As a Pediatrician formerly in private practice, I feel compelled to respond
to the assertion that we ("the others") tell parents to "let their infants
cry it out" to get them off our backs.  What I was taught was that infant
brains (in their complex process of maturation) reach a place around 6
months of age where they begin to manifest more "adult-like" sleep patterns-
that is, they enter a lighter level of sleep approximately every 45 minutes-
and therefore wake in the night more often.  So, I always did urge parents
who were concerned about the issue of "baby sleeping through the night"
that they needed to help "teach" the baby to go back to sleep when they
awaken at night, and are NOT hungry, beginning around 4 months of age.  The
essential element in this is putting a baby down to sleep while still awake
enough to be aware of the surroundings. The baby falls asleep initially
while laying in the crib, and is better able to fall back to sleep later,
laying in the crib. This really seems to hold true in practice.  But once
the child develops the "habit" of waking at night and receiving positive
attention from the parent(s) while actually nursing very little, it is a
VERY difficult habit to break, and often leads to parental tension and
exhaustion.
IF a mother is available to nurse more often at night than in the daytime,
AND the baby is waking to take in needed calories, AND the mom is ok with
feedings in the night-wonderful!  And if both parents are happy to share
their bed with the baby-all the better.  However, many parents are not
comfortable with this concept, or simply aren't able to get a good night's
rest with the baby in their bed. I agree that it is preferable to avoid the
crying contests by being proactive, but if a toddler is causing misery in
the family because of waking every night, it is the only way I know of to
break the habit.  And the good news is that IF the parents can actually
stay out of the room, the battle usually only lasts 2 to 4 nights.

And finally, as long as I'm giving all of you my 2 cents- I have to say
that I have been disappointed in the rampant negativity regarding MDs/PNPs
("the others").  I would like to recommend this site to colleagues for the
wealth of information and the marvelous forum for net-working that it
provides, but I must admit I am hesitant.  I'm sorry many of you have had
some very negative experiences(as have I!!), but I would think you would
want this to be a place where those MDs/PNPs who are not as experienced as
yourselves could "join in" and learn things with you without having to
cringe so often.  I'm on YOUR side.

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