I just think everyone in this thread is RIGHT, even though some opinions are at the opposite ends of the spectrum.
I had a bubba who was overwhelmed from birth. The extreme type of "unsettled" baby, I don't think he stopped screaming and wriggling until about 4 months. We learn to pick up on our babies crying, hungry, tired etc, but there is another and it's "stop the world I want to get off" one.
The response needed for this cry was - no eye contact, no singing, no rocking, no noise. It took a VERY long time for me to recognise that. All the rocking and patting was doing his head in. In the end I had to sit next to his cot, facing away and have my hand on his back. My natural instinct was different, almost going against my grain, but this is what he needed from me.
My other children were different, needed soothing and singing etc -and they were both a hell of a lot easier, even if it meant having to wear them all day. DS hated the sling, too much movement!
We know all children are different, we know they need individual attention, different strokes for different folks.
I just want to make it clear I don't advocate the "controlled" techniques, my first rule of parenting has always been "If the baby cries, pick it up", and my next one is "listen to your baby and listen to yourself. If we were taught that FIRST, we'd all feel alot better.
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