I spoke with a wonderful sleep consultant/psychologist (who didn't even charge me!) today about LC's habit of waking up at the 40 minute mark and screaming for an hour every night before falling asleep (if we go in she literally won't go to sleep AT ALL and gets into this weird wired, overly tired state). She said that some crying is actually GOOD for intelligent, sensitive babies like LC. Apparently they receive so much more sensory input during the day than ND babies that some need to cry at night to help them process everything that happened during the day. Basically it's a way of letting off steam. She said it should eventually stop once LC is talking. She said to ignore Dr. Sears and stop feeling guilty. I hope no one flames me for this...I was really against crying-it-out until we were confronted with this situation.
LOL! It is kind of funny that I had the same problem but Dr. Sears actually helped me deal with it - his fussy baby book made me realise that IT WASN'T ME!
I always say go with your instincts. My particular children got very upset and overwrought if I wasn't there, so I used to just sit with them while they cried, until they calmed down and were ready to sleep. But I have heard some people say that their children found having the parent there too stimulating, and it made it worse. To me that's different from cry-it-out because your not really trying to train them, your just letting them go to sleep the best way for them.
I watch my kids, they will let me know what they need. If they get stressed out, something isn't working. If they are happy, it must be alright.
