I say let them cry, when my first was born, she cried all night and I stayed up with her the whole time, she was not hungry, just fussy. To this day, she comes to me still when she feels sad and upset. I think its a bonding experience when they cry an you are there to hold and comfort them as they cry. That’s my opinion though.

Sean, your opinion is not good for the fact it is easier to raise a clingy, needy child that way.
Doctors will tell you, allowing a child some time to cry not only helps them learn their voice, but builds their vocal chords up. In an emotional thing, it is good to have some disconnect for your sanity and so you do not do damage to your child. It will be hard, let’s say, during the first day of school, for parents who are too attached to their kids or vice-versa. There is healthy love and smothering. Being a comfort to your child is one thing, making them needy is another.

I am a first-time mom who was against letting my 7 month old cry for longer then 5 minutes. BUT – at this point we had co-slept and had practiced attachment parenting AND I was at my wits end of no sleep and no privacy. With my husbands support, We let my son cry for 4 nights straight and after that he slept 12 hours. Not exaggerating, not lying. He is a happier baby because of it and is a smart baby. Babies do most of their growing and intellectual development in their sleep – if they are not sleeping properly their development will suffer. IM happier now too that I am sleeping on my own, getting proper rest and it makes me a better mom because Im not a zombie and I dont resent my son for keeping me up all night (say what you want but parent-child resentment is real). So I say – if you think you can do it & are ready – go for it! BUT only do it if you will be consistent because it wont work if your not. Good Luck!

I think there’s nothing wrong with letting them cry it out. I did timed controlled crying with my little one(now 7.5 months) and up until then I was waking up every 2-3 hours to comfort her. I started at 6 months old.. Now she sleeps regularly 7-8 hrs before she wakes for a feeding. I was really against it at first but after I had tried the no cry sleep solution by Elizabeth Panlety (which is a great book and was really helpful in many way), I was still having problems. She really just didn’t know how to put herself to sleep. Now she does and we are all better for it.

Our DR told us with both tickets not to let them cry it out until they were 6 months. His feeling was that in those first 6 months they need to know that you will come when they need you and it helps to build self esteen and confidence etc. But let me tell you the minute the 6 months hit I let them cry it out. Luckily my daughter found her thumb and was sleeping through the night. My son had his paci but it was always falling out. Letting them cry it out is so hard and I am not sure if I would have had the strength to let them cry for hours. Luckily I only had to do a few minutes at a time.
I think there are so many studies and you have to do what feels right for you and your baby.

Yep there is a study for and against everything. Parents have to do what feels right for them. This never felt right for me so we never did it.

I also think there is a huge difference between crying it out and crying it out alone.

We had to let our daughter cry it out. Whenever we went in there to try and soothe her, the cycle would start all over again. We would literally end up doing the same leave/wait/soothe/leave/wait/soothe routine for HOURS. When we finally started to just leave her be she would always eventually go to sleep – at first it would take up to 20 minutes, but it got shorter. She’s 3 years old now and hardly ever puts up any fuss when going to bed and mostly sleeps for 12-13 hours.

Nay. Babies cry to communicate not too annoy! They communicate their needs because they have no one to take care to them other than you!
If all their needs are taken care of and they’re still crying in your arms that’s fine. Pass baby o to hubby and go for a walk.