We’re trying to decide whether to sleep train our 10-month-old, and I keep hearing about the “cry it out” method from other parents. Honestly, the idea of letting him cry alone for even a few minutes just feels wrong to me, but I’m also so exhausted I can’t think straight. I’m curious if anyone else has been in this spot and what your experience was like.
I hear you and I know the ache of being exhausted. hearing a baby cry feels awful. cry it out makes my stomach knot up even thinking about it. we tried a gentler plan and nights got steadier after a while.
From a planning view there are many sleep options and the fit varies with how you read signals from your baby. sleep training is often a blend and consistency helps more than any one method.
Maybe you picture a quick cry it out and then a calm settle after a minute but in real nights many babies cry longer and the stillness comes slowly.
I am skeptical that a single approach will fix the nights overnight and I want a plan that respects your feelings and your baby's cues even if that means avoiding cry it out.
Maybe the core issue is fatigue and routine rather than the method name. If you build a solid daytime routine and a calm bed time cue you might cut the need for long crying sessions even without a strict method like cry it out.
What would a night look like if you eased in with soothing steps and kept a soft boundary around crying times?