For a few weeks, my son has been waking up in the middle of the night, crying fiercely. This started when he had a high fever for a few days (he's better now), but he's still waking up crying even though he's better! So I posted a message to some Mommy friends of mine on a Babycenter board about this situation. One friend had replied that I should let my son 'cry it out'...which means, let him cry until he falls back asleep. She said he could potentially become attached and demanding if I picked him up and rocked him back to sleep. I checked back later on in the day and another friend posted an opposite opinion.

Here are some links she gave about the subject:

Crying for comfort: distressed babies need to be held - Art of Mothering
Mothering, Jan-Feb, 2004 by Aletha Solter
http://www.mothering.com/articles/new_baby/bonding/connection.html

The Dangers of Leaving Your Baby to Cry
By Margaret Chuong-Kim, M.A.
http://drbenkim.com/articles-attachment-parenting.html

Mistaken Approaches to Night Waking:
Excerpt from Sweet Dreams: A pediatrician's secrets for your child's good night sleep, Lowell House, 22-28 By Paul M. Fleiss, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.A.P., 2000
http://www.nospank.net/fleiss2.htm

Loving Responses to a baby's cries
Copyright (c) 2001 By Ingrid Bauer:
http://www.natural-wisdom.com/lovingresponse.htm

Fatherhood Basic Instinct
A dad can do so much more than defend the cave. New research shows that he too has the biological goods to nurture baby
By John Hoffman
http://www.todaysparent.com/lifeasparent/fatherhood/article.jsp?content=1225399&page=1

CIO? No! The case for not using "cry-it-out" with your children
By Gale E.Ward
http://www.storknet.com/cubbies/attachmentparenting/cio.htm

'No Cry Sleep Solution' book, by Elizabeth Pantley