Rating: 
Summary: Highly Scientific but easy to read
Review: After reading the great reviews posted here, I really thought this book would help me alot with my 6 month old son. I was amazed at the results. Although the book does offer alot of scientific information about infant/toddler sleep habits/patterns and disorders, I feel it gives excellent general advice to parents of infants. Although I was very skeptical and did not agree with the book at first, after getting deeper into it, I started changing my mind. It strongly urges parents to become more involved in their child's life. This I found very positive. It also recommends reducing stress in the child's day and having a proper diet. I (and my pediatrician) feel this is exactly right! I also found the comments regarding infants being different from adults in their sleep patterns fascinating. No other book explains this as well. So, if you want a really good book about sleep patterns, and creating the best sleep and family environment for your kids, this is it. I I really recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: A grandmother's gratitude
Review: Being a grandmother who raised six children, this advice from Drs. Fleiss and Hodges rings true. Indeed, it is obvious if we all want to sleep well at night. I discovered through experience what works and now here is one book that brings it all together for new parents to benefit their children. There is new information that validated how I support my teens to "sleep in", why at middle age I have new sleep patterns, and practical wisdom to do what the book set out to do -- help babies sleep. This makes a perfect gift for a new family, ideally given before the baby is born. Here is one grateful grandmother for Dr. Fleiss and Dr. Hodges giving voice to what babies would say, if only their parents would listen.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Judge a Book By it's Cover!
Review: Big mistake buying this book. Not my cup of tea! ...
If you co-sleep with you baby, used no drugs in your delivery, Breast feed for over a year, and have a big hang up about wanting to prove that your way is the right way then by all means this book is for you. Otherwise look elsewhere. I have purchased 5 or more books on sleep problems (this one by far the biggest waste of money) and still have yet to find a perfect one. Sometimes they just have to out grow it.
Rating:
Summary: This book is not what I expected!
Review: Dr. Fleiss makes assumptions that are not at all grounded in scientific fact. In particular, he makes a connection that circumsized boys are poor sleepers (in an attempt to ask parents not to circumsize)based on a study that only showed that infant boys had more difficulty sleeping than girls. He also advocates co-sleeping without any good research to back his advice. I have a two year old with a history of sllep problems, and if I followed Dr. Fleiss' philosophies,I would be tearing my hair out now. He offers no methods to help your child sleep through the night!! I am astounded that others have found this at all helpful.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Basic Info, But No Practical Help
Review: First I'll say that I am a great respecter of Dr. Fleiss and his work - I've found him incredibly helpful in my career as a mommy. But this book was a big disappointment. I have 2 children [a toddler and a preschooler] who are very poor sleepers. I bought this book hoping for some help in getting them to sleep better. It was useless to me, unfortunately. This book contains a great explanation of how babies and children [and even grown ups] sleep. It is very supportive of the 'family bed' or 'co-sleeping' and very 'attachment parenting' oriented. This would be a wonderful book for an expecting or brand new mother who doesn't know what to expect concerning how her baby will sleep. But if you already have a child who has a sleep problem, you will find very little of practical use here. Dr. Fleiss promises to tell you how to get your child to sleep in a healthy way, but what he offers are very simplistic, common sense ideas that any half way intelligent parent would probably be using anyway. [ie: don't give your kid caffeine; dont feed your kid a whole bunch of junk food; don't let your kid watch TV right before bed; have your child sleep in a hygenic, insect free room; make sure your kid gets exercise; dress your child in comfortable clothes - or no clothes - for bedtime; don't give your kid drugs or alchohol to make them sleep!! etc]. For those of us already doing all these common sense things, there is nothing else suggested. Dr. Fleiss assumes that any parent who does these things will have a child who sleeps blissfully all night [or as much as is age appropriate]. This simply isn't true in many cases. He also includes some more strange things - for example, he tries to build a case that circumcision causing nightwaking. First of all, there is no research that actually supports this. Second of all, my daughter and my intact son are both horrible sleepers. [And I know lots of circumcised boys who sleep great]. Third, if you are reading this book, you have probably *already* made the decision on whether to circ or not - and if you have, there's not anything you can do to undo it. So this really isn't helpful at all. He also maintains that non-flammable polyester causes cancer and so does television. [I haven't seen any research to back these claims...while he may be right, I'm uncomfortable that this is stated as 'fact' and not 'theory'.] He also seems to go 'off the deep end' a bit in some of his other suggestions. One thing I found particularly odd was the section on co-sleeping where he suggests just explaining sex to your children [because they can handle it at any age, no matter how young] and the kids will probably just leave the room when they see mom and dad start getting 'affectionate'. Hello? Not in my house anyway.... I think I'll allow my babies and preschoolers to hold on to their innocence a bit longer, thanks. Overall, I did not find this book useful. You might have better luck with _The No Cry Sleep Solution_ by Elizabeth Pantley if you have a frequent night waker of your own. She offers concrete ideas and solutions that are completely lacking here.
