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Summary: The only parenting book I needed!!
Review: Here's what I love about this book: No matter your situation, and no matter your parenting style and views, this book is respectful of everyone.... We solved our son's bedtime issues in less than two weeks...with results in just two nights! Amazing!!
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Summary: Finally, some sleep! What a lifesaver!
Review: I bought this book months ago when my son was just 5 months old. Unfortunately, it took me a few months to work up the nerve to follow through with the tips and suggestions. My son is almost 8 months old now, and we just started the bedtime routine 4 nights ago. Before now he had to have a pacifier to fall asleep and was waking up between 4 and 10 times a night for my husband or myself to find the "binky" and put it back in his mouth. After only 4 days he is falling asleep within minutes (it took him less than 5 minutes tonight) and sleeping from 8 o'clock p.m. until 7 o'clock in the morning. He is also falling asleep at naptimes with no pacifier, and sleeping longer than before. My life is completely different, and I know my son is well-rested and happier. I can't say enough about how easy this was, and I hope other parents can benefit the way I have.
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Summary: Awesome
Review: I used this book for my first 2 children and it worked wonderfully, both kids are continuously sleeping through the night. My third child is 4 months old now and I am ready to start on it again, my only problem -- I've lent it to so many people I am not sure where it is and may have to buy a new copy.
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Summary: Bedtime tears only for just a few days = WELL RESTED FAMILY!
Review: This book is absolutely wonderful! I am thrilled to recommend and purchase this book for all of my pregnant friends and those who have small children. Our daughter is now 4 years old and was about 7-8 weeks old when we purchased this book. At the time, she was waking about every 1-2 hours during the night to be fed, rocked, walked with, etc., etc., etc. We were all completely exhausted. My husband and I read a couple of sleeping books and chose the methods presented here. Jodi Mindell is suggesting that the baby be taught a simple, consistent bedtime routine which ends in the baby laying down to bed calm and awake. We created our own routine and decided to try it out. You ONLY let the baby cry at bedtime. If she wakes up after that, you do whatever you were doing to help the baby get to sleep before such as rocking, breastfeeding, whatever. The idea is that the baby learns how to get herself to sleep at bedtime and later, when she wakes up in the night (as we all do briefly throughout the night), she can get herself to sleep without having to wake anyone else up to do so. It took about 3 bedtimes with some very strong tears 1/2 hour - 45 minutes each bedtime (we knew she was o.k., fed, warm, clean diaper, and checked on her periodically--she just needed to learn to get herself to sleep)--As parents of our first child, this was very difficult, but we decided to stick to it. After those first three bedtimes, the crying time began to shorten dramatically, 15 minutes, 5 minutes, none! And, within a week to a week and 1/2, our daughter was falling asleep with no tears and sleeping through the night except for waking for one feeding. By the time she was 3 months old, she was sleeping completely through the night from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. consistently. She has been an excellent sleeper and therefore, very calm, rested, healthy child ever since! It's truly amazing! It is completely worth it to go through the relatively brief period of teaching your child to sleep (remember, at bedtime only! --this book does NOT suggest that you let your baby scream all night). A few nights of bedtime tears helps your child (and you) to be rested and happy. Those few nights of bedtime tears prevent so many tears and tantrums throughout childhood that can occur much more frequently when your child is not rested. We now have a 6 week old son who we are laying down to bed slightly awake (practically from birth) in order to teach him to sleep through the night. He's doing well. We've only had a couple of mild bedtime tears (20 minutes, maximum) with him. We lay him down to sleep slightly awake as much as possible after each feeding during the night. He's doing very well. When he's ready to skip those middle of the night feedings (he only gets up once between 7:30 p.m. and 5:30 a.m now), I am confident that he'll know how to get himself to sleep and be another well rested, healthy, happy child. This book has been the backbone of the success we've had with our parenting! Consistency, follow-through, and lots of love are some of our main mottos. Thank you so much, Jodi Mindell, for this fantastic book! It has completely changed our lives!
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Summary: After a weekend of tears, my baby learned to fall asleep...
Review: This book offers realistic advice on how babies sleep. I did not agree with all of Mindell's theories, but in the end, her advice did work.Babies have to learn to fall asleep on their own. And in my case, our 3 month old needed a soother, or wanted to be rocked. If the soother fell out, she woke up. The rocking and the soother were her cues to sleep. I read this book and then my husband and I took the soother away, and stopped rocking Mariah. It was very difficult to hear my child cry, and at one point, it took an hour of crying for her to fall asleep. (And I was crying myself). But after 2 days, when I laid Mariah down in her crib, the time it took her to fall asleep got shorter and shorter. Mariah is now 2 and she goes to bed and still naps, and she can fall asleep on her own. It was a painful way to do it, but it did work. Read the book, and decide for yourself if you want a few days of stress, to have a lifetime of good sleep habits.
