Doctor is adamant I let my son cry it out?

What do you feel is right in your heart? Go with that...let the momma speak ;)

Your doctor has no right giving you parenting advice. You need to switch doctors. To be honest, i would make a complaint, but that just me. Dont listen to her advice, your baby will grow better mentally and physically if you dont leave him to cry alone. But you already know that, you have your baby as proof.

I wouldn't want my baby screaming himself to sleep, wondering where the hell Mommy is... Get up, give him a bottle, and rock him to sleep. You won't spoil him, he'll know that you love him. He will grow out of it.

F*** your doctor. When your kid in school and the principal refuses to do anything about a bully -- claims your son needs to be bullied or else he'll always be a coward, etc -- are you going to say "Oh, okay," and just let it go on? No, your common sense and love for your child will prevail; you'll have harsh words for the principal, and will find another school asap. This isn't really any different. Let your doctor be the one to not eat when he's hungry and not get cuddles when he's sad and lonely. And keep in mind that that is parenting advice -- BAD parenting advice -- not medical advice. Your doctor is no more qualified to advise you on it than the guy who pumps your gas. There were doctors in my family, and trust me -- they are not parenting experts by any stretch... It sounds like she's just made stuff up, too. There isn't any research to support what she's pushing and plenty to discredit it. http://www.talaris.org/pdf/research/research_sleep.pdf http://www.talaris.org/research_aug2006.htm Those crap CIO books all say different things, too... There really isn't anything to support what anybody pushing the idea claims. http://www.talaris.org/pdf/research/CIOPoster.pdf Any 'babies don't need to eat at night after X months' ignores the nature of babies... "Human children are designed to be sleeping with their parents. The sense of touch is the most important sense to primates, along with sight. Young primates are carried on their mother's body and sleep with her for years after birth, often until well after weaning. The expected pattern is for mother and child to sleep together, and for child to be able to nurse whenever they want during the night. Normal, healthy, breastfed and co-sleeping children do not sleep "through the night" (say 7-9 hours at a stretch) until they are 3-4 years old, and no longer need night nursing. I repeat -- this is NORMAL and HEALTHY..." http://kathydettwyler.org/detsleepthrough.html

NEW DOCTOR IMMEDIATELY! My son is in the 75% for weight and 90% for height. He has a wonderful temperment during the day. Hmmm...does it sound like he is not growing properly??? He has a wonderful temperment during the day. Sweetie- the fact is some babies and children NEED LESS sleep than others. Our son was just like yours- he didn't sleep much and woke up nearly every night until he was 2!!! He slept with us and this is the only thing that helped. He is 11 now and has been sleeping through since he turned 2 years of age. He is a great kid- at the top of his class, and just a delight. This IS NORMAL. She said he does not need a bottle in the middle of the night, he won't starve and to just check on him and leave him to cry until he gives up. Yep, that's exactly what he'll do, give up. Sorry...bad advice from her. Beware of any doctor that hands out parenting advice. Does she have children??? Our ped. does not- and handed us a free copy of Babywise. I love books- am a teacher and I did read it- I was nearly sick at the claims Mr. Ezzo made. This book was quickly and without second thought filed into the garbage (after allowing my husband a read- he felt the same way). When our baby was 1, the doctor said: cut her off at the tap. Sure. That's great for baby. My point? Some doctors may be great at the diagnosis, but not so great at the parenting aspect of things. When you are a parent, there are feelings and emotions locked in there- as there should be. Easy for her to say, "let him cry...". She is not his mom. She has no emotional attachment to him. Look for a new doctor or at the very least- when she asks how he is sleeping, "say fine thank you...". I don't tell our pediatrician 1/2 of the stuff we do in terms of parenting because she is of the "old school". Cry it out, wean at 12 months to the day, yadda, yadda, yadda. She can bite me. Good luck sweetie!

My daughter still wakes p at night and wants to be rocked by my wife and she is almost 18 months. She is walking, talking and everything else, but she is a very light sleeper. So when she hears noise, she is awake instantly, and she will cry all night long if we let her. My wife can't let her just scream and cry, so she gets her out, or I do, and we rock her back to sleep. God forbid a babies parents bring them comfort when they are tired and scared.

Who is right? you are, mom. He is your son and you should do what you feel is right for him. Your doctor is just providing his opinion- nothing more. Frankly, I would consider another doctor- this one doesn't seem to be very supportive of your choices, but more in line with enforcing his. Also, when does parenting stop? At bed time? If it were 3 pm, and your son needed you for a hug, a kiss, help from a fall, or a diaper change- you would be there for him right? What is the difference between then and bedtime? Please see the links below. All my best.

My advice? ditch the doctor and find one who actually has kids!

If it was a medical issue, then I would say listen to your doctor, but don't let her scare you into doing something you're not comfortable with. I've read your other answers and I don't believe you would want your son to cry himself to sleep. I never let my boys do it and they've all grown wonderfully. They were never too small and they are all very intelligent. Keep up the good work! Edit: Just for the record, my boys aren't spoiled and none of them ever threw a fit in WalMart. That doesn't come from whether or not you let them cry it out. That comes from kids who don't respect the rules.