Sweet Baby : How To Soothe Your Newborn (Hardcover)

by Marc Weissbluth (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This book explains why babies become fussy. It teaches parents how to soothe their babies to reduce fussiness so that fussy babies do not become crying babies. Parents learn how to help their baby sleep better; thus, creating a firm foundation for life long healthy sleep habits.

From the Publisher
Marc Weissbluth, M.D. is one of the nation's leading researchers on sleeping in infants and children. He discovered that a baby's sleep pattern and temperament are closely related to each other and this led to research on how sleep modulates the behavior, mood, and performance of our children at different ages. His CD, Sweet Baby Lullabies To Soothe Your Newborn is designed to help babies calm down to sleep and appears to have a soothing effect even before the baby is born! Dr. Weissbluth's previous book, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, has been completely revised and updated and will be published in April 1999.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 178 pages
• Publisher: Northwestern Childrens Practice (September 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966614011
• ISBN-13: 978-0966614015
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,095,763 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Intellectual Approach to Infancy, September 7, 2000

By	Clare K. Rothschild (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews

If you own "Sweet Baby" you need no other book, guide, or-as some refer to the "What to Expect" series-"bible" to caring for your newborn.

In "Sweet Baby" you possess the history of scientific research on infant fussiness in a relatively well-organized and accessible short book. From the first book in the English language on pediatrics, "The Book of Chyldren," to contemporary studies completed at the world's top universities, Weissbluth, in the comprehensive style of the best academics, bases his conclusions on broad knowledge of the topic.

What are his conclusions? I hate to give them away. In some sense his book reads like a mystery only Hercules Poirot can solve (and Dr. Weissbluth himself, refer to the photograph on the back jacket, is every bit as refined and debonair as this fine, Belgian detective). First, Weissbluth debunks the myths (11) about why babies fuss (e.g. gas, brand of formula, breast milk, drugs during labor, birth order of infant, constipation, family tension, etc.). Next he focuses on the methodological difficulties of determining degrees, rates, and instances of infant fussiness (e.g., Would a researcher ever actually spend evening hours with her/his case studies? Just as results peak, they begin to ebb, etc.). Then, Weissbluth informs us about what about infant fussiness actually can be scientifically proven (e.g., average amount of crying for normal, non-colicky babies is three hours per day; extreme fussiness usually last for three to four months; research on melatonin and seratonin levels in the brain of a newborn probably relevant to our understanding of infant fussiness and infant sleep; gestation of homo sapiens adapted from twelve months to nine months when humans began to walk on two legs, therefore first three months of infant's life actually complete gestational development which once took place in the womb, and others.). Finally, Weissbluth offers, on the basis of these firm conclusions, how parents and caretakers can effectively approach the problem of infant fussiness. He offers care, on the analogy of a teenager in adolescence, over cure.

Indeed, Weissbluth's what-to-do pages are the most bland. They are not different from most other books, tapes, and places of advice to which one can go for information on infants. Rhythmic rocking, serious hugs, baby massage, sucking and so on, all, as most mothers know, usually work. Crib vibrators, hot water bottles, herbs, lamb's wool, nipple shapes, and diets for nursing mothers, all, as most mothers know, usually do not, or rather, as Weissbluth cleverly heeds, "Everything works for a while."

"Sweet Baby" is, however, not for some. Perhaps the second half of the title "How To Soothe Your Newborn" is not accurate. "Sweet Baby" is an intellectual's approach to the problem of infant fussiness. As stated above it offers very little that is new in terms of ideas for soothing your child. Indeed that is Weissbluth's point!

So if you are looking for a self-help book in the style of those which proliferated on our bookshelves in the 1980's offering quick fixes, glib responses, and easy solutions, this book is not for you. If, on the other hand, you solve problems by understanding them better, this book is for you.

For my part, I was enormously relieved to find "Sweet Baby." Having read it I was armed for a Weissbluth-approach to our second child. Unfortunately, he never cries.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Soothing for fussy babies and their parents, July 3, 2000

By A Customer

As a parent of two formerly colicky babies, now four years and four months old, respectively, I found this book to be deeply comforting and affirming of my experience. Most people who have a colicky infant will hear tons of (often unsolicited) advice, most of it unhelpful, some of it outright insulting. Dr. Weissbluth explains that extreme fussiness is a developmental stage that will, indeed, come to an end. That in itself is something every parent of a colicky infant needs to understand in those first trying and exhusting weeks. There are no magical cures, there is simply patience and understanding, and Dr. Weissbluth certainly gave us the prescription for these traits in this book. There is also very helpful advice about how to help your post-colicky baby emerge from extreme fussiness. I would recommend this book to any parent who is going through the torment of colick.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Little Bit of Sanity for Sleepless Parents, April 2, 2003

By A Customer

As a first time mom, I was in for a rude awakening when my baby began, at two weeks old, to have long, loud screaming bouts that lasted for hours, and absolutely would not sleep for more than 10 hours (sometimes less!) in a 24-hour period. My pediatrician informed my husband and me that our child had colic, and that there was no known "cure", that it would simply go away on its own when the baby was 3 or 4 months old. Not really knowing anything about colic, I did a little research on the internet, and came up with this book. "Sweet Baby" does not profess to have all the answers as to what causes colic, nor does it offer much of a solution beyond the usual (pacifiers,rocking, etc....). What it does offer is a background on the history of research and beliefs about colic, what current research and theories say about colic,parent testamonials and stories about their experiences with colic, and colic myths debunked. This book takes an academic stance toward trying to explain colicky babies. I was grateful to have been able to read this book, because it gave me more of an understanding of what colic is all about. After reading it, I felt more sympathetic towards my child, rather than bewildered and frustrated. I also felt like I wasn't alone in my experiences, because I was able to read about and relate to every single one of the parent's stories featured in this book. It made me feel like there was someone out there who understood what I was going through with my child. So many people (whose chldren have never had colic and who do not themselves have a medical degree) have given me so-called "advice" on what to do for my child to "cure" the colic, all of it very tiresome and insulting, because it implies (oh-so-subtley) that it is the parent's fault that the child has colic. This book emphasizes that IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT!!!!! Thank you Dr. Weissbluth for writing this book and thank you Amazon for making it available for parents like me!