i got this book from grandma taylor when jill was two weeks old. i've heard and read some criticism on it, however it did me good. at 6 wks jill was sleeping 6 hours at night, no interruption. she is now sleeping between 7-9 hours every night. i took the schedule and advice from the book and adapted it to fit my mothering style. i know that there's a toddler Baby Wise for older babys if needed. if you don't want to buy the book here's the jest (?) of it for infants: eat, awake time, nap. other tips include: place child down for nap awake, don't let her fall asleep in your arms etc. mother decides when nap time is and when to be awake, not baby. there are many more ideas in the book that has helped jill get on a schedule. i can predict, within about 1/2 hour, her moods and what she needs. i credit the gift of sleep as a new mother largely to this book. its worth a try if you haven't had a good nights sleep in awhile :).
9 comments:
AMEN!!! I love the plug for this book. It also saved me 4 1/2 yrs ago. I was a woman who loved her sleep and when a baby comes your life is changed forever. It was nice to know that I could learn skills from this book that helped my babies be happier and sleep better. Because of this book, my toddlers both have healthy sleep habits. Just the other night, we put Sadee down at 8:30pm and she sang and talked and played in her crib till about 9:30pm. She never cried, just enjoyed being by herself in her bed with her stuffed animals. I LOVE BABYWISE!!!
hmmm... I will have to get it. I have 2 other books that are similar, but I stopped doing the things after I thought I had gotten Liv on a schedule... I guess we've gotta start over now since she's not sleeping through the night again. Man oh man, it's tough! Thanks for the advice!
Sounds like a good book. I have to agree that not napping in mom's arms is probably a real key to better sleeping habits (even though both mom and baby love it!)
I think it's great you all have blogs to keep up with each other's lives and babies and to give each other advice!!! (Plus it keeps me entertained too.)
Jillian is adorable. I've enjoyed watching her grow up while I've been keeping an eye on Olivia's blog. :) ~Sarah's Mom
I wish we'd had that book for Eliza. I did just about everything wrong with her, but ended up learning a TON!
I think laying the child down awake is key for a good night's sleep. From Seth on, we've done that and it's really been good for the kids. Babies need to know how to "self soothe" that way.
Some day I'd love to share my horror stories about Eliza. She NEVER slept through the night regularly until age 2 1/2.
SO, I have heard that this is better for mom than baby...I don't know. However, my son has NEVER been able to go to bed awake. I tried. And since he's been bigger, he will cry, cry, scream, and throw up. I think that these books really depend on your child. I don't have one that is condusive to suggestion. I think that means I'm in big trouble! Yikes!
I would have to agree that it depends on the baby and the mom- you gotta find what works for you and your baby... They're all so different! I bet this book could help me and Liv... but it's so much work!!!( but so worth it, right?)
Kristen, I know your pain. That was Eliza. She would scream and cry for HOURS...literally HOURS. We were living in an apartment at the time and I just knew people thought we abused her! To nap, she needed a warm body, even as a newborn. To get to sleep she needed someone HOLDING HER HAND! It was crazy. We would tiptoe as quietly as we could away from her and she'd wake up and we'd have to sit with her for another half hour. It was SO HARD.
Her personality is still such that she really needs A LOT of reassurance and encouragement, but then she finally does something new and likes it. The patterns in infancy really show their personality...
Anyway, this isn't my blog! I guess what I'm saying is that even with the book there's a good chance she would've been as stubborn as ever...;)
Both my girls were completely different, but I was able to take the skills they teach in this book and cater them to the girls individually. You have to be willing to maybe let them cry an little longer than you usually would. My mother in law was one who rocked all her babies to sleep and none of them slept throught the night till they were 2 or 3 yrs old. She had 7 kids in 9 yrs. Well, she lived with us during my babywise training and thought I was doing it wrong until she saw how well my kids slept. It is healthy for them to learn the skills of putting themselves to sleep. EVen if it means that they sometimes cry themselves to sleep. Good luck everyone!!!
I am not really a "by the book" parent, but I have heard good things about this book. I think you "win some you lose some" when it comes to kids and parenting... Morgan is (and always has been) a GREAT sleeper, but she is terribly shy and has a lot of anxiety when strangers force themselves upon her (until recently).
As far as I can tell, Kristen, Sam is NOT that way. He is soooo friendly--and Val, Eliza was always friendly too. It would've made vacationing much easier if Morgan had been willing to sit with someone else!!!
Anyway, I totally got off the subject...good luck getting your babies to sleep, and good job Jillian! Keep it up!
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