Sleep, baby sleep.

Dear MG,

My baby always cries whenever he wants to sleep. I want to go to him but I keep getting conflicting comments.

My child psychologists says: "Let him cry it out! This will teach him the important skill of falling asleep on his own. "

My Ah Por says: "Don't pick him up or you'll spoil him!"

My best friend says: "I'm not sure what to advise you. My baby is the same. I read somewhere that says not to breastfeed your baby to sleep or he will become dependant on breastfeeding to fall asleep. It says we must put our babies down when they are drowsy so they learn to fall asleep on their own and we will then have more time with our partners. I tried it but then I ended up having to pick him up at least 10 times because he woke up from his drowsy state and tried to climb out of the cot!"

I'm really confused. Please advise. Thank you.

Desperate.

What MG really thinks!

And if I hear of one more mother allowing her baby to cry until he vomits so that he gets trained to fall asleep on his own, I'm going to throw up too!

Please also don't come to me and proudly proclaim that your baby has learned to fall asleep on his own after you have left him to cry it out for an hour. Of course he would fall asleep after crying ...... from EXHAUSTION!

Dear Desperate,

All babies cry. For goodness sakes, just do what you feel like doing instinctively. Pick your baby up to cuddle and love him. Then feel the love, joy and peace flow through you as you watch his beautiful eyelashes fluttering sleepily down his cute little cheeks when you hold him close.

If you are breastfeeding, don't be afraid to breastfeed your baby to sleep. Its very good for baby and you. Your baby will fall into a deep and contented sleep after his breastfeed and you will have more time with your partner. I assure you he would not still be dependant on you to breastfeed him at bedtime by the time he goes to college!

I wish you Happy Cuddling your baby.

MG

That was MG pretending to be an Aunty Agony columnist giving advise to people who write in on matters close to my heart. (But of course if I were a real columnist, I would be much more polite!) If my views don't match yours on baby's sleep, don't fret. Afterall, like I said before, when it comes to parenting, its To Each His Own.

Coming Next: Baby and Toddler's Sleep.