Rating:
Summary: Good Basic Info, But No Practical Help
Review: First I'll say that I am a great respecter of Dr. Fleiss and his work - I've found him incredibly helpful in my career as a mommy. But this book was a big disappointment. I have 2 children [a toddler and a preschooler] who are very poor sleepers. I bought this book hoping for some help in getting them to sleep better. It was useless to me, unfortunately. This book contains a great explanation of how babies and children [and even grown ups] sleep. It is very supportive of the 'family bed' or 'co-sleeping' and very 'attachment parenting' oriented. This would be a wonderful book for an expecting or brand new mother who doesn't know what to expect concerning how her baby will sleep. But if you already have a child who has a sleep problem, you will find very little of practical use here. Dr. Fleiss promises to tell you how to get your child to sleep in a healthy way, but what he offers are very simplistic, common sense ideas that any half way intelligent parent would probably be using anyway. [ie: don't give your kid caffeine; dont feed your kid a whole bunch of junk food; don't let your kid watch TV right before bed; have your child sleep in a hygenic, insect free room; make sure your kid gets exercise; dress your child in comfortable clothes - or no clothes - for bedtime; don't give your kid drugs or alchohol to make them sleep!! etc]. For those of us already doing all these common sense things, there is nothing else suggested. Dr. Fleiss assumes that any parent who does these things will have a child who sleeps blissfully all night [or as much as is age appropriate]. This simply isn't true in many cases. He also includes some more strange things - for example, he tries to build a case that circumcision causing nightwaking. First of all, there is no research that actually supports this. Second of all, my daughter and my intact son are both horrible sleepers. [And I know lots of circumcised boys who sleep great]. Third, if you are reading this book, you have probably *already* made the decision on whether to circ or not - and if you have, there's not anything you can do to undo it. So this really isn't helpful at all. He also maintains that non-flammable polyester causes cancer and so does television. [I haven't seen any research to back these claims...while he may be right, I'm uncomfortable that this is stated as 'fact' and not 'theory'.] He also seems to go 'off the deep end' a bit in some of his other suggestions. One thing I found particularly odd was the section on co-sleeping where he suggests just explaining sex to your children [because they can handle it at any age, no matter how young] and the kids will probably just leave the room when they see mom and dad start getting 'affectionate'. Hello? Not in my house anyway.... I think I'll allow my babies and preschoolers to hold on to their innocence a bit longer, thanks. Overall, I did not find this book useful. You might have better luck with _The No Cry Sleep Solution_ by Elizabeth Pantley if you have a frequent night waker of your own. She offers concrete ideas and solutions that are completely lacking here.
Rating:
Summary: The "JACKPOT!" of every "getting your baby to sleep" book!!!
Review: I am a first time single mother of a wonderful baby girl. My daughter was one of those babies that was diagnosed as severely "colicky" and "hyper-sensitive" to stimulation, which meant she cried for no apparent reason 24 hours a day (including all night.) I tried several different Pediatricians and they all chalked it up to colic and kept telling me that she would grow out of it in a few months. I must have spent over $200 on every "get your baby to sleep" book and tape, video...etc. NOTHING WORKED!!! I must admit, I was beginning to feel like the world's worst mother.
After 12 months of feeling desperate and watching my little one always cranky, fussy, unhappy, and never sleeping more than 2 hours at the longest stretch, I was referred to Dr. Paul Fleiss (pediatrician and author of this book.) He and this simple book have literally CHANGED MY AND MY BABY'S LIFE!!! Yes, it does get technical at times, but it gives you such solid common sense information about the importance of baby's (and older children's) daily activities, stimulation, proper nutrition, and night time routine that all lead to a better night's sleep. Now, at 15 1/2 months my daughter has been a much happier baby. She is on a good daily routine that works well for her and I both. She has a rigid night routine that helps her fall asleep much better and earlier than she used to.
I also want to add that Dr. Paul Fleiss is the most caring and understanding Pediatrician I have met so far. I also like his office staff, which is rare. He is in my opinion the authority on baby care. Thanks Dr. Fleiss for changing my life!!!
For all you new parents out there who are desperate to get a good night's sleep again, PLEASE READ THIS BOOK! There is hope!!!!
Rating:
Summary: A bit too extreme in it's view
Review: I bought this book hoping to get a few new ideas on how to help my son sleep better at night without the common "let them cry" idea. This book does offer that. However i feel even as a new mom most of this book was common sense and was extreme in it's views. It advocates other ideas beyond how your child should sleep...such as not to circumcise your son, co-sleeping is best and of course you should breastfeed. I am not against co-sleeping or breastfeeding AT ALL i just felt the book only applies to certain families. It is not a terrible book, it just didn't help me. Maybe save your money and talk to your pediatrician and some other moms to see what might work for you OR check it out at the library. I certainly don't believe that any child would feel neglected by any of the advice in this book which i thought was great! My son sleeps well on his own with out the help of any of the ideas in any of the books i bought. We just gave him time to get older and gave him all the cuddles he needed.
Rating: 
Summary: Only for family sleepers
Review: I bought this book looking for a way to get my daughter to sleep through the night. She was waking up four times a night at six months, and I was going in there each time. I was exhausted. This book just said that the baby needed me and I should continue to do so. Wrong! I would be dead by now. Instead, I got another book, Sleeping Through the Night by Jody Mindell. It was an easy read and it worked. I recommend that you get this one instead, unless you are just looking for a book that will tell you that it's okay to sleep in bed with your baby.
My daughter was sleeping through the night by 8 months, thanks to the Mindell book.
Rating:
Summary: GET THIS BOOK!
Review: I cannot praise this wonderful book enough. It seems that everything I heard and read before finding this book just said "Put him in his crib while he's still awake and let him fall asleep on his own." Ya, right, like that would EVER happen! This book is just great! There are many wonderful tips on how everyone can get some sleep. I like that there is no crying involved, and that Dr. Fleiss gives advice that includes nursing and co-sleeping. I think both of these things are very important to a strong bond, and it's nice to read a book that shows this is something that can work. I am still nursing my daughter at 2 years old and I love that special time together. I have read Dr Sears books and if you love Dr Sears attachment style, you'll love this book also. Of course, if your mind is already made up about how you want
to get your baby to sleep, this book is not for you -- no book is. This book is for people who are open to new ideas. Finally some answers and some sleep!! Thanks!!
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