Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth
|
List Price: Our Price: $12.55 You Save: $12.40 (50%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $8.97 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child
Book Review: No More Tears
Summary: 5 Stars
I've used Dr. Weissbluth's book for my first two children, and with the advice I got from it, I feel like a saner person and a better mother. When my oldest son was two, he couldn't fall asleep on his own, and as a result didn't fall asleep until close to 11pm every night. Every day he threw tantrums and was inconsolable. A friend told me about Dr. Weissbluth's book, so I bought it and learned that I should put my son to bed by 6pm. Yes, the philosophy is counter-intiutive, but it is based on decades of research--and it works! The difference was night and day. My son not only fell asleep quickly--and on his own--but slept later in the morning (he had been getting up around 5am, but now slept until 6:15). From then on, he was a happier child, rarely threw tantrums, and excelled at school. With my daughter, I put her to bed early and had no sleep problems with her until she was about two. When she stopped napping, the chapter on re-establishing the nap really helped. I learned I was putting her down for a nap too early, so started a later nap. She not only started napping again, but slept now for two hours every afternoon instead of 30, 45, or 60 minutes. Without Dr. Weissbluth's book, I would be overwhelmed, overtired, and overextended. Now that I have a third child, I put him down before he becomes overtired. I am confident that if he ever needs to re-establish his naps, I can turn to Dr. Weissbluth's book and get him back on track. I've bought this book half a dozen times: twice for myself (the first copy was passed down to my brother when his daughter was born), for my sister-in-law, and for a few friends. It's not only a perfect gift for first-time parents, but also for seasoned moms and dads who face challenging sleep issues.Book Review: Awesome tools for any parent!
Summary: 5 Stars
My son started having issues napping when he was about 5 months old. He started taking two 30-minute naps a day, which after a month started to wear thin on us both. Most people told me, "oh, he's just cat napping," but it was obviously affecting his personality as he got crankier and crankier. I ran across this book when he was over 6 months old and I have read several different parenting books, but this was the first one that worked for me! My son's bedtime was 8pm and I didn't want to put him down earlier for fear that he would wake up super early. But the large premise behind this book is the idea that a well-rested child will sleep better. So, the more sleep the better. I gave it a shot and it worked like a dream! We slowly moved his bedtime back and as soon as we did he started to nap longer! Now he goes to bed at 630pm, sleeps through the night until 6am and takes two naps that are at least an hour and a half a piece! He is a much happier little man and I love the quiet time to myself for a couple hours a day.
Some people take issue with letting your child "cry it out," but Dr. Weissbluth actually puts all the different ways out on the table (extinction, gradual extinction, check and console, lay down with him, etc.) and says (refreshingly) to do what works for your family. Bottom line: watch your child's cues, wind him down for sleep and then put him down. He highly stresses to not let them get overtired because then they sleep poorly and in my experience he's right! It took a little crying for my son, but after about a week we can put him down and he talks to his stuffed doggie for about 10 minutes and then goes right to sleep. It's a parent's dream come true...
Book Review: This book works!
Summary: 5 Stars
A doctor-friend of mine recommended this to me when my 4 mo. old seemed to suffer a "relapse" in her previously "good" night-time sleep habits. I was at my wits end with the crying when we put her down, waking up several times during the night, etc. In desperation I read this book in one day and immediately put the advice into action. The BIGGEST factor was putting her down early and I mean really early - like 6 pm early. At first, I was riddled with guilt at putting her down that early since my husband and I both work full time and I would get home at 4 and she was in bed by 6 and I felt horrible that I only had two hours with her (the book addresses this parental guilt, too. Her need for quality sleep over-rided my guilt). We always get the same incredulous/cynical reactions from people when we tell them how early she goes to bed - strange looks, "hope it works - haha", etc. However, ever since then, she has slept through the night (10-11+ hours) and there is rarely any crying at bedtime. This also gives my husband and I a chance to cook dinner together, talk, and just enjoy adult time!
I also really appreciated that multiple options are presented. When she would cry, we started with a mix of the console-and-leave method and then transitioned to the let-her-cry-it-out method. All in all, it took about 3 mights and she was down and sleeping with no tears. I wish I would have read this book earlier as there is also great advice on napping. I have recommended this book to anyone I know with a young infant and those that read it can't say enough positive things. It's an easy and fast read and most importantly, IT WORKS!!
Book Review: The book that saved our sanity!!
Summary: 5 Stars
This book helped us tremendously just over three years ago and now I'm back to buy another one to give as a gift for a baby shower. Reading some of the other reviews has just confirmed what I was going to say anyway. You must be very disciplined and dedicated to the cause to benefit from this book. If you're going to go into this half hearted don't bother buying the book. I suspect that the people who say "it didn't really work" didn't do exactly as they were told or gave up way too quickly.
In our case, we were desperate by the time my son was four months old and I was willing to try anything. Here's the thing though. . . You can't just try for a week or two and think that's enough trying. You have to stick to it every single day. For us, after about a month we had some results we were pleased with. Today, three years later, our son is a fantastic sleeper and we know without a doubt that it wouldn't be this way if it had not been for this book. In fact, we still refer to it from time to time if a problem arises. The author covers a multitude of sleeping issues from ages 0 - high scool age.
This book saved our sanity and allowed us to actually get some sleep too!! And by the way, the person that wrote a review claming that this author suggested allowing your baby to cry for 3-4 hours is dead wrong. The MOST he suggests letting an OLDER BABY cry is for 1 hour. I highly recommend buying this book. FYI - I don't normally write reviews, but when I came back to buy the book I thought it was important enough to let others know of our success so someone else out there might benefit the way we have.
Book Review: This book is a life-saver!
Summary: 5 Stars
There is probably no more frustrating part of parenting an infant than sleep, and there are experts who give you lots of conflicting advice. What I like best about this book is that is simply carries one simple theme - your child needs sleep! - and gives a variety of suggestions on how to get there. It is organized by age as well, which is really helpful in knowing what to expect. There were a number of times when my daughter would be "off" her schedule, and I would read the book and realize that she was transitioning from three naps to two, or two to one, and that was normal. At four months, for example, my daughter was not going to sleep; I was supposed to go back to work the next week and I was terrified that I wouldn't be able to do it. This book advocates the "cry it out" method (although notes that it is not for everyone and gives alternate suggestions), so I tried it. In the time it took for me to go onto the computer to research the harm I might be doing to my daughter, she fell asleep. For the whole night.
I used this book with both of my children, who are now 7 and 5 and still sleep 10.5 - 12 hours a night, and it is my go-to present for new parents. It was the key to my children's health and my sanity.
Some people are frustrated because it gives a lot of different ideas on how to get to sleep; others don't like it because it seems to lean more to the Ferber camp (I disagree - it simply has a "sleep above all" mantra). If you read it carefully, it will help you to identify the signs of sleepiness and to put your baby down to sleep before he/she gets overtired.