How to Get Your Baby to Sleep : America's Foremost Baby and Childcare Experts Answer the Most Frequently Asked Questions [Mass Market Paperback]

William Sears (Author), Martha Sears (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2001

How you and your child can both get the sleep you need. Dr. Bill and Martha Sears, the doctor and nurse husband and wife team who are today widely recognized as America's leading authorities on childcare, have spent decades answering parents' questions about nurturing newborns. In this book they share their expertise on: developing a nighttime routine, creating a safe sleep environment for your child, how to dress your baby for sleep, what to look for when you're choosing a crib or infant bed, how to avoid SIDS, helping your child unwind at bedtime, the benefits of sleep-sharing, choosing bedtime music for your baby, determining how much sleep your child needs, coping with a light sleeper or an early riser, nighttime feeding-what to avoid, tips for getting your toddler to stay in bed, and much more.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1 edition (August 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316776203
• ISBN-13: 978-0316776202
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.5 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,887,515 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Only a mini-book, June 22, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: How to Get Your Baby to Sleep : America's Foremost Baby and Childcare Experts Answer the Most Frequently Asked Questions (Mass Market Paperback)

I am a huge fan of Dr Sears and practice attachment parenting and so purchsed this to help with our sleep issues. Sadly, this is a very tiny book that contains the Q & As from his website and other books. Nothing new and no answers. We ALREADY co-sleep, we ALREADY use a sling. We ALREADY respond to our baby's every cry. BUT we are STILL getting up with her every 2 hours and she's a year old. We NEED some sleep. I found a different book that Dr Sears wrote the introduction to called The No-Cry Sleep Solution and it actually has the answers. At 250 pages it has got tons of practical ideas that really are helping my baby to sleep better. I knew Dr Sears would lead me to the answers, but he didn't do it with this mini-book.

44 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You don't sleep alone, why should your baby?, October 17, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: How to Get Your Baby to Sleep : America's Foremost Baby and Childcare Experts Answer the Most Frequently Asked Questions (Mass Market Paperback)

The other reviewer stated that this is a terrible book. In all of her vast experience as a new parent she knows that "sleep sharing" is bad. Well I have almost 16 years experience raising and sharing sleep with 5 children and I am here to say that sleep sharing is VERY good and anything Dr. Sears writes is wonderful. Why do so many adults insist that vulnerable young babies sleep alone when they are not willing to do the same? I wonder how the reviewer would feel if her husband told her that he was going to "train" her to sleep alone. That would be considered incredibly cold, selfish, and uncaring of him. I respectfully submit that any adult that "trains" a baby in that manner is all of those things. Babies are not meant to sleep alone. You carried them inside you for nine months so you should keep them close for at least that long once they're born. They NEED their mommies and daddies to be there in the night to show them that you love them and will always protect them and meet their needs. Sleep-sharing does not create clingy, selfish, brats. It creates loving, caring, generous, independent, wonderful children. My first two babies slept in a crib most of the time at first (because we thought they were "supposed" to) and it was horrible: every night waking up to a screaming, hungry baby and every morning to a tired mommy. Eventually, as they got older, they spent more time in bed with us and we discovered it was wonderful to share that special closeness with them. I worked when my first was little and co-sleeping helped us stay close. My last three babies have never slept in a crib (we don't own one now) and no babies that I have in the future ever will. Co-sleeping is SO wonderful. The baby NEVER, EVER cries at night bacause mommy is right there to nurse them the instant they make a sound. Mom NEVER, EVER has a sleepless night because she doesn't have to fully wake up to feed the baby. Once you get the baby latched on you can go back to sleep. It is so much safer to have baby with you and it builds such an incredible bond. As a bonus it helps to stave off your periods and ovulation for months and months---God's built-in baby spacing mechanism. (And the fewer periods you have the healthier you are.) And there is nothing more wonderful than waking up next to a HAPPY, sweet baby every morning. My babies sleep with us until they are two or three (Around the time I have another one!) Then they move into their own bed or a sibling's bed, whichever they want. Some want to be alone and some want more cuddling for a while. My oldest boy, now 8, moved into his own bed, though once in a while he wants to sleep with us, which is ok--I just move him out when I go to bed. My 3 year old sleeps with his 15 or 12 year old sisters every night. They read him stories, scratch his back, and whisper in the dark. It is such a wonderful experience and they are so close. The girls LOVE having him with them (They actually fight over who gets him!) and he just loves them so much. How many teenagers do you know who adore their little brother that much and actually WANT him around? It's the precious time spent together that builds bonds, whether between siblings or child and parent. Sleep sharing helps strengthen those bonds, especially in this busy and hectic age. Doctor Sears Is an expert on this issue, both as a doctor and a parent of eight children. He knows his stuff. His "Baby Book" is the best baby book ever written and this book is an in-depth look at why sleep sharing is so great and why you don't have to (and shouldn't) torture your child (a la Ferber or Babywise, etc) to get a good night's sleep. There IS a better way. It's called "The Family Bed". Try it, you might LOVE it.

