Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child

Rating:
Summary: Buy this book now!
Review: My husband and I have always valued the sleep habits of our older son (now 4 years old). When our second son was born, all the nay-sayers convinced us that we could "never have two good sleepers." We read, and followed the guidelines of this book and, viola, we have two excellent sleepers. It isn't a miracle, nor are we rock-solid regimented. We are committed to good sleep for our children. With the advice from this book we have successfully recognized and fostered the good sleep habits of our infant and have "reprogrammed" our 4 year old to an earlier bedtime (he also naps 2 hours daily). Many people think we are lucky, crazy or liars...but we are not. Dr. Weissbluth's book will make you a believer, too. Buy the book...follow the guidelines...enjoy a peaceful, restful home. :-)

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't live without this book
Review: After 4 sleepless months with our first child my husband in desperation bought this book. We tried it and within a week our son was taking 2 2 hour naps a day and going to bed by 7:30 everynight and sleeping straight through until 7:30 every morning. It really taught him how to soothe himself to sleep both for naps and night time. I now but this book for everyone that I know who is expecting, and they all thank me!

Rating:
Summary: Take it with a grain of salt
Review: After five sleep-deprived months, my mom purchased this book for us. My son would only nap in my lap/bed during/after nursing. He was sleeping in his crib at night, but was waking every 2-4 hours expecting to be fed. We were all exhausted and a bit crabby. After reading this book, I chose a day to begin naps in his crib. It wasn't easy, since my son preferred sleeping with me. Not at any time did I let him cry it out. That's not to say he didn't get fussy for a few minutes. There's a difference between fussing and all-out screaming (which I wouldn't let him do). We're now in a routine of a morning and afternoon nap, and he goes to sleep without crying at night. (I put him in his crib awake to drowsy.) I feel that the structural information in this book(setting up a routine for naps and bedtime) was very helpful. I don't watch the clock, because my son indicates when he is tired. Sometimes he is awake longer/shorter than the wakeful times stated in the book. I say take it with a grain of salt, because no matter what the books say (or others with their expert advice) you have to do what is best for you and your family. By adopting the "guidelines" from this book, my husband, son and I are very well-rested and happy.

Rating:
Summary: The only parenting book you need
Review: Listen, I read all the parenting books before we had our daughter last year and this book was the only one that made an impact. In clear terms, Weissbluth makes a compelling case for doing whatever it takes to develop good sleep habits in your child. My wife and I followed Weissbluth's advice and found that our daughter quickly learned how to comfort herself, put herself back to sleep and stay asleep longer. Our experience proved that Weissbluth is right: A well-rested child is a happy child.

Rating:
Summary: Great guidance about sleep patterns, lacking in love
Review: Dr. Weissbluth is very motivational and really explains how sleep is important to your baby, which encouraged me to make our 9 month old's sleep a number one priority in our household.

Dr. Weissbluth's timetable for babies over 4 months was really helpful to us when we structured our baby's activities, naps, and bedtime. Dr. Weissbluth's has some good suggestions as to when to start baby's nap and bedtime wind down time and when to arose baby from sleep in order to help establish a good sleeping pattern.

Unfortunately, Dr. Weissbluth advocates an extreme form of the cry-it-out method, even though he claims he doesn't (which I found to be very contradicting). A variety of testimonials from parents appear in the book proclaiming that their baby fell asleep after 10 minutes of crying, or 20 minutes, or 45 minutes. The author even goes as far to imply that if your baby cries for longer than an hour that you haven't followed his program exactly, which isn't true. I followed his program exactly for one day and my baby cried for one hour at both her morning and afternoon nap time without falling asleep at all! The experience was not beneficial to her mood, my mood, or our baby-mommy relationship. I really am from the mindset that crying and screaming is a form of communication for a baby and shouldn't be ignored. I went against my instincts to follow his program because I was desperate, but found that letting my baby cry for so long was not only traumatic for both of us, it just didn't work.

I feel that Dr. Weissbluth's method was much too rigid and extreme for my parenting style. However, I do feel that much of the information and tips in his book about timing and sleep routines are helpful when you are trying to set up a nap and bedtime sleep routine. I took the information about sleep patterns and schedules from Dr. Weissbluth's HEALTHY SLEEP HABITS, HAPPY CHILD and combined it with Ferber's ideas about sleep associations in SOLVE YOUR CHILD'S SLEEP PROBLEMS. I then used the easy to read and follow THE NO CRY SLEEP METHOD by Elizabeth Pantly to tailor a sleep training program that was right for both me and my baby.

I'm happy to say that in just two days I weaned my baby from our family bed and got her to sleep through the night with only two brief night wakenings needing my attention (which is a great start for now...I'm not complaining at all). I was able to have my baby associate sleep with a "lovey" doll and blanket, not just with nursing, with only minimal crying. And when I say minimal I mean less than 2 minutes. I highly suggest that you read Elizabeth's Pantly's NO CRY SLEEP METHOD in addition to Dr. Weissbluth's book HEALTHY SLEEP HABITS, HAPPY CHILD before you subject yourself and your child to the trauma of hours of crying.

Rating:
Summary: One with experience is NEVER at the mercy of an arguement
Review: I had heard so many good thing about this book that I had to check it out. I must say I was shocked.

