Pediatricians Divided Over 'Cry-It-Out' Style Of Sleep Training

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Ask any parent what their number one wish is, and other than a healthy baby, they'll probably say 'sleeping through the night.'

There's a controversial way to do that and it involves letting babies cry it out at a very young age.

As CBS2's Dr. Max Gomez explained, there are pros and cons to early sleep training.

Most pediatricians think that it's okay to let babies cry themselves back to sleep at 4 to 6 months, but there's a new movement that says parents can sleep train their babies at 2 months.

Little Marcello has a good reason for crying -- he's hungry. Which isn't a problem in the middle of the day, but when the 8-week old wakes up in the middle of the night, what does mom do then?

"He eats, put him right back to sleep," Meira Cheisa said.

Meira said she's okay with that because unlike his big brother Luca who slept through the night very early on, Marcello's not quite ready.

Lack of sleep because a baby won't sleep through the night is one of the biggest complaints that new parents have.

Some pediatricians suggested sleep training a baby starting at 2 months.

"It means that you allow babies to cry until they go to sleep," Dr. Laura Popper said.

Dr. Popper said studies show that babies aren't ready that young and that 4 to 5 months of age is more appropriate.

"Because not all babies are ready to do it physiologically. There are babies who need to eat during the night. I don't know too many 2-month-olds who are not going to eat during the night," Dr. Popper said.

Not to mention that letting babies cry themselves to extinction, as it's called may be one of the hardest things they do. It's more natural to comfort your baby, and some parents believe that ignoring a crying baby is a bit cruel and could scar the child psychologically.

"There's no evidence that that happens. It doesn't happen," Dr. Popper said.

Marcello's mom said she'll let him cry when he's ready.

If you or your partner don't really believe in letting your baby cry themselves back to sleep, then don't do it.

It won't work unless you're committed, babies will outfox you.

Any questions should be directed towards your pediatrician.