Belinda - I know where you're coming from, I was there a week ago. I don't agree with CC in theory, but was just at my wits end and did try it in a modified form (only leaving him for a maximum of 5 mins) and it was just AWFUL! I only had to do it for an hour, but didn't sleep a wink all night, I just lay there with a belly full of nerves hoping hie wouldn't wake again cause I knew I couldn't start it all over again. I sat here later that night and read "the Con of Controlled Crying" and made my mind up to stop immediately. My aim wasn't to get him to self settle because he can already do that, it was to get him to sleep through the night, or at least for longer stretches over night.
But, it didn't work anyway and I noticed the next day that DS was unusually clingy and his day sleeping patterns were out the window. He went from self settling to screaming whenever I put him to bed I actually called the nurse we saw at our sleep school and she told me I'd absolutely done the right thing in stopping - it's not good for babies or for mums.
If you look at the link below you will see I've posted about my settling methods in this thread, as have some others who use more gentle methods. I've used these methods with both of my children who have self settled from a relatively early age (about 3 months). I won't say I never allow them to cry for a single second, because I do believe that grizzling and protesting is part of the process of learning to put themselves to sleep initially, but I definitely won't be leaving him to cry again! It was a moment of desperation after a week of very little sleep but was a lesson well learnt to trust my instincts.
The key is to LISTEN to your baby - you know when she needs you to comfort her.
I actually called the nurse we saw at our sleep school and she told me I'd absolutely done the right thing in stopping - it's not good for babies or for mums.
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