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Summary: I prefer Dr. Weisbluth's sleep book...
Review: If you are ready to take steps to help your child learn to sleep independently (ie: cry) then Ferber and Weisbluth are your answer. I prefer Dr. Weisbluth's book to Ferber's, however, because the system he recommends is much easier to follow and frankly, makes more sense. Ferber suggests going into the child's room every 5, then 10, then 15 minutes, increasing the length of time between visits until the child stops crying. If I were a baby, I would keep crying longer because I know Mom is going to keep coming in if I do. Dr. Weisbluth says, don't keep going back in, just let the baby cry until he or she sleeps, however long it takes. It sounds harsher, but from my experience in trying both methods, the Weisbluth method works faster, and we don't have to go through a big re-training process after a trip or an illness when baby's sleep pattern was disturbed. Once she's well, or once she used to her new place, she goes right down with little or no crying. Doesn't it make more sense to you that if you keep going in the room the baby will keep crying to keep you coming back? It does to me, and I found Dr. Weisbluth's book, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby" to be an excellent way to help my baby learn to sleep on her own.
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Summary: This does NOT work for every child!!
Review: My husband and I tried this method, twice (once at 6 months old and again at 13 months). We were both committed to giving this a fair trial, even though I had my doubts that it would work for my son. We did EXACTLY what the book says, and went through a week of sleepless nights the first time, and nearly 2 weeks the second round. All we acheived was to make everyone in the household miserable, throw off my baby's sleep rhythms for weeks afterwards, and make the baby clingy and insecure (and exhausted). I know enough people who have used this method successfully to believe it works for some kids, but I have also known enough people who say it didn't work for them to believe it is not successfull for every child, even if you follow the program to the letter. (My baby cried for 2, 3 or even 4 or more HOURS each night--the gradually lengthening times between visits to reassure him did not make him "realize it was doing him no good to cry". He eventually fell asleep from exhaustion each night, but the crying periods actually were getting LONGER over time. And sometimes he would only sleep 30-45 minutes or so and then wake up and cry for a few more hours. When he sleeps in my bed, or nurses to sleep and then is put into the crib asleep, he sleeps like an angel (waking up one or more times each night, but dropping back off easily with cuddling or nursing). Listening to the child you love screaming in fear and frustration for hours on end each night doesn't do mommy and daddy much good either. But we were determined to give it a fair trial--after nearly 2 weeks (the second time), I said "enough!". I threw Ferber in the trash and bought Sears' "Nighttime Parenting" which is just about the polar opposite of Ferber. Sears' style seems a much more humane and sensitive approach for my family. And, for what it's worth, Ferber has no children of his own (as far as I can tell from his bio); Sears has eight children. Who would you rather listen to??
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Summary: It's A Miracle!
Review: I read this book once and thought, "Forget it! There is no way I am letting my baby cry." Two sleepless, frustrating weeks later, I fished the book out of the trash...we were ready to try anything. Our little boy was five months old and he would not sleep by himself. He had to be rocked (by mom only) and even when we thought he was deep asleep, putting him down in his own bed woke him up every time! I dreaded bedtime because it was so hard to get him to fall asleep and having him in our bed was becoming too uncomfortable. I had not had a good night's sleep in five months! You may not believe this, but it took one day and night and now our baby sleeps like an angel...all night (8pm to 6am). He falls asleep by himself and takes great naps in his own bed during the day! The first night was hard, he cried for about 45 minutes before falling asleep. We checked on him every 5 minutes. He woke twice during the night, but fell back to sleep within minutes. The next day was harder...he cried through both naps. The second night, we laid him down and within minutes he was asleep! It has been over a month now and he continues to sleep well. You owe it to yourself and your baby to get the rest you need. I was not the mother I wanted to be when I was up late, sleepless and frustrated. Getting our baby to sleep was the best thing that has happened to our family since his birth! Give it try...you will be amazed at just how smart your baby really is!
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Summary: Incredibly Useful
Review: Our daughter was falling asleep with a pacifier, and would wake when it fell out, often 8 or 10 times a night. We moved her into our bed at 5 months, and the combination of waking and "big baby movement", feet in your face, etc. made the experience very difficult. We "Ferbered" her, and it's been wonderful, she cried for 45 minutes the first night, 15 minutes the second, then stopped crying. For all the parents with stupid notions like your child will learn you won't respond to her crying I ask them this--one, do you always give in to their crying? What happens when they want matches? What happens when you drop them off in preschool the first day? What happens when they hit a kid in the face and don't like being scolded? It's much worse to have a family bed in general, rather than put up with three days and several hours of crying. For many parents and for some kids, the family bed does not work well. What will you do for naps? What happens if your out of town? How long are you willing to do it? For many kids it lasts for years, and then they are still unhappy about the move, just later, and the adjustment is much more difficult.
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Summary: You have your answer in the first ninety pages!
