There are so many baby reference books out there, it’s hard to pick which ones to read. And with a newborn, who has time to browse through all the books out there? A lot of it has to do with your parenting style. My personal favorite is “The Baby Book” by William Sears, MD, and Martha Sears, RN. I found that their philosophy matched mine, and it has become my Bible.
With my first born, I had a very difficult time getting her to sleep in her crib. She would cry the moment she was placed in it. It didn’t matter how long I let her cry it out (which was so painful for me to bear), she would only scream and cry louder. I tried all the tricks, such as making the bed warm, or adding an article of my clothing to make her more comfortable. Nothing worked, and NO ONE got any sleep. Then I stumbled on this book.
I like how the Sears authors approve of co-sleeping. Their argument is, “Why should the entire family be sleep-deprived, when you can all sleep soundly in one bed and wake up refreshed?” So true! Of course, they also recognize that each baby is different and that each baby has different needs. One might love to sleep in his own crib because they are sensitive to the movement and sounds of others, while another baby might feel secure being near her parents. Either way, this book doesn’t condemn any method. The authors just make you feel comfortable in the choices you make as parents. (Note: I’ve heard the disadvantages of co-sleeping, and that my daughter will never sleep in her own bed ever. I’m happy to say that was never a problem. She slept in her own bed when she was about a year old, and she still sleeps in her own bed.)
What baby books do you use? We’d love to hear what you recommend.
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Jamee I am so glad to hear that your daughter sleeps in her own bed….My mom was not so lucky with that method, she got stuck with us in her bed for a VERY long time, something I will not repeat with my kids, even if it means calling in Super Nanny to show me the way! LOL!!!
Kristin, how long is a long time? I have friends who have kids still sleeping with them. Actually, they aren’t sleeping with the parents…in an effort to get them to sleep in their own beds, mom tries to get their daughter to sleep in her own room, and the same with dad with their son, But, it ends up that dad sleeps with their son in the son’s room, and mom ends up falling asleep with their daughter in the daughter’s room. No one is happy!
I absolutely loved “The Baby Book” by Dr. William Sears and Martha Sears also! He has an entire series of books that are a great resource, along with a website.
If you are having trouble getting your child to sleep, I also got some good ideas from the book, “The No-Cry Sleep Solution – Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night”, by Elizabeth Pantley.
Of course, so much of parenting becomes a trial and error process as we all become experts at our unique children!
Jamee,
We had the same problem with our daughter. She was a “high” need child and since I nursed her for a long time and worked full time I choose to co-sleep with her. We brought her into our bed and let her stay until she was a year old.
At first we did have a hard time getting her to sleep in her own room and own bed, but it only lasted a couple of weeks. I would not do it any differently.
She is now 27 months and she sleeps through the night. She has a great schedule (sleeps from 7:30pm-7:30am or even 8:00am sometimes). We never had to leave the light on or play music. She still loves to cuddle with us in our bad on Weekend mornings. She also can fall a sleep anywhere when she is tired which allows us to not worry if we are out and about.
We also used the “Baby Book” and it became my “bible” for the first year of her life. I would also recommand the “Baby sleep book” by the Sears & Mckenna.