The 90-Minute Baby Sleep Program: Follow Your Child's Natural Sleep Rhythms for Better Nights and Naps [Spiral-bound]

Polly Moore Ph.D. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 24, 2008

For every parent who struggles with their baby's sleep (and for every parent who wishes their toddler had better sleep habits), finally a straightforward, all-natural solution to help baby get the sleep she needs—both through the night and during the day.

A sleep researcher with a Ph.D. in neuroscience, Dr. Polly Moore has created a simple, foolproof method based on the basic human rest and activity cycle (BRAC), which occurs every hour and a half. According to the BRAC, baby should go back for a nap a mere 90 minutes after waking up—that's right: 90 minutes.

The program is called N.A.P.S.—Note time when baby wakes up, Add 90 minutes, Play, feed, or pursue other activities, then, at the end of the 90 minutes, Soothe baby back to sleep. When baby wakes up again, whether after a short or a long nap, start the cycle over. And, although it sounds counterintuitive, frequent napping actually helps baby sleep through the night.

In a reassuring and accessible style, Dr. Moore explains how and why the program works; the benefits of napping—a happier, healthier baby with a headstart on cognitive development and emotional intelligence; how to implement it for babies at various ages, from two weeks to a year; and how to use it to solve common sleep programs, such as a baby's need to be held, baby waking up too early in the morning, baby getting a second wind before bedtime, baby confusing day and night, and more. The Wire-O-bound book includes a guided journal for recording baby's sleepy signals and sleep difficulties, a daily log for keeping track of baby's nap times, and space to note baby's milestones—all peppered with humorous, inspirational quotes.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Introducing a kinder, gentler, all-natural method to help your baby get the sleep he needs. Developed by Dr. Polly Moore, The 90-Minute Baby Sleep Program and its breakthrough N.A.P.S. plan work in conjunction with your baby's basic rest and activity cycle. The method is simple, foolproof, and yields long-lasting results: truly restful daytime naps and consistent nighttime sleep.

About the Author

Polly Moore received her Ph.D. in neuroscience from UCLA, where she specialized in sleep research. She continued her research at the Scripps Clinic Sleep Center, and is now Director of Sleep Research at California Clinical Trials in San Diego. She is a hands-on expert in the subject of baby sleep with two small children of her own and gives talks to new parents on the subject. She and her family live in San Diego, California.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 184 pages
• Publisher: Workman Publishing Company; 1st Printing edition (January 24, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761143114
• ISBN-13: 978-0761143116
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 0.7 x 7.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (103 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,765 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #23 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Diseases & Physical Ailments > Sleep Disorders

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Lifesaver! December 3, 2008

By Eb

Format:Spiral-bound|Amazon Verified Purchase

I can't believe how lucky I am that my mother found this book while browsing the shelves at a local bookstore. I had just become a mother for the first time and my baby was NOT happy. She was always fussing, screaming, and crying. I had no idea what I was doing. She was tired, I was tired, but I didn't know how to help her sleep except to try to put her down when she appeared ready. Then, when my daughter was about 2 months old, my mom gave me this book. I read it and decided that although it sounded crazy, Ms. Moore is a sleep expert, I am obviously not, so why not give it a shot. I figured it couldn't get much worse at that point.

THE DAY I started using the N.A.P.S. plan my baby started to sleep better. As time progressed, things got better and better. Now, 7 months later, my baby rarely cries and putting her down for a nap or for bed is generally a pleasant experience.

The plan is simple. When your baby wakes up, start the clock. After about 80 minutes, start winding baby down for a nap. At the 90 minute mark, get her to bed! Don't worry if naps are short, just start the clock over as soon as baby gets up. Ninety minutes later, back to sleep!

My baby can now go for longer stretches between naps but is still most definitely on the 90 minute cycle. So, I have just added another 90 minutes between napping periods. She gets up at 7:30 and goes for a nap at 10:30 and so on.

Be aware this is not a book about sleep training. Look elsewhere for that if you need to. However, I've found that in using the plan in this book, we didn't really need to sleep train our daughter. At 7 months she sleeps close to 12 hours at night and we are able to lay her down awake, give her a kiss, and leave the room. No crying, screaming, or fussing.

I just wish I could give the book 10 stars!!

Edit: My sweet baboo is now almost 5 years old and this is STILL the book I recommend to people who are at their wit's end with napping (especially for folks with catnappers). My 5yo went from intense baby to intense child but I credit this book with giving me help in making sure she was (and is!) well-rested.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent guide on babies' sleep patterns February 23, 2008

By Catherine Wilson

Format:Spiral-bound

I must recommend this book for any new mother. I have a 3-year-old
and a 4-month-old baby. I wish I had know about sleep cycles with my first child.

This book emphasizes the alertness/drowsiness cycles that
babies experience in the first year. For mothers of babies who fuss a
lot, this book is your answer to getting them to sleep more and
scream less. You need to recognize your baby's sleepiness signals at the end of 90 minutes and help him to sleep then. Babies are usually unpredictable and cannot follow rigid schedules. This 90-minute concept is so simple that I'm amazed no one else has written about this.

This book is also the answer to any mother's question:
"When will my baby sleep through the night?" It has a wonderful
overview of babies' sleep patterns throughout the first year and teaches
what is normal for babies at different stages due to their neurological
changes.

There are other invaluable things: the book explains fussiness at dinnertime; it describes how crankiness is usually due to your baby not sleeping enough; it provides good advice on teaching your baby how to sleep on their own (at the right age).

I loved reading this book because it confirmed my opinions on babies and sleeping, and I learned valuable advice about the 90-minute cycle too!

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The ANSWER September 7, 2009

By Bouddhableu

Format:Spiral-bound

This fantastic book is the answer to baby sleep! My baby, now 5 months old, has never been a good sleeper or napper. He was super active in the womb, and hasn't really stopped moving since he was born. He was unable to sleep unless swaddled because he would wake himself up by rubbing his face with his hands or by startling at any noise no matter how small. Of course, being an active child, the time soon came when he was rolling over and it was no longer safe to swaddle him. He sometimes wouldn't sleep for more than 5-10 minutes at a time, and the more tired he was the worse his squirming got-- a vicious cycle. I was desperate. I bought and read "Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child" by Dr. Weissbluth, "Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems" by Dr. Ferber, "The No Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley, as well as reading the sleep sections of "What to Expect the First Year" and the AAP's "Baby's First Year." None of these books helped me help my baby get sleep.

Weissbluth's approach boils down to "wait until 5-6 months and then let them scream" and I found the book very scattered and hard to follow. Ferber is the controlled crying advocate, gentler than Weissbluth, but still usually involves crying. His book is great if you want a good knowledge of sleep, but doesn't tell you how to get your baby to nap or sleep at night. Pantley's book is great in theory, but none of her tips worked for my baby. As I was reading reviews for these books, I came across one that recommended this book by Polly Moore, PhD. I looked at it and her website and decided to buy it and try it. And after one month of using the N.A.P.S plan, I can tell you that it WORKS! My baby is now consistently napping during the day, going to sleep easily at night, sleeping long stretches at night, (two 6 hour stretches; before he was waking up every 1-2 hours and it took a long time to get him to sleep again each time) and is FINALLY getting the recommended number of hours of sleep. He is so much happier, and so am I. And as far as the dreaded cry-it-out, Polly Moore has the most reasonable approach, recommending that parents use their instincts to do what is right for their baby, which may mean letting them cry or not, since no two babies are alike. This book was such a lifesaver for me. I was sick with worry before this and now I can finally relax and start really enjoying my baby, knowing that one of his most important needs-- sleep-- is finally being met.