The Sleepeasy Solution: The Exhausted Parent's Guide to Getting Your Child to Sleep from Birth to Age 5 (Paperback)

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Key Phrases: crib sleepers, third nap, wake windows, Mommy Bear, Sleep Planner, The Sleepeasy Solution (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Two experts who are helping Hollywood's A-list babies get their zzz's share the no-fail, family-friendly method that has helped thousands of sleep-deprived moms and dads.

Even Hollywood's biggest stars face the same dilemma as other parents do: "How do I get my child to sleep?" As parents in the know are finding, whether they're on the red carpet or the soccer field, the answer is the same: The Sleepeasy Solution.

Psychotherapists and sleep specialists Jennifer and Jill, the dynamic "girlfriends" all of Hollywood calls on to solve Junior's sleep problems, have perfected their sleep technique that will get any child snoozing in no time—most often in fewer than three nights. The key to their method? It addresses the emotional needs of both the parent and child (yes, how to handle the crying!)—a critical component of why most other sleep methods fail.

In this much-needed, family-friendly guide, weary parents will learn to define their own individual sleep goals, those that work for their family's schedule and style. They'll create a customized "sleep planner" to ensure consistency with both parents as well as extended caregivers. (As an added bonus, they'll even improve the readers' relationships with their spouses with the "marriage-saver" section.) With comprehensive sections devoted to each stage of Baby's and Toddler's development, plus solutions to special circumstances like traveling, daylight saving's time, moving to a "big kid bed" and multiples, The Sleepeasy Solution is a dream come true!

"This approach was truly amazing in helping our family to thrive. . . . We are eternally grateful!"
—Ben Stiller and wife, Christine Taylor, actors

"With their gentle approach, Sleepeasy gave us the tools we needed to solve our daughter's sleep problems."
—Conan O'Brien, host of NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien

"Sleepeasy gave us all the tools we needed to get our baby sleeping through the night. Now when we say good night to our daughter, we know it really will be a good night."
—Greg Kinnear, actor

 

About the Author

Jennifer Waldburger, LCSW, is a trained psychotherapist and partner of Sleepy Planet, the preeminent parenting/sleep company in LA. She is a former writer and editor for Town & Country, Redbook, Good Housekeeping and Harper's Bazaar.

Jill Spivack, LMSW, is a psychotherapist who worked as a pediatric sleep consultant who co-founded Sleepy Planet, Inc., in 1999. The two offer private sleep consultations for celebrity clients and others, standing-room only workshops and regular keynotes at Baby Expos with audiences of over 300. They have appeared on the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather, Inside Edition (feature piece) as well as in The Wall Street Journal and Fit Pregnancy.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: HCI (April 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0757305601
• ISBN-13: 978-0757305603
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (150 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #10,390 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #14 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Personal Health > Children's Health > Sleep
  #78 in	Books > Parenting & Families > Parenting > Babies & Toddlers > Child Development

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely amazing!, May 2, 2007

By	Mairin Looney "New mom" (California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

My 9-month-old daughter had never slept more than 4 hours at a time before we read this book. She would wake up several times a night, sometimes every hour! We tried other methods, but they didn't work. Finally, we decided to try a new method, and after pouring over every book in the parenting section of the bookstore, I decided that this one seemed like the one for me. I liked how the authors were very sensitive to parents who, like myself, were resistant to letting babies cry. We were prepared for the worst, and figured that we would have a terrible week ahead of us, maybe longer. The first night, she fell asleep after 30 minutes and only woke up once during the night. The second night, it took her 17 minutes and she never woke up. Last night (the third night), she fell asleep after 7 minutes and slept for 12 hours straight! We were amazed, and refreshed, since we'd gotten the first full-night of sleep that we've had in 9 months! It also works wonders for naps. We are now like a new family, with a happy, rested baby, and parents who are not exhausted all of the time. By the way, I have never written a review of anything before, so for me to be writing this is a REALLY big deal! Try this if you are a desperate parent, it really does work, and FAST! If it works for our baby, it will work for yours.