Here is MY experience. I have 2 healthy, happy, secure, and independent children. Many people have commented on how cheerful, friendly, and adaptable my children are. They have been assessed by professionals in child development, and have consistently scored higher than the norm for their age - both in emotional, and intellectual development. My oldest was reading several words before she was 2, and my youngest, at 22 mos, would sit for 20+ minutes absorbed in her task. I have NEVER followed any of the recommendations in this book.

The arguement: according to this book, my children should be "brats" (Weissbluth's word - not mine) and fussy because they stopped having daytime naps at 2 (rather than 3-4). My children should have short attention spans, and lower I.Q's because they didn't sleep the recommended hours in a day. They should be 'clingy' and dependent', and should have sleep problems because they were never 'taught' how to sleep on their own. (They go to sleep easily, and sleep through the night.)

Many of the claims on this book are not backed by recent research, and have actually been disproven (McKenna). The theory which tells parents not to hold or comfort babies originated in the late 18oo's, (Holt, J.B. Watson) at which time infant mortality rose dramatically.

My experience alone disproves most of the claims in this book - and there are many studies done RECENTLY (not in the early 1900's - like the ones Weissbluth seems to like to quote) which also disprove these theories.

I am not saying there is NOTHING good in this book, but, please don't take everything it says at face value. Please do your research before you submit your children to this type of treatment. It is not necessary to do so, as the book suggests, in order to have happy, healthy and intelligent children.

Rating:
Summary: Helpful sleep info, though a little too rigid &extreme
Review: POSITIVES:
Dr. Weissbluth convincingly shows that a parent should promote good, healthy sleep habits. He is very motivational to continue your efforts as a parent and to encourage your child to sleep well and to focus on sleep as a fundamental need for the baby.

The book is an interesting read for any parent learning about how babies sleep. Dr. Weissbluth discusses how babies' sleep patterns change as they grow and mature and divides his book up into different chapters depending on the age group of the baby/child. He also spends a chapter discussing colicky and post-colicky babies.

Dr. Weissbluth outlines when most babies wake up for the day, when they take their naps, and when they should go to bed for the night. Dr. Weissbluth's timetable for babies over 4 months can be helpful to assist parents in structuring baby's activities, naps, and bedtime. He also has some good suggestions as to when to start baby's nap and bedtime wind down time and when to arose baby from sleep in order to help establish a good sleeping pattern.

NEGATIVES:
Dr. Weissbluth advocates the cry-it-out method, even though he contradicts himself by saying that he doesn't. A variety of testimonials from parents appear in the book proclaiming that their baby fell asleep after 10 minutes of crying, or 20 minutes, or 45 minutes. He even goes as far to imply that if your baby cries for longer than an hour that you haven't followed his program exactly.

I personally was offended by his overconfident assumption, as I followed his program exactly for one day and my child cried for one hour at both her morning and afternoon nap time without falling asleep at all! My normally happy child was a grouch, she bit me several times when I nursed her during the day, and she vomited a substantial amount twice. I was adversely affected by the method as well, because I began to feel very angry and upset at my baby for not falling asleep like she was supposed to (as I am already very sleep deprived to begin with). The experience was not beneficial to her mood, my mood, or our baby-mommy relationship.

I feel that Dr. Weissbluth's method was much too rigid and extreme for my parenting style. Any research that he has done pertaining to crying to go to sleep simply does not work for my baby (or me) and should be taken with a grain of salt. However, I do feel that much of the information and tips in his book about timing and sleep routines are helpful when you are trying to set up a nap and bedtime sleep routine.

Rating:
Summary: Really Outstanding Book
Review: I believed that my 10 month old son was a difficult child -- always moving, fussing, climbing, crying and never sleeping for extended periods of time. Because he was a preemie, suffered from colic and then a prolonged period of reflux (we are still battling it) I was exhausted. Our fatigue won out and he began sleeping in our bed in December. By May I couldn't take it any more. He was still waking up through out the night and needing to be held for naps. I figured that if we weren't going to get any rest at night, I might as well be doing something positive --teaching him how to sleep in his own bed. The first four days were the hardest, but now ten days into it, he's like another child. This book is very insightful, humourous and encouraging. I very highly recommend it--it has changed our lives.

Rating:
Summary: Finally! A terrific infant-sleep book!
Review: Being the mother of a sleepless infant, I have read everything I can get my hands on regarding infants' sleep disorders. This book is by far the best. It clearly explains the "why's" behind sleep patterns,and gives excellent suggestions to parents on teaching their children the valuable skill of putting themselves to sleep. Furthermore, the book follows the development of the infant, and lets the reader know when a baby is at the appropriate age to try different approaches.

It is a refreshing read that offers some flexibility to parents in their approach to working with a child's sleeping problem, and it includes many excerpts from actual case studies.

Rating:
Summary: Okay, but better ones to follow
Review: I like the First Three years of life better for sleep guidelines. I think this had good information about how important sleep is to your child and I did benefit from reading this book...but...I don't agree with the "crying it out" stage for an infant (4mo's & younger). I have a three year old also and putting her to bed at 7 is not realistic. The strict sleep practices are hard with traveling, activities, and family time.