Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth
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Book Reviews of Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child
Book Review: Very effective "sleep training" manual!
Summary: 5 Stars
We love this book. It came highly recommended by some friends before we had our first baby. We liked it first because it was written by a doctor who is a pediatric sleep specialist. The first few chapters were crucial to read because they gave us the background behind the importance of this sleep training. If we had skipped that part, we probably wouldn't have had the motivation to change our own schedules drastically to allow the baby his napping and sleep times. After the background information, Dr. Weissbluth divides the rest of the book up into chapters according to your child's age (with some special additional chapters at the end). Since we had the book from the time of pregnancy, we started the sleep training as indicated when our baby was between 6 and 8 weeks old. We liked it also because Dr. Weissbluth did not expect us to impose a eat/sleep schedule on a newborn that was strictly clock-based. Instead, he let us be more flexible while getting to know our newborn and plan for the training to begin a few weeks out. At the beginning of the "training," we had to constantly refer back to the chapters (I read over the relevant chapter probably two or three times a week), sometimes let our baby cry for about 30-45 minutes (hard at first but absolutely no regrets after seeing the results after just a few days), and cutting out things from our evening schedule temporarily (this is mandatory). I know there is a lot of controversy about the crying part, but take heart:
1. If you are following the directions of this book and looking for your child's natural sleep signs, then the crying will not last very long, nor will you have to go through this for very many days.
2. Dr. Weissbluth acknowledges that at nap times, an extremely long crying period may not be the best way to get your child to sleep. The book allows for you to soothe your child at times, which are specified and clearly laid out.
3. The results of this method are tremendous. Our first child is now six years old. He is well-rested from his night sleep and naps at least once a week, which we are thrilled with because it helps him with behavior, concentration, and academics.
This book is truly about sleep-training, not just scheduling a child to nap when you want him to. It teaches babies to soothe themselves to sleep, so that you are not tied down to a certain place, person, rocking chair, etc. Your baby can go to sleep without your having to cautiously tiptoe out of the room ... such freedom!!
Book Review: It works!
Summary: 5 Stars
I was at my wits end with my daughter and son, and I was getting no sleep! She was almost 3 yrs. old and he was almost 18 mos. old at the time. She was going to sleep anywhere from 9PM, if I was lucky, to 11PM, and she would come to our room and sleep. He was waking up all the time. My sister recommended this book, and I thought at first I wasn't doing it right. But my husband and I had trained our kids the wrong sleeping patterns, and we needed to change it. It wasn't going to change overnight. I did what it said, and we had to be consistent. We took turns to take our daughter back to her bedroom whenever she came into our room at night, even though it was hard and we were so tired. After about a week or 2 (I forget since it's been 3 years ago), she stopped. We also moved her bed time earlier like the book recommended to 8PM and his bedtime was at 6:30PM. When both the kids were asleep, we realized what we had been missing...
My son, who's now 3, would not sleep through the night back then, before we implemented the changes. He cried and cried. I ended up sleeping in his room because I was too tired to get up and out. Finally, I was consistent and left his room and gave him his soft blanket. He now sleeps well. If he falls asleep in the car. I have to transfer him from the car within 30 minutes of him falling asleep, so he'll stay asleep. Otherwise, he wakes up and we are all miserable. Anyway, this book really helped.
If it's not working, it might be because of many reasons or combination of reasons. For example, you may not be consistent, or you may not be implementing the recommendations properly, or the kids may be over tired and you missed the ideal time to get them into bed, or your child may be strong willed and it might take longer for it to work, etc... The list is endless. Read the book and stick with it for a week or 2. If it approaches one hour, you can go in there and console them and tell them they can get out, but limit their fun time, and then put them in bed an hour or more earlier. If you cave, you'll pay. I had to start all over with my son because I gave in and fell asleep in his room. This is not to say you let them cry for 2 hours. My daughter even got so mad that she used to throw up to get me to come to her, and I would clean her and her bed, re-dress her, and made sure she did not have a fever, and calmly put her in her bed again and try again. Finally it worked and we are so much more rested. So, good luck!
Book Review: Best sleep book-a must have for every new parent!
