Ahhh, finally sleeping.
Credit: Jamey Hatter | ©Jamey Hatter
Sleep Troubles? Dr. Weissbluth Can Help
My son is six months old, and I can honestly say that six months ago I never thought about the sleep habits of babies. Everyone says "all babies do is eat and sleep", which was true for about the first two weeks. He spent the next two weeks much more awake, but I didn't see the impending problem. Everyone who met my son commented on how "alert" he was. I remember a phone call to my mom when he was a month old where I was bragging about how he'd stay awake and just look around. I saw this as a clear sign of genius.... Then one day my son woke up and decided to never go back to sleep. (This is only a slight exaggeration.) We'd spend more time putting him to sleep than he would stay asleep, and putting him down was not an option. We still have sleep issues, but now I'm much more aware of the facts of baby-sleep, what I can to do help him sleep, when I'm doing something unhelpful, and where to turn when I'm stumped.I have read many, many sleep books from some of the big-names of parenting advice from Ferber to Sears and all those in between. During my readings I have come to the conclusion that no one book or style is going to address every question and situation and should not be applied point-blank to every child. Almost every book has at least some great ideas that could be used to improve a sleepless situation. One of the best resources in my ever-growing sleep library is, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Dr. Marc Weissbluth.
The format of "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" is similar to many other sleep books. The first section explains the "anatomy" so to speak of the way a child sleeps. Part two discusses the role of the parent and how you're responsible for directing your child's sleep and how you can do that to the best advantage. The final section discusses special circumstances that come up from time to time.
Comments
I love the picture that you used. I was told to let my baby cry back in the old days, lol. After that I never had the heart to let my baby cry themselves to sleep especially when they are tiny.
I agree that this is not what I would consider the best choice for helping your child to sleep, and I'm familiar with the study that you're referring to. Personally, we don't let our son cry himself to sleep, but I do know that many of parents, and people that I would call "good" parents do subscribe to this theory and have raised great kids.
Harvard scholars have proven that prolonged crying has an effect on the brain of an infant. Crying it out is an unnecessary and insensitive way to teach your baby how to fall asleep, and it's also ineffective; many babies, rather than learning to go to sleep, learn to simply lie awake quietly--or they continue crying, while their parents learn to shut it out. Sometimes babies do have to cry, and sometimes there's nothing you can do...but letting them cry themselves to sleep every night isn't right.
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