Lauren
I have not read the book but I do know some of what he recommends. I have heard from many sources that the sleep information is good. But the fact that he recommends extinction cry it out really bothers me. Leaving an infant to cry, even for short periods of a few minutes, increases cortisol levels, increase in heart rate and increase in blood pressure. Last semester I took a graduate class on stress physiology (basically how stress - enviromental, illness, mental, etc- affects animals and humans) and did a lot of reading on the subject and wrote my paper on stress in pregnancy and its effects on the pregnancy itself and the effects lasting through infancy and beyond. There is evidence to support that increased levels of cortisol can cause permanent changes in the stress response of the developing brain. The possibility of broken trust really doesn't sit well with me either. Saying there is "no evidence of harm" does not equal "evidence of no harm" and knowing what I know about stress physiology now I wouldn't say there is evidence of no harm. And there is a biological reason it is so hard for a mother to hear her baby cry - we shouldn't suppress our instincts.
Now, saying all that I said above, each family has to do what they feel is best. Because I fundamentally disagree with cry it out (and don't believe it is harmless) doesn't really mean anything except I'll never recommend it and I'll never do it.
Wanderlost - I have heard of good successes with the Jay Gordon method. I don't believe a baby crying in your arms is even remotely close to CIO. My SIL was able to night wean my nephew while they coslept - every time he woke to nurse she would first try patting or having her DH deal with him. If he got too upset she would nurse him. Eventually he stopped asking at night (this was around the age of 18 months though developmentally he was a bit younger). I can sometimes put Logan off at night by patting or laying my arm on him since he never really wakes up. When he was 2 I started turning away from him and that cut down the nursing as well since he couldn't smell it.
Last thoughts - I saw Dr Ferber on TV about 2 years ago promoting his new book. He expressed deep regret that so many parents bought into the idea of "Ferberizing" and that he never intended to have babies left alone to cry. His "method" was on a possible solution for certain situations. He also wished he had never put down the family bed because he now believes it is an appropriate solution for many families. I still don't agree with his methods but I thought that was big of him to admit what he did.
