Perils of high-density housing

[sylvia_rachel]

SP is asleep in our bed at present. She emerged from her own room an hour or so ago, clutching her stuffed penguin in his hand-knitted neck warmer, her hedgehog puppet, and Grandpa's special fleece blanket, to complain that she couldn't get to sleep because the baby next door was crying. Our neighbours on that side are "teaching" their one-year-old

Comments

[anonymous]

I'm sorry SP couldn't sleep. :( I'm sad the other wee one can't either. I always thought that even advocates of CIO didn't suggest more than 5-10 minutes of crying? As you know we don't do CIO either (neither of us could bear the thought) but I can cope with the *idea* of someone doing 5 mInutes of *fussing* with their baby (not that I did that either ...) ... But letting a baby cry long enough and loud enough for it to wake the neighbours seems ... Off. :(

-- j

[pernwebgoddess]

Not to mention, that's not how true CIO is done. It's recommended that you let them cry no more than 5 or 10 minutes... if they cry longer than that, something else is wrong. They need something. Even if it's just reassurance that you haven't abandoned them.

I know what it's like to have a baby who refuses to sleep, but that's just being inconsiderate... not just to the BABY, but the neighbors!

[sylvia_rachel]

hey need something. Even if it's just reassurance that you haven't abandoned them.

QFT. There seems to be a tendency in certain circles to ignore or deny this possibility, as though babies have no possible needs beyond the physical: "If you know she's not hungry and doesn't need a diaper change, just let her cry!" :(

I too know all about having a baby who refuses to sleep. OMG do I. I find this situation kind of ironic, therefore...

[kiwano]

But now that she's too big to fit into the bed with us, our 5-year-old occasionally fusses for much longer than 5 minutes when we insist that she has to sleep in her own bed. In fact, on Friday night, she must've gone on for a good 20 minutes before deciding to save face by asking for her bed to be made slightly differently. I mean it was almost long enough for me to get my GST return half-finished..

[delta_november]

We share a wall with frequent toddler tantrums. I have no children of my own, and no particular insight into parenting technique, but I couldn't agree more with the perils of shared accommodation.

[sylvia_rachel]

On the plus side, both of these things will pass: babies grow out of being babies, and toddlers grow out of having frequent tantrums (eventually). Unlike the people across the hall from us who routinely turn their TV and their stereo up SO LOUD that it's hard to believe their neighbours on either side haven't called the police yet :P

In our last place we had a bit of an issue with our neighbours on the bedroom side (also very nice people) smoking up. Like, every night. Not because we object to marijuana use in principle, or because it was bothering us, but because toddler!SP was in there sleeping in the evenings, breathing in the pot smoke, and we kind of thought that might not be particularly good for her. She doesn't seem to have sustained any lasting ill effects, though -- I think most of her crazy is genetic ;)