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Summary: Excellent book!!
Review: This book changed all of our lives. Our 8-month-old daughter is a new person -- she's so happy now that she is sleeping through the night (as are we!). Dr. Mindell provides clear explanations of infant's sleep and gives excellent suggestions. This is a compassionate book that is clearly "kinder and gentler," as our pediatrician recommended. Thank you Dr. Mindell! I now buy this book for all my friends; it's a great baby shower gift. I wish I had gotten it earlier.
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Summary: A cry - to - sleep book that will have you crying too
Review: This book tells you to let your baby cry to sleep, no matter what. The author contradicts herself throughout. As an example on the same page it says: "The sound of your baby's crying is nature's way of making sure that babies are taken care of." Then two sentences later she says, "One way to decrease your response is to block out the noise." "Turn on anything that will block out the sound" She gives examples like a fan, air vent or vacuum cleaner or to go take a shower or blow-dry your hair. Even go get the mail from the mailbox! The author says that if your baby cries so hard she throws up you don't have to feel guilty about it because, and I quote exactly, "vomiting can even be fun." If your baby crawls out of the crib? Get a crib tent. If your toddler comes out of the bedroom? Lock the door. Teething? Sure, it hurts, but don't change the rules. Live in an apartment? Warn your neighbors about the crying. Feeling stressed? Put a note on the baby's bedroom door, "Crying Baby - Enter at Your Own Risk." And a note for visitors that says, "We are teaching the baby to sleep. Expect dirty dishes, crying babies, and unhappy parents." I am appalled by this lack of compassion towards babies and parents throughout the entire book. Luckily I bought several sleep books (tired and desperate!) and found one with compassionate, effective solutions that are working for us: The No-Cry Sleep Solution - a totally different viewpoint, the author doesn't advocate crying, let alone vomiting, and we are actually getting more sleep - finally.
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Summary: Nothing New Here . . .
Review: Yawn. The only one this book helped sleep better was me! I couldn't stay awake when I tried to read it. Dr. Mindell's attempt to put scientific research and behavioral theory into layman's terms comes off as condescending. This book does not have anything new to offer. The promised "practical tips on bedtime" are the same ones I bet you've read on some parenting website. The author's "tried and true method" is nothing more or less than making your children cry themselves to sleep. If you are already familiar with the "cry-it-out" method and understand sleep associations and the importance of bedtime routines, don't bother buying this book. There is nothing new here.
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Summary: Just the old Cry it Out routine - not for me!
Review: ARGH. I wish I hadn't wasted my money! I thought this book was supposed to have alternatuves to Crying it Out but it basically says babies will NEVER grow out of bad sleep habits on their own - CIO is the ONLY way. She says babies will cry 40 minutes (or so) the first night. So why did my 10 month old son go 2.5 hours of screaming and the begin puking!?!? And she says if they puke it's no big deal. She says babies think it is FUN????? WHATEVER! This book just depressed me and made me realize I may never get a good night sleep again. Don't waste your money on this book unless you were considering CIO. If you were looking for an alternative to CIO to get your baby to sleep through the night, look somewhere else.
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Summary: Not to my satisfaction
Review: This is pretty much the same as the "cry out method". I wished the intro would have mentioned it. It was dissapointing to have read dozens of pages to come to the conclusion of the recommended way to put the baby to sleep is to let her cry, checkking on her every so minutes. There is nothing harsher to a parent than to see the baby cry. The author recommends the parents to take a shower, watch tv, play musical instruments, etc. to get the minds off the baby's cry. This is terrible! Another topic I disagree with the author is the time the baby has to go to bed. The book over emphasizes the idea of putting the baby to sleep around 7:30pm. It is even against the idea of keeping the baby later when parents work late and don't have time to play with the baby. It's a horrible thing to keep a parent away from the baby! Where is the joy of parenthood? See the baby on the weekends only? Why did I even bother having a child then? The baby would recognize the neighbor's dog more than me. I personally don't see anything wrong, and I prefer immensely, to put my 4-month old baby to sleep late and have her wake up late. When it comes time to school, then we can gradually change to an earlier time starting a few months before classes start. I put an order to get "The No-Cry Sleep Solution". It's got the best reviews. I should have checked the online reviews before purchasing the book.
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