Book - Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy child

[Hillbeans]

Has anyone read this book by Dr. Mark Weissbluth?

I'm considering buying it. My 4 yo sleeps pretty well, but that wasn't always the case. My baby is not a great sleeper already, but he's just a month old - too early for any kind of sleep pattern, but it can't hurt to read it in advance.

I did read some reviews on Amazon, and i'm no real fan of the cry-it-out method, so if this is what this book recommends i'll probably skip it.

Thanks.

 

[justhat]

I haven't read this book, but if you're not a cry it out person try The No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. We don't do CIO either and I thought this book was a great alternative.

 

[mtemm]

I'm a huge fan of this book. you can take or leave any crying from it. what I think it excells in is really laying out what a child's sleep needs are and how short changing them on sleep can affect them.

eta: he does have a section for younger babies, but does not advocate any crying at that age...just goes into what sleep they need and patterns they may fall into.

 

[Hillbeans]

I'm a huge fan of this book. you can take or leave any crying from it. what I think it excells in is really laying out what a child's sleep needs are and how short changing them on sleep can affect them.

eta: he does have a section for younger babies, but does not advocate any crying at that age...just goes into what sleep they need and patterns they may fall into.

Great, thanks for the advice justthat and mtemm - especially this last part about newborn sleep. I also read the "Baby Whisperer" years ago which I also remember being helpful but I don't quite remember it anymore. I'll have to dig that book out of the attic.

 

[Kermit]

I agree that The No-Cry Sleep Solution is a GREAT book. I also like The Happiest Baby on the Block. It's mainly about keeping babies happy and not crying in general, but I think it has some sleep stuff in it, too.

We've been blessed with babies who like to sleep and haven't really given us any problems at night, but I keep reading these books because I figure that God must have a high-needs child in mind for me, so that's why he's given me easy-going ones to start with.

 

[mtemm]

Great, thanks for the advice justthat and mtemm - especially this last part about newborn sleep. I also read the "Baby Whisperer" years ago which I also remember being helpful but I don't quite remember it anymore. I'll have to dig that book out of the attic.

when I had my first I bought a ton of books. he was great sleeping at night, but naps were an issue. I loved reading the baby whisperer, but in practice it just did not work for us. my sister told me about HSHHC so in desperation I bought it when my son was around 5 months old. I would read it, read the bit about crying, then throw it across the room in disgust. a few days of bad napping and an overtired child later, I repeated it...read some, throw across the room. literally. finally about 2 weeks after buying it I really sat down and read it with an open mind. So much of it made sense. You certainly don't want to let your 1 month old cry, and you may not want to allow your 5 or 6 month old child cry when he gets to be that old. But the knowledge that I took away about the importance of sleep was really helpful. However you get there, knowing their needs was a godsend for me. Its funny, I was well schooled in how many wet/poopy diapers I needed to look for with my son, but nobody ever really said he needed x amount of sleep.

Anyway, good luck. hope you find it helpful. as with all books, take what feels right to you and leave the rest.

 

[Minnie824]

I would buy this book. I bought it once my 1st daughter was around a year old. Unfortunately, I couldn't use it with her because she held her breath....I mean to the point of turning blue, so we couldn't just let her cry it out. Getting her to sleep was always a challenge. Luckily, she's 4 now and sleeps around 8pm-8am, maybe up once recently for bathroom, but thats it. After her though, I read this book when I was still pregnant with DD#2 cuz I did not want to have to go thru this again. As soon as she was 3 months old, we followed the book, and she is an excellent sleeper and always has been. You put her in her crib, say goodnight, thats it for 12 hours. And for her 2-3 hr nap (shes 18 mos now). I would definitely recommend this book.