. The wife is back on the phone with her sleep ?nazi friend? (head-quarters); this is the lady who let her babies cry at 8 weeks old! We gave him oatmeal, I gave him a bath, the wife had to pump a little more to get the 7oz tonight. We had a harder time feeding tonight, he really got distracted; so he didn?t finished.



The wife and I just had our quiet diner out on the balcony. Our plan of attack tonight is if he wakes up within an hour or two we?ll just have to let him cry, since he is full and dry. Now since he didn?t a full feeding he might wake up midnight or sometime afterwards. I?ll finish the remaining bottle and just put him right down with little soothing. Let?s see if that would work.



Honestly today turned out way better than I expected.. I know it?s day by day; let?s just see how tomorrow is.
 
[quote author="SoCal78" date=1249285425](I'm home sick today, hence all the posts.)



RC - I draw from your last post that you must be using the E.A.S.Y. method. Am I right? (Eat. Activity. Sleep. You. - from "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer")



I must say, I am really impressed that you are on the internet looking for parenting tips. A lot of men don't take much of an interest in these topics. So, I applaud you for your efforts! Things have changed a lot in this country. A generation or two ago - most fathers would not change a single diaper. Now, they are more involved. Good for you, RC.</blockquote>


Socal, you've been sorta sick lately, I hope you feel better! At church, when an inconsolable baby cries for more than 15 minutes; we page the parents. What is sad when the dad shows up and the kid still won?t stop crying. You can just tell by the way he is holding and comforting the baby that he doesn?t know what he is doing. He looks totally uncomfortable. It?s when the mom show up that the baby stops. I try to be helpful; read and be hands on. I?ve missed a lot of work this year, but it?s worth every minute I'm home?
 
[quote author="roundcorners" date=1249295973][quote author="SoCal78" date=1249285425](I'm home sick today, hence all the posts.)



RC - I draw from your last post that you must be using the E.A.S.Y. method. Am I right? (Eat. Activity. Sleep. You. - from "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer")



I must say, I am really impressed that you are on the internet looking for parenting tips. A lot of men don't take much of an interest in these topics. So, I applaud you for your efforts! Things have changed a lot in this country. A generation or two ago - most fathers would not change a single diaper. Now, they are more involved. Good for you, RC.</blockquote>


Socal, you've been sorta sick lately, I hope you feel better! At church, when an inconsolable baby cries for more than 15 minutes; we page the parents. What is sad when the dad shows up and the kid still won?t stop crying. You can just tell by the way he is holding and comforting the baby that he doesn?t know what he is doing. He looks totally uncomfortable. It?s when the mom show up that the baby stops. I try to be helpful; read and be hands on. I?ve missed a lot of work this year, but it?s worth every minute I'm home?</blockquote>


And this is one of the reasons moms become burned out and kids end up so spoiled, no one else can sooth them. Once again, kudos to all of the great dads out there, I have one, SoCal has one and it sounds like you are doing a great job RC.
 
[quote author="roundcorners" date=1249295973]I?ve missed a lot of work this year, but it?s worth every minute I'm home?</blockquote>


Thanks, RC.



What do you mean you've missed a lot of work? I thought I remember you saying she stays home with the baby. Is she doing ok or having difficulty transitioning? My husband stayed home until the babies were about a week and a half old then back to the grindstone and gone about 11 hrs a day. You just learn to juggle everything. Just wait 'til you throw a second into the mix -- wheeeee! haha. When will you go back full-time?
 
The good and bad thing about being <a href="http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/forums/viewthread/5666/">self-employeed </a>is that I can work from <a href="http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/forums/viewthread/5408/">home</a>. Sometimes I wish I can just clock in and clock out! Sorry babe.. gotta go! Being in sales has been great as far as flexibility and "showing up". But it's stressful when the pressures is on. It's either close the deal or we don't eat. Thankfully, with the recession and cutting back at least 30% of the work-load; along with extra expenses like medical bills, we are still relatively ok... can't <a href="http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/forums/viewthread/5672/">save </a>yet of course... but let's see how how August is...



I'll probably never go back to full time... a regular 40+ hour desk job... actually, I only average about a 30 hour work week, actual driving, visiting customers, calling on the phone, faxing or emailing... again the good and bad thing about sales, is that I wait around a lot... and I tend to just worry and stress... if you actually add up actual hours "working" I only probably work maybe 20 hours a week; include the hours of stressing, driving, talking, waiting, praying... it might still add up to 30 hours or so...
 
Ok.. day 2



so the kid woke up early around 5:45... we'll take it! He fussed around, and we got him closer to 6. A bit early but that was at least 10 hours!! Hooray... We got him up,, really loved on him, the wife fed and I got in the showers... I got an early day in Corona (warehouse) this morning,, this where I'm writing from now... Of course I walked him afterwards, oh... got the tired look, zoned out look again... but not really fussy yet... got back in the house around 7:25; start soothing him; read to him and sang to him... put him down around 7:40; walked out... he cried for about 10 minutes, very softly... I left... my wife just called and he just woke up about a good 45 minute nap; again we'll take it...
 
The wife did great today? the difference is night and day? I?m really glad that we chose to let him cry? I really think my wife and I were on the same page and we were both ready for it? I also think that is really key, because the crying baby can cause all sorts of fights/arguments/stress? Dads, all I have to say is DO NOT get in the way of a crying child and the mom (if she is not ready)!!!



The wife took great notes.. I won?t post them here, but all to say that the most he cried is 35 minutes or so? And he went down for two again!!! When we found him, he has completely turned over 180? and from his back to his stomach?



He just got up,, and we are going to have some fun?.



Just got back? it?s 5:09? we splashed at the pool, we sat in one of the IAC lawn chairs and just chilled, the kid never just sits there, so calm, so relaxed.. when he is rested!



I?m actually baking some chicken and typing, the wife is getting some cat food and he is just sitting in his bobby/bouncer? this is great? I?m glad I documented this thread.. anyone else in the future that is contemplating crying it out can PM me, I?ll be more than happy to hold your hands through the process?



Thanks everyone?
 
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