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If You Want a Full Night’s Sleep at Two Months, Consider a Gerbil Over a Baby
Becoming a parent often means saying goodbye to sleep—it’s a rite of passage we all have to accept while catering to our little ones’ needs during those long, wearisome nights. However, a pediatric practice in New York City has stirred up debate by advocating for a “cry it out” approach to sleep training as early as two months old. If that raises eyebrows, you’re definitely not alone.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the doctors at Lower Manhattan Pediatrics have long championed a method called “extinction” for babies as young as two months. This approach suggests letting infants cry themselves to sleep without any parental intervention. Yes, that’s right—two months old.
Most parents are familiar with a more gradual approach to sleep training, thanks to Dr. Richard Ferber, which involves checking on a crying baby at increasing intervals to provide comfort. However, this method is recommended only for infants aged 3-5 months at the earliest.
It’s a significant leap to go from gently responding to your baby’s cries to ignoring them completely. But that’s exactly what the “extinction” method entails. Even the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests a gentler approach like controlled crying, rather than leaving a baby to cry themselves to sleep.
Tribeca Pediatrics is pretty much a lone wolf in advocating for this method for such young infants. Research indicates that leaving a baby to cry can elevate stress levels for both baby and parent. A study published in Early Human Development found that babies aged 4-10 months showed increased stress levels when left to cry alone. By the third night, they may have stopped visibly expressing distress, but their cortisol levels—an indicator of stress—remained high. They essentially stopped trying to communicate their upset feelings and simply gave up.
Now, before all you devoted sleep training advocates grab your pitchforks, keep in mind that this study involved babies crying without any comfort from their parents—not those who receive a reassuring pat and soothing whispers. And this was for babies aged 4-10 months, to boot. Just imagine how much more daunting that would be for a two-month-old.
The first three months of a baby’s life are often referred to as “the fourth trimester” for a reason. Newborns are still adjusting to life outside the womb and need comfort, calm, and reassurance—not lessons in “toughening up,” as suggested by Dr. Sam, the founder of Lower Manhattan Pediatrics. He told The Wall Street Journal, “It actually works better at 2 months than at 4 months. It is tougher when the baby is used to more soothing.” Yikes.
On top of that, many two-month-olds still need nighttime feedings. It’s common knowledge that babies around 11 pounds can typically sleep through the night without needing to eat, but many two-month-olds are far from that weight. They might still require a bottle or breast at any hour.
Ultimately, every parent must make their own choices about sleep training. As someone who parented a particularly challenging infant who didn’t manage a five-hour stretch of sleep until he was nearly a year old, I completely understand the desperation that comes when your baby won’t sleep. That desperation can lead parents to accept medical advice that promises more sleep, even if it seems questionable.
It’s essential to trust your instincts, even when faced with a pediatrician’s recommendation for a baby that young to learn self-soothing. Self-soothing is a valuable skill, but there’s a massive difference between letting a baby fuss for a few minutes before a parent intervenes and allowing them to cry it out until they exhaust themselves. No one says you should rush to your baby’s side at every little whimper, but it’s also important to remember that at two months, their cries usually signal a very valid need.
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