Review: Our son was terribly colicy when he was small and we had barely slept for about two and a half weeeks! I heard about this book, ordered it, tore open the package as soon as I received it and read the first ninety pages of the book as fast as I could. We implemented the techniques explained by Dr. Ferber the same night that I received the book in the mail. On the first night, we put on a pot of coffee and prepared ourselves to stay up all night if need be! Our son cried for a little more than two hours the first night and then fell asleep. He slept for about seven or eight hours- straight through! On the second night, we followed the technique and he fell asleep in about fifty minutes and did not wake up until about 7 or 8 the next morning. Finally, on the third night, he fell asleep in nine minutes and did not wake up until the morning! After that, it was smooth sailing. That was two and a half years ago and he has not has a sleeping problem since. FOR THIS BOOK TO WORK EFFECTIVELY YOU MUST FOLLOW DR. FERBER'S INSTRUCTIONS EXACTLY & PRECISLEY and your problem will be solved.
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Summary: Helpfull words
Review: I have to admit that I didn't read Ferber's book, but my sister, who has two kids, gave a book to me written by a German pediatrician who studied with Ferber. Apparently this book is more or less just a translation of Ferber's. Anyway the method which is described is exactly the same. As well as the sound explanations of how your baby reacts to you and how this can have influence on his sleep attitudes. (This implies advice for education in general) Our son is ten months old now and wasn't a bad sleeper at all. We had many nights of peaceful sleep. He was used to falling asleep on our shoulder while we were dancing to some nice music. This worked for several months, but it was getting more and more difficult to put him down in his bed and nearly impossible to do that, when he awoke in the middle of the night. It took 2 - 4 hours to bring him back to sleep in these cases, which appeared more frequently. So frequently, that the explanations : It's the teething, it's a bad dream etc. didn't make up for the fretfulness of both our son and us during the following day, on which we made him take as much naps as possible to catch up on his sleep. We are exspecting the second one very soon, we won't be able to dance with our son when he is more than 30 lbs, we want to give him attention when he is awake and able to enjoy it. That's why we tried the treatment that is recommended in Ferber's book. For all who love their children it is hard to hear them cry, it is hard to find them in that corner of their crib which is the closest to the door where you left the room. But you come back and our son knows you're there. It is the third day now and he already goes to sleep without too much protest. He also sleeps through the night like he used to do before. One astonishing side-effect is that during the day he is much more able to spend time on his own, playing and discovering his world. He responds to evryone with a smile, like he did before, and he is a happy child most of the time. For all who love their children there is one duty we have, to accept our children as individuals, to respect their personal needs and most of all to help them - with what we call education - to become independant enough to find their own way, at least to be looking for it. For all who love their children this book might be a good start. Just don't forget what your own parents have tought you and think how much you love them still. I hope so for each reader.
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Summary: All you need to know about your child's sleeping problems.
Review: Read this book ! My daughter was having sleep problems from 4mos-6mos and then we read this book. She is now 11mos and sleeps 11 1/2 hours at night and (2) 2 hours naps a day. Good stuff.
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Summary: It works - that is all that matters!
Review: I was skeptical but at wits end. I tried it for my 3 month old baby. The first 3 days were so hard and terrible, but she is two years old now and has been sleeping through the night since 3 months. A rested Mom is a happy Mom. A rested baby is a happy baby!
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Summary: Do you and your child(ren) need more sleep? Read this book!
Review: This book is a lifesaver!!! As first-time parents of a 6-month old, my husband and I agonized over the idea of letting our baby "cry it out". Dr. Ferber's explanations regarding sleep cycles, circadian rhythms and his step-by-step guide for crying it out (which you can tailor to fit your comfort level) were all very helpful. Mind you, it was still VERY difficult the first few times we let our daughter cry, but, within a week, she -- and we -- were all sleeping much better! She's happier and so are we. I put our daughter in her crib last night, gave her her blanket (i.e. "transitional object"), said goodnight and left the room. She was asleep in less than ten minutes, with no fussing! Some things that helped us get through the first few "cries": 1.) Crying is a normal emotion and can actually be therapeutic. Think about how much better you feel after a good cry. 2.) My daughter was not crying because she was in pain (before putting her down, we always make sure she's been fed, diapered, etc.). 3.) The crying sessions significantly shortened each day. 4.) Although it was difficult initially, we know we did what was best for our daughter. She's markedly happier now that she's getting that much needed sleep, and WE are also more rested and therefore better able to respond to her needs. Some additional advice: 1.) Read the book through with your spouse and discuss it before you begin. It's very important that you and your spouse are in agreement about the process, length of cry time, etc. 2.) Don't start the process unless you're totally commited, otherwise -- if you let your child cry for some time and then go pick him/her up -- your baby will be receiving mixed signals, learning not how to put themselves to sleep, but that if he/she cries long and hard enough, you'll eventually come.
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Summary: Explains a lot about later psychopathology
Review: Leave it to the human race to be one of the only animal species to actively push our young away from us as early as possible. Wonder why kids don't communicate with their parents later on in childhood? Wonder why there's so much adult/child conflict and poor communication later in childhood? This book gets the ball rolling. As I read, I couldn't help but believe that this book is mostly for parents who are unable to comfort their own kids. If it's a crime to lay next to your child to help them fall asleep, or rock them, or place them in a sling...then I'm happily guilty as charged!
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