Now go away or I shall taunt you a second time...

Alrighty, here we go. Get ready for some serious venting regarding the Babycenter board entitled, "Great Debate--Go to your child or let him cry it out?" For those unfamilar, let me first explain that the cry it out method (CIO) is a kind of old-school way of getting one's baby to sleep. There are various interpretations of the practice, but it's basically the belief that you shouldn't rock a baby to sleep or otherwise try to initiate sleep save putting the baby down and walking away. Now, different parents do different things, but by and large, you let the child cry for a few minutes, go to them and comfort, and then leave again (all without picking up the baby). It's kinda like, "I'm letting you know that mommy is here and loves you, but it's sleepy time."

Uh, I'm all for it. We've been doing a modified version of the Ferber method for about three weeks now, and if you've read my previous posts, the results have been nothing short of miraculous.

A ton of these nutso women on babycenter firmly believe that by allow a child to cry for a while, you're abusing them. Yeah, I'm serious. That letting a two month old cry for ten or fifteen minutes at a time is neglectful and will cause permanent damage, trust issues, etc.

WTF? Uh, no. I'm taking a stand here and now and saying, "That is crazy talk." Now I'm not advocating leaving a baby to scream his head off for an hour, or neglecting a basic need. But if the kid is fed, changed, and A-ok, there's not a damn thing wrong with saying, "ok, little guy. Time to sleep." To yet again quote my mom, I called her the other week telling her that Cole was perfectly fine, but seemed tired and overstimulated and generally grumpy. Know what she said to me? "Sara, haven't you ever had a bad day? If the baby isn't happy, no matter what you do, then put him down and take a break." Glad someone has some sense. Yeah, and she had another good point--how frustrating must it sometimes be to be a baby? How about sometimes they need to cry just like I do?

A well-rested baby is a happy baby, and a well-rested mom is a happy mom. So yeah, I'm a fan of CIO. What kills me about these women is how they somehow believe that sacrificing your own life and happiness is going to result in a happier child...Uh, heck no. It seems to be part of a larger 'child-centered' parenting philosophy (you know, with the co-sleeping and baby-wearing). They're like baby nazis. And if you don't do it their way, you're a horrible mother and will end up with a maladjusted, damaged child. Again, this is beyond ridiculous. My thought on the whole thing is this: yeah, having a child changes everything, as it should. But if you make yourself miserable, if you neglect yourself and your marriage, you're setting the entire family up for serious problems. The best gift we can give Cole is a loving mom and dad, and the best way to do that is to find balance. And I'm sorry, but centering your entire existence around the child is not the way to do that. Love isn't about instant gratification or doing what feels right in the moment--rather, we're trying to create a loving family environment that mets the needs of everyone. So that's my rant. I'll shut up now.

By the by, more pictures soon to come. Picard has been smiling and giggling a lot, so I'll try to capture that so you guys can enjoy as much as Jed and I have.