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

Jennifer Waldburger (Author), Jill Spivack (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 1, 2007

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

 

Editorial Reviews

Review

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

--This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

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.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 308 pages
• Publisher: HCI (April 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0757305601
• ISBN-13: 978-0757305603
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (339 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,157 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #11 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Diseases & Physical Ailments > Sleep Disorders

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

177 of 188 people found the following review helpful

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

By Mairin Looney

Format:Paperback

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.

47 of 51 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars It's a miracle - Updated May 23, 2009

By Mom from CT

Format:Paperback

I have literally read what seems to be every "baby sleep" book on the market. I was at my wits end as to how to get my 7 month old (20 lbs) baby to sleep through the night. I knew she could do it, but I didn't know how to do it.

We tried to let her cry it out, since it seemed like everyone I talked to had done it. But after a few days and hours of crying, I knew it wasn't working. And it was hard on everyone. Then came this book. After I read it I knew it was for us.

Our 7 month old woke up 2x per night for 8-9oz of milk each feeding. She never woke up for 1-2oz or just to be cuddled. She ate 1/2 of her daily milk intake between the hours of 9pm and 7am. So, I felt like CIO was starving her. This book helps you to wean your baby off of their feedings. We started with the weaning on the first night, decreasing her normal bottle size by 1 oz. One night she cried (whimpered) for 45 minutes. Then went back to sleep. Another night (the night that the 2nd feeding was dropped to 0 oz), she whined off and on for 3 hours. That was the only hard night that we had, thankfully. She wasn't hungry, but was so used to waking up for food that I think she got mad that things were changing. Each night we decreased her food by 1 oz per bottle. And during the day she miraculously ate a little bit more each day. I couldn't believe it. We tried to "pump her full of food" during the day before, but she wouldn't eat!

Now, 1 week later, we are all sleeping peacefully. For the past 3 nights, she has slept 12 hours without waking up once. She eats ALL of her needed milk during the day. Even writing this, I can't believe that it actually worked. She wakes up happy, eats well, and we are all better rested. I'm so glad that I chose this method.

Now, onto my suggestions and changes to the book:

--It tells you to work on the naps at the same time as the night sleep. That didn't work for us. She was still needed longer naps and the book's schedule didn't work until she was actually sleeping 12 hours at night. Now we are working on a flexible nap schedule.

--Our baby could already put herself to sleep before we started this program. We don't need to rock her or give her a bottle. We put her in the crib with a pacifier, and she lulls herself to sleep. We taught her to do this months ago. If your baby cannot do that, I would suggest teaching them that first (using the method of your choice) and then working on weaning them off of milk. I think it might be too hard to do it at the same time.

--Make sure and track how much your baby is eating during your current routine. Then, continue to track it during this program. The program suggests this, but I found it most important during the final stages of the weaning because I had to make sure she was getting enough milk during the day.

If your baby takes full meals during the night, TRY THIS BOOK! It was the only book that I read that addressed the issue of full meals at night and I'm grateful to the author's! Also - no matter which method you choose, do what you feel is best for your baby. I started thinking that 'whatever the books says, I have to do'. All babies are different and what works for some, might not for others. Change the program to fit your baby. Good luck!

***Update 7/2010 -- Over a year after I wrote this initial review, I still stand by it. We reverted back to night feeding a couple of times, but restarted the process from the book and went right back to sleeping well. She has been a sick baby and sometimes milk in the middle of the night was all she needed to soothe her. After she was better, if she still woke for milk, we weaned her off it. There was no crying this time - it was just a matter of shifting her milk intake to the daytime. Now at 21 months, she hasn't eaten in the middle of the night in a long, long time. I don't know when that would have stopped had we not used this book!

36 of 40 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars cry-it-out in disguise February 10, 2013

By lizzypoo

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

If you are uncomfortable with cio methods, skip this book. It might seem obvious, but I was duped. I was so exhausted, I let the empathetic tone of the book - along with other reviews - convince me that this method is somehow gentler. If it is, it's only marginally. He (my 14 month old son) still screamed himself to sleep. My opening the door and telling him I loved him really only made him more upset. And the book says if that happens, don't go in. So it ended up being the same as full extinction, basically. After five nights, I was a nervous wreck, my son was still waking consistently between 3 and 5, and was terrified of his crib/bedtime (which had not been the case before). I even emailed the authors, because I had read a review that said they responded and were helpful. I got an automatic form email back which basically said if I needed help, I had to pay hundreds of dollars for a consultation. After putting him down on the sixth night, and listening to him cry for 20 minutes, I couldn't take it any more. I told my pro-cio husband I was done with this stupid book, and nursed my son to sleep. I will never do that again. Just remembering it makes me feel horrible. I suppose the good thing about this book - the only good thing - is it made me unwaveringly confident that I'm doing the right thing by parenting my child gently, day AND night. I have no doubt it works for some people, but it was most definitely not for me. I wanted to warn any like-minded parents not to be fooled by the warm tone of this book. Trust your gut.