*** Note: After posting my review, I noticed that several new reviewers refer to this method as "lazy parenting", and seem to be of the opinion that this method is the worst thing for your baby. This may be true for them, but I just have to respond by saying that my baby is much happier now that we have been doing this method for a week- when I put her down at night, she is smiling, and does not cry at all, but just rolls over and goes to sleep for 12 hours. Before, when she was waking every few hours, she was cranky most of the time. Since she would go through 3-4 bottles a night (which, at 9 months, she definitely did not need!), she would not eat for most of the morning, and her naps were a nightmare! As a result, we had a baby who was overtired and not eating well during the day (and, as a result, getting most of her nutrition from formula instead of food, which she needs at this age). Now, she wakes up cheerful and well-rested (and, I might add, always happy to see us, even though we'd "abandoned" her), eats solid meals during the day, naps regularly, and is much more adjusted. My husband and I also have more energy to spend with her when we get home from work, since we're no longer only getting 4 hours of sleep, which I think is also a huge benefit for her. I was always against the "cry-it-out" method as well, but this really isn't about that, and it gets results very quickly. By the way, I have read Dr. Sears, and tried "The No-Cry Sleep Solution", and neither of them did any good. This will work very well for some people, but not for others, and I think that's OK.

37 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Didn't work for us, December 12, 2007

By	Dr. Tara (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

The ideas in this book sound good on paper and I watched when the authors were on the Today Show and they make it seem so simple. However, when I put the methods into action I thought they were horrible. The first night my 6 month old son screamed for 1 hour and 45 minutes before he finally fell asleep (from pure exhaustion I'm sure). I was so happy to hear the silence and felt horrible that he had to cry for so long. But almost as soon as he had been asleep for exactly 1 hour, he awoke and started crying again. We let him cry for about 30 minutes until my husband put his foot down and said that this was clearly not the method for us. There are several loop-holes in the so called failproof method. For example, my son often wets himself during the night and according to this book, I am not allowed to touch him at all. So I have no way of knowing if he is soiled or not and I don't think it is appropriate to leave him in wet clothes until morning. Also, after this incident, my son would scream anytime I laid him in his crib even if only to play (which he was doing before). Now he almost seems traumatized. There are many other issues that I disagree with but the bottom line is that I do not reccommend this book or these methods. If you can leave your baby in a room and let him scream for hours and hours then by all means go for it. To me, it doesn't seem like responsible parenting. Beleive me, I was an exhausted parent but there are more gentle and less damaging ways to get your child to sleep. Elizabeth Pantley suggests several good methods and ideas. My son now sleeps through the night (with no crying) for 10-11 hours.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow, a miracle, November 8, 2007

By	Critter (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This book helped us so much that I feel compelled to write my first review. The most impressive thing to me is that when I emailed the author (at [...]) with a question about a recommendation in the book, she emailed me a complete and personal response within 24 hours! My husband is so thrilled that he said we should send the authors an extra $10!

For months I had asked our doctor, researched on the internet and read several other books to help my 8 1/2 month old son give up night feedings AND sleep through the night. I very strongly didn't want my child to cry for hours or go hungry. However, I also didn't want him to form long term habits that would be hard to break later, as I had already observed his sleep habits getting worse as he learned to sit, crawl, stand and etc in the crib. Although I very much wanted the "No Cry Sleep Solution" to work for me, the techniques in that book just made my child significantly worse every night. Rest assured, that even with this book, I NEVER had to let my child cry much. On the only bad night we had, he cried for about 20 minutes off and on.

This book is well organized and well written. You can read the essential sections to get started very quickly. I was very wary about waking a sleeping baby one hour before his "usual" wake up time in order to wean night feedings. But, I made a commitment to try their approach, so I did it exactly as prescribed in the book. Wow, within three nights he gave up BOTH night feedings without going hungry or crying or waking for a pacifier. Within the next two nights he started sleeping for around 11 hours. We only had one night that was somewhat difficult, which I attribute somewhat to the daylight savings time change on the first night of no night feedings.