A baby’s crying is a built in siren. It’s something which we’ve evolved to react to. This is especially true of women who actually react much more too higher pitched sounds than low pitched sounds for just that reason. If you don’t want to wake your wife then speak in a lower register! A baby’s cry is meant to be distressing, it’s meant to evoke worry in us and we’re supposed to react to it. If you ever needed any more proof of evolution, this would be it.
The thing with our evolved instincts is that they’re not always right. Sometimes they’re a little outdated and sometimes they’re like the appendix, so incredibly lost in the past that no-one’s really sure what it was ever for. In this case it might not always be best to leap to your babies’ tears, sometimes it might be better to let your baby cry it out.
Your baby’s well-being will be better if your well-being is better, you’ll care for sleep all the better if you’re in a better mood with more energy.
Children of all ages are constantly learning and it’s important that this is started off early. Kids need to know that crying isn’t always going to get them their way. They need to be patient. Obviously I’m not suggesting letting your baby shriek until its lungs burst, if it’s genuinely distressed then you’ll need to soothe it. But if you ever want to sleep all night again then you’re going to need to be strict with yourself and with your baby. Better night’s sleep all around eh?
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