Aimeé
Parenting is hard, and it’s especially hard when the people around you don’t understand that babies are loud. Kids make noise. While there are things parents can and should do to help regulate things like feelings and smashing pots and pans together, sometimes you just have to let your kids cry it out.
Specifically, they need to cry it out when they’re sleep training. Babies often need to be taught to fall back asleep themselves without being comforted by their parents every single time. It can be a really challenging process that involves lots of screaming, and in an apartment building, that’s rough for everyone.
Twitter user @KittyBeeJr shared a letter they received from their neighbors, who are also parents about to embark on this journey. It’s sweet, realistic, and funny.
“Neighbors left this on the door,” wrote @KittyBeeJr. “im gonna bake them some cookies.”
The letter reads:
Apartment 207 here… I regret to inform you we have begun sleep training our son. After many sleepless nights thanks to the dreaded 4-month sleep regression we have decided it is time to start the Cry-it-Out method. If you hear the cries please pray for me and know I am also crying and going insane. I’m very sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you, let’s hope that it doesn’t last long.
I am starting today and going to try for a strong 3-4 days, if he doesn’t get with the program I will give it a week or 2 break and try again. Please know I am not neglecting him, but I will let him try to self-soothe for 45-60 minutes at a time during this period. I will be in the room every 5-10 minutes to reassure him he is not alone and is okay.
If you start to feel hatred towards us just give us a friendly knock on the door and I will bring you a shot of tequila to mend our neighbor-ship. It’s cheap tequila but it will calm your nerves, it’s been tested and proven to work by yours truly. Any-how keep us in your prayers and turn the TV volume up.
If you need milk, sugar, or eggs we have some. And tequila too just swing by.
Your tired and sorry neighbors,
People in the replies have been on both sides of things: the exhausted parents and the neighbor listening to a baby scream through the wall.
They appreciated how endearing this message was. Or they were mad that sleep training exists:
Aye they some real ones though… they letting you know shit about to get REAL they had enough of they baby being up all night 😂😂😂😂
— ✊🏿 (@SoQuick510) December 15, 2020
https://twitter.com/elizabethvarao/status/1338942928274788353
https://twitter.com/ThePatNasty/status/1338878209295851521
https://twitter.com/__makiyahh__/status/1338726708443230208
My ex called it the "Ferber Method" and insisted we try it. I tried, but couldn't do it. Ignoring my crying child was just something I was unwilling to do. Period. And, to be clear, I was no pushover when my kids got older. They turned out great and both know they are loved.
— Michael B Damen (@MichaelBDamen1) December 15, 2020
you can’t baby them forever. yeah, i get there isn’t a right or wrong way to parent, but co-sleeping for too long creates this dependency that is hard to correct, trust me
— bby demon (@lyssamecca) December 15, 2020
https://twitter.com/Dro2H/status/1338906530838548481
The poster eventually shared what she made for the thoughtful parents:
https://twitter.com/KittyBeeJr/status/1338938223150641156
A little patience and understanding goes a long way. It takes a village.