Summary: 5 Stars
As a physician assistant who practices primary care and the parent of a 1-year-old child, I can hands-down say that Dr. Weissbluth's book is the best. I recommend it to all of the parent's whose children I provide care for, especially those struggling with sleep problems. When my daughter was born, I had no idea that the lack of sleep would be so difficult for me. I quickly tried to make myself a "sleep expert" and read several of the popular sleep books from all ends of the spectrum including the more structed methods of Babywise and Dr. Richard Ferber to The No-Cry Sleep Solution, which emphasizes more attachment parenting techniques. I would consider myself a more middle-of-the-road parent. I found that while Babywise and Dr. Ferber had some great suggestions, the methods were too rigid for me. On the other hand, I am very attached to my daughter but needed more stucture/routine/schedule than some of the attachment parenting methods. I found Dr. Weissbluth's book to be a great balance. The beginning of the book is very well-researched with facts/information about healthy infant sleep, which I found helpful as a medical provider. The second half of the book, he breaks the chapters up into different age groups and what you can expect from your child's sleep patterns at each stage including methods to help those children who don't sleep well. It has transformed our house and my daughter is a terrific sleeper who has slept through the night since she was about 10-12 weeks old. Many of the families that I have recommended the book to have also had wonderful results with their children. Dr. Weissbluth doesn't advocate one specific method, he gives several suggestions based on a child's age and tempermant and allows the parents to choose what is best for their family. The underlying theme is to survive the first 6-12 weeks as most children will biologically not be capable of a schedule at this point. Sleep training begins anywhere between 6-12 weeks depending on the child and for us, consisted of establishing a routine with an early bedtime and working on two naps a day. At the end of the book, he addresses common questions/concerns amongst parents. Consistency was the key and as a result, we have a well-rested, incredibly happy baby. I will continue to use his suggestions with future children and will continue to recommmend it to the families that I care for. A must have for every new parent!Book Review: A must for tired parents!
Summary: 5 Stars
I can't say enough good things about this book. It gives parents a concrete plan for babies at different ages. Within two weeks, my daughter started sleeping from 6:30 pm until 8:30 am at night PLUS three hours of naps per day after I implemented ideas from this book. We were the envy of our friends and thought to be very "lucky", but we worked hard to stay on the plan outlined in the book. I gave the book to several friends who had similar success. Some basic points which I found most helpful:1. Very young babies should never be awake longer than two hours at a time. When your baby wakes up, note the time. Then be sure to put the baby down about 90 minutes later. This worked like a charm and helped me organize and plan my day when my daughter was very young.
2. Sleep begets sleep! This is the most important lesson in the book. The theory is that when a baby is waking during the night or early in the morning, it indicates the baby needs MORE sleep, not less. My sister's daughter was waking up around 5:30 am. She kept trying to move her bedtime later and later, but the wake up time stayed the same. She was just too scared to try the suggestion in the book to put her daughter down earlier. She was sure she'd wake up at 3:00 am. When she finally did try, to her amazement, it worked. She has gradually moved bedtime to 7:00 pm (it had been 9pm) and her daughter now sleeps until about 6:45.
My daughter is now two years old and sleeps from 7:00 pm until 7:45 am. She also takes a nap from 12:30 pm until 3:00 pm. Although I know I am just one anecdotal example, I really do credit the ideas in this book with her amazing sleep habits. For tired parents, it is certainly worth a try!
I do have to add some things I did not like about this book...I think the suggestions on how long to let baby cry were too long. I simply skimmed over these suggestions. I may be a weakling, but I never, ever let my daughter "cry it out". I truly think that a discriminating reader can easily tailor this program to fit ANY style of parenting, from Ferber to Sears. (I myself lie somewhere in the middle...) Also, this book was not organized well, although I have an older version, and this one seems to have been updated. But I have to say that the information in the book is so good that it is worth the minor hunt to get to it! Good luck whatever you try!
Book Review: Absolutely the best advice on helping your child sleep.
Summary: 5 Stars
I spent 5 years working as a technologist in the field of adult sleep medicine. When my first child came along a few months ago, I realized that I had never learned much about children's sleep. I was already pre-disposed against attachment parenting, because I had seen the parents that came in to our sleep clinic with desperate problems resulting from attachment parenting and sharing a family bed. I read both Ferber's book and Ezzo's "Babywise", and was frustrated by the lack of detailed information on naps, and, in Ezzo's case, the lack of supporting research.
I finally picked up Dr Weissbluth's book and found that it was just what I had been looking for! As other reviewers have said, Dr Weissbluth's approach is very balanced. He gives a lot of background research and tells you what works and WHY it works. His recommendations are based on sleep science, and not opinion.
He discusses the importance of timing, shows you how to recognize the signs of drowsiness when your child is most likely to go to sleep easily, and gives strategies for soothing your child to sleep. His philosophy is that "perfect timing produces no crying". When I first read that, I thought "yeah, right". I have no problem letting my child cry for 10-15 minutes before he goes to sleep, but I had never had him go right to sleep without some crying. I have only been practicing Dr Weissbluth's strategies for a few days, but have already seen that it really does work! When I get the timing right, the baby drifts off to sleep without a wimper, even though he is awake when I put him in the crib.
Whatever your view on letting the baby cry, you will find a strategy in this book that you can live with. Dr Weissbluth gives solutions for a "no cry" approach, a "maybe cry" approach or a "let cry" approach. And he offers two different methods for putting the baby down: whether you want to soothe your baby into a deep sleep before putting him or her down, or you want to put the baby down awake (but drowsy).
He also gives a lot of information on the importance of naps, and detailed instructions on helping your child nap at different stages of development.
The majority of the book is dedicated to sleep in infants, but there are also chapters on pre-school children and schoolchildren & adolescence.
This book is a wealth of information, and I highly recommend it to any parent!