Let Her Cry

Life In Theory: 
Research sleep methods; follow carefully; have sleeping beauties for babies and toddlers.

Life In Reality:

Let Him Cry 
By Loopy and the Mom's Wish

Let him cry, baby's tears fall down like rain
As I sing, hoping it eases all his pain
Let him lay, put him in the crib to sleep
And if he falls asleep without crying
Let him be, let him be.

(If you didn't catch it, the lyrics are a  
Hootie and the Blowfish parody
of Let Her Cry.)


Every mother's wish is that her children would sleep easily, soundly and not wake up early ;) But rarely does this happen. I have at least 4 books on the topic of sleep. I have spent countless hours scouring the internet. Sometimes it works, other times they cry. And cry. And then cry some more.

I can remember sitting in front of Styder's door, with tears streaming down my face. And every time I heard the "thump, thump, thump," wiping the tears, opening the door, picking him up and putting him back in his bed. "No honey, it's time for bed. Good night, I love you." And he would scream,"Mommy!" This went on for 3 hours.

That was the worst night but we've all been there. Cringing at the whimper, the sobs for mommy or daddy. Whether it's nap time, in the car, bedtime or because they are in time out. None of us want them to cry. It would be so much easier to swoop them into our arms, wipe their tears and pull the smile back on their face.

But we all know that we have to allow them to cry sometimes. Whether it's because we can't pull the car over (or hold them while driving), they need to learn a lesson, or they have to learn to sleep- we have to let them cry. It's part of our job description in watching over and caring for our homes and families.

I will leave you with the best advice that I have ever heard from the Baby Sleep Site. You are not making them cry, you are letting them cry. That makes all the difference to me, because if I am the cause of his tears- it's a little too tough to handle.

Proverbs 31:27 

She watches over the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.