The Mantra Cry

I never believed it......never thought I'd try it out either, but this morning, there was no consoling Ethan to sleep.  He woke up at around 6:45am, nursed, pooped and was up.  So I brought him downstairs and he didn't last long.  He was cranky and tired.  I brought him into bed with us, and again, couldn't get comfortable, cranky and crying.  So I brought him into his room, rocked him, and there was no consoling.  He cried and wriggled his way out of my arms.  So I said "Fine, let's try your crib".  I put him in there, he fussed, but didn't cry.  So I went into our bed.  He started to cry a bit, but nothing that sounded like he was distressed.  THEN.... the "Mantra Cry" came.  It's hard to explain.  It's like a Hmmnnnn.....Hmmnnnnn, over and over again.  I was tempted to go get him, but he sounded calmer after each "Hmmnnn".  I didn't want to interfere if he was soothing himself to sleep so I stepped back and waited.  If he sounded distressed, then obviously I would have went to see him.  SO I waited, and then... silence.... for an hour.

This is an excerpt from The Baby Whisperer:

A Mantra cry is a cry that a baby lets out when tired that, literally, sounds like a mantra - monotone & rhythmic, over and over again. It's not the same as a real "i need your attention" cry, and it's best to step back if baby is doing it (the Mantra cry), as s/he may be trying to soothe themselves to sleep. Each baby's mantra cry is different. That's why it's important to be able to distinguish between the two cries - if you jump in during a mantra cry, you may be interfering and doing more harm than good; but if you ignore a genuine cry, it will only escalate and make it harder to calm baby.