I have been wondering to myself, why do babies cry when they are put into their cribs awake? Why can't they just fall asleep when they are tired? (I used to ask Candra, "Why don't you just fall asleep since you are tired?")
I am thinking...well, just as adults experience some "down-time" before actually going to sleep (which explains the tossing and turning at times to get comfortable), babies probably experience the same. They don't just knock out all the time. Maybe they will "knockout" when they are really young (eg. in the first month) or tired...but as they grow older and become more alert, they start to become more aware of the "down-time".
So how do they spend their "down-time"? Other than crying, they can be nursed, rocked, soothed with props, patted etc. The question is, can they learn to fall asleep on their own like adults? The sleep training experts would say, yes they can.
People who advocate sleep training for children believe that sleeping is a skill and babies are capable of learning the skill if they are given the opportunity to do so. The crying comes because they are learning to self-sooth and are finding their own ways to fall asleep. Once they have learnt it...they will know how to spend the "down-time" on their own without their parents' help and without crying.
Sleep training is an interesting and controversial topic for parents to explore I believe. As with all training, it's definitely uncomfortable for both the parents and the child for a season...but there will be benefits to be reaped in the long run I suppose.
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