45 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Life Changing! Fantastic book., February 22, 2005
This review is from: Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child / Your Fussy Baby (Paperback)
Before we got this book, we tried several others. None gave us what we needed to deal with a very stubborn poor sleeping boy. Dr. Weissbluth gives you the information you need to have confidence implementing his methods. He treats the reader with respect, and provides useful information such as how much sleep a certain age child SHOULD be getting.
In three days our son was taking two naps a day and sleeping for twelve hours at night. I have given this book to several friends and it is now my default baby shower present.
GO FOR IT!
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26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Uses BOTH No-Cry and Self Soothing Techniques!, January 28, 2007
This review is from: Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child / Your Fussy Baby (Paperback)
I read MANY reviews before selecting a sleep book to read during my last trimester. I wasn't sure if I would be of the no-cry camp or the let-them-cry-it-out side. This book actually answered the question for me!
The author describes how a newborn, up to 4 months, should NEVER be allowed to just cry it out. They cry because they need something but they have not yet developed the ability to link a parental attention to crying and cannot play "games". The author encourages parents to do whatever you feel is needed to sooth the newborn, including rocking or nursing to sleep. After four months the author said the child can learn to "fake cry" to elicit a parental response. This is when he recommends listening for types of cries and begining to "extinguish" the crying behavior by slightly delaying your response, especially to fake cries and night whimpers.
The author is strongly in favor of ample sleep for children. He explains how much they need (it's surprising) and that parents should watch for symptoms of drowsiness and put the baby down drowsy. NOT fully awake and not crashed-out asleep. There is extensive talk about what to do with problem sleepers. All solutions involve watching for the baby/toddler to become drowsy (slowing down play, rubbing eyes) and putting them to bed then. A few minutes of fussing will probably follow, at which time you are to check on them periodicaly, but a swift drift off into sleep is always on the heels of the protest. Most all-night sleep battles are with overtired children whose bodies are producing stress hormones to keep them miserably awake. Putting to bed while drowsy (even at 6 pm in the evening) produces much happeir, more alert and more agreeable children.
He cites endless studies about how sleep makes for happier, healthier babies and how IQ has been directly linked to sleep. (Children with an IQ above 140 have been shown to get 30-40 more minutes of sleep than their peers. That's how important daytime naps and scheduled bedtimes are!)
I very much liked this book set because I felt it gave me some very good, scientific advice about how to comfort my newborn and how to change my behavior as my baby develops to ensure he has the best possible start at getting good, healthy sleep. I rated the book four stars because I realized that nearly the entire contents of the "Your Fussy Baby" book were in the middle of the Healthy Sleep Habits book and I had not needed to buy both books.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pretty good, but not all new to me, July 28, 2005
This review is from: Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child / Your Fussy Baby (Paperback)
I bought this book when my twins were 9 months old and I wanted some guidance on daytime napping, and a lot of friends had recommended Healthy Sleep Habits... I didn't mean to buy 'Your fussy Baby', since mine are too old for that- so be careful when you buy this package that you get both books. I had already read a lot of books on sleep training, and while there were some really good tips here, I found 'The Contented Little Baby Book' by Gina Ford more direct. Weissbluth allows for more discretion which I think a mother needs, and overall I think this is a very good book to be read in conjunction with other philosophies, and you can adapt what works for your style and babies. A must-read if your baby doesn't sleep very much and you think it is OK that way- it's not!
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