92 of 110 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sleep sharing is convenient and promotes independence, November 14, 2001

By 

Duana C. Welch - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Get Your Baby to Sleep : America's Foremost Baby and Childcare Experts Answer the Most Frequently Asked Questions (Mass Market Paperback)

Did you know that 85% of the world's families practice co-sleeping with their children? And that until quite recently, the family bed was used almost exclusively everywhere in the world? That's because there are great benefits for parents and babies who share a bed--read on!

I am a professor and developmental psychologist. I am also a mother. My husband and I very happily practice sleep sharing with our baby. What Dr. Sears says about bed sharing is in line with healthy development for babies and parents. Babies shouldn't want to be alone--that's a poor survival strategy for them; they should cry when left defenseless. They are supposed to need to bond with the people who ensure their very survival, and they communicate that need by crying. Likewise, parents want to bond with their kids; in fact, those relatively few children who cannot bond appropriately are diagnosed as autistic, and their parents are devastated by the lack of connection with their child.

So, it's actually a blessing that our infants need us so much. The problem arises when our society tells us that sleep sharing gets in the way of two primary cultural values: independence and convenience. For fear of encouraging dependence and inconveniencing parents, babies just hours old are expected to sleep on their own in America.

Here's the irony: YOUR CHILD WILL ACTUALLY DEVELOP GREATER INDEPENDENCE and YOU WILL HAVE AN EASIER, MORE CONVENIENT LIFE if you DO bedshare with your baby. Here's why.

First of all, research shows that kids who are strongly attached to their parents actually behave more independently as toddlers than kids who aren't as strongly attached. These attached children do more independent exploration and are happier with a variety of people, and when alone, than less securely-attached infants. From personal experience and from scientific background, the family bed is one route to secure attachment and to the value of independence--the independence comes later, though, not when the child is a baby. The family bed promotes a happy, safe, emotionally and physically healthy child with great self-esteem. This is a child who knows at a core, unshakable level that he or she is loved beyond measure.

Second--and here's the fun part for Mom and Dad--the family bed is much more convenient than a crib. Much! Mom need not be exhausted all day, because she hasn't gotten up at night; she simply helps the baby latch on when the baby begins to move a little (signaling feeding time), and then they can both go back to sleep. Dad doesn't even have to awaken at all. And the baby NEVER, EVER CRIES AT NIGHT. How wonderful! (We just took a mountain vacation, and the people in the room next to ours didn't even know a baby was in the cabin.)

Bedsharing is also safer than cribs; SIDS is significantly higher per capita among children in cribs, for instance. The family bed allows the parents to relax, because they can hear the baby breathing. Parents who bedshare know that if their child were to cry at night, it would be a sign of illness or pain, because bedsharing babies' other needs are addressed before they reach the crying stage. And travel is a breeze: no need to lug or rent or buy a portable crib, etc. The financial savings are also significant, as a crib, bumper pads, mattress, and other infant-sized bedding are all replaced by your existing bed and some waterproof crib pads.

What about sex? This is often a concern of bedsharing parents. Parents creatively solve this issue. First, there are other rooms in the house that couples may use for intimacy--perhaps by being intimate elsewhere after your baby is safely asleep, or by placing a large bed in what would have been the baby's room --which you can now use for yourselves, and as a place for guests. Again, the family bed is more convenient than a crib. Second, well-rested parents are more interested in sex than parents who got exhausted by running back and forth to a crib all night. Bed-sharing spouses have energy for each other!

(Of course, there are parents who use cribs but don't get up at night. Some parents do ignore their hungry child at night, or "let him cry it out." That practice is so unkind and utterly harmful to children's lifelong sense of trust. The practice is also short-sighted, since this is the child who will one day take care of the parents' needs--or refuse to do so. It is a mistake to assume that what babies learn from us in infancy is forgotten. Babies do forget the particulars, but the overall experience that the world is or is not trustworthy makes a lasting impression. I am presuming, though, that the readers here are genuinely responsive to and interested in meeting their baby's needs.)

Finally, bedsharing is just plain fun. Personally, there is no greater joy for me than awakening refreshed and ready to play with my baby, and seeing her smile adoringly at me the moment her eyes open. Then her daddy gives her the first diaper change of the day, talking and laughing with her all the time. And when she throws her little arms around me as she latches on and drifts off to sleep at night--that's an indescribable feeling.

The years that your child will need you so much are so brief. Before you know it, your baby will be in junior high school and embarrassed even to acknowledge your existence in public! Please enjoy all the years, but especially enjoy this special intimacy you have an opportunity for with the family bed. I know you'll be so happy you did.