Rating: ![1 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-1-0.gif) Summary: Do we need more guilt? Review: Dr. Sears tells us society makes us feel guilty if we do co-sleep, but he just makes us feel guilty if we dont. Very little of the articles quoted are recent. He gives very few practical tips besides put the kids in bed with you. The entire book pretty much assumes that mom's do not work, and when they do they never work at night! Let's find a book that offers helpful advice, not just pat the back of those who have easy enough lives to rearrange our entire lives to the whims of our children.
Rating: ![1 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-1-0.gif) Summary: the other side of the issue Review: This is an elaborated excerpt from the Sears' big parenting tome, with more direct guilt inducement and more obviously narrow moral assumptions. It is useful for any parent who wants to more fully understand the debate over crying, and it provides some valuable ideas about how children sleep. But it assigns responsibility for the baby's wellbeing to the mother, who it assumes is unquestioningly ruled by emotion. It assumes that Mom has no engagements or aspirations outside the home, and contends that mothers should restrict their lives to giving immediate comfort, or increase the risk of SIDS or psychological troubles--as if a penalty.Such is the undercurrent of the Sears' attachment paradigm: difficulty in parenting is really a punishment for independence and gender parity. There's good information if one can get past the agenda of social conservatism and its imperatives of guilt and fear, but apolitical or progressive parents probably won't find it worth it. Nighttime Parenting pretty much settled the issue for me: crying makes more sense. I did find useful points to make it worth the read, but I've filed it in the "bad parent" section on the alarmist shelf, and plan to cry it out, knowing that it probably beats the alternative.
Rating: ![5 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-5-0.gif) Summary: Thank you, Dr. Sears Review: The second night after my baby was born, the nurses in the hospital brought him to me sometime after midnight because "they couldn't make him stop crying." They lay him next to me and he nursed and promptly fell sound asleep. The first night I got home, baby did the same thing -- he would scream if left in his basinet -- but would snuggle down and sleep quietly if lying next to me. Lying next to him and nursing him to sleep thus seemed the natural thing to do -- and it helped all of us get as much sleep as possible -- but I felt guilty and uncertain aoubt it until I read Dr. Sears' advice. Thank you, Dr. Sears, for recommending this approach to "nighttime parenting," and letting me know that this is how mothers around the world care for their babies during the night. I'm pleased to report that after three months, I naturally began transitioning baby to his basinet for longer and longer stretches. Now, he sleeps there all night, and joins my husband and me in bed in the morning when we wake up and it's time to nurse.
Rating: ![2 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-2-0.gif) Summary: Not solutions for moms who work outside the home... Review: I have a "high need" baby, according to Dr. Sears. Many of the suggestions in this book (nap when your baby naps) are not suited to women who work outside the home. My baby is 4 months old and I have tried front carriers, and slings; I breastfeed my baby; I sing to him; we have every kind of rocking chair, bouncy chair, and swing; we co-sleep. I quickly respond to my child's crying. None of these things stop the 1-2 hours of livid screaming per night. This book made me feel guilty for failing to figure out how stop the screaming.
Rating: ![5 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-5-0.gif) Summary: Still the definitive Sears book on sleep Review: I have read three different books on babies and sleep that Dr. Sears either wrote or endorsed, and I can tell you that this one is the one to get. It's no wonder this book has been in print for more than a decade.
Rating: ![3 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-3-0.gif) Summary: Dr Sears, I love you but.... Review: I followed your advice and co-slept, breastfed and carried my baby in her sling. And now she's almost a year old and still waking up every hour or two all night - every night. While I love the concepts contained here, this book made me feel guilty for wanting more sleep. I love my baby, but I need some sleep, too. I found a book that Dr. Sears recommends called The No Cry Sleep Solution that takes the same compassionate, caring attitude, but adds actual solutions to help my baby sleep better. She's already sleeping 6 straight hours and I feel like a new woman!
Rating: ![3 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-3-0.gif) Summary: Wonderful book Review: Needs updating, at least the copy I got did. It still said that it was allowable for baby to sleep on her side, which the APA has said is not the case. Keep newer findings in mind when reading this book, and you can get some good information.
Rating: ![5 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-5-0.gif) Summary: The Most Wonderful Book! Review: This book was a life saver for my husband, our baby and me! We thought we were so lucky when she slept through the night from two to six months. But then teething started and it was all over! In our desparation, we considered buying the Ferber or Mindell books since we had not heard of any others, but we couldn't bring ourselves to let our little one "cry it out". Then I came across this wonderful book. Dr. Sears confirmed my instincts. He let us know that it is okay to pick up our baby when she cries and explained why she cries at night. He said that it is okay to nurse your baby to sleep, which I was already doing contrary to current popular recommendations. Dr. Sears highly recommends sleeping with your baby, which helped all three of us sleep better. He writes a wonderful section for fathers as well.
Rating: ![4 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-4-0.gif) Summary: Kind but too unstructured Review: I liked that Sears supports nurturing and loving the baby rather than letting him cry it out as many books advocate, but I found that we needed some more structure in order to get our baby to fall asleep on his own and take proper naps. I liked the Baby Whisperer book and Dr. Weissbluth's book. Though I don't follow either to the letter, they enabled me to come up with a plan that got our baby to sleep through the night (and take great naps) without resorting to letting the baby cry it out.
Rating: ![3 stars](http://www.reviewfocus.com/images/stars-3-0.gif) Summary: If you have "The Baby Book," skip this... Review: Most of the content in this book is a chapter in Dr. Sears, "The Baby Book" so save your money. If you don't have "The Baby Book," I highly recommend it, including the chapter on sleep.
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