[.ca] American Academy of Pediatrics Guide to Your Child's ... (ISBN 0679769811)

Well rested new mom:
Although this book got poor reviews based on its poor organization, the tips in it have worked wonderfully for my baby. I followed its recommendations for a 6 - 8 week old baby and after a few days, my daughter responded very well. She began sleeping all night (11 hours) when she was 10 weeks old and I believe it is because when she awakes during the night (as all babies do), she is able to soothe herself back to sleep. Follow this method for all naps and nighttime and you should see success! The crying is minimal compared to other methods, and my little girl never cried more than six minutes without my comforting her. Give it a try.

Somewhat helpful, but mostly biased and rigid!:
I as well did not find this book very helpful.I am not a mother, but my sister and her family live with us.My sister practices and has practiced co-sleeping with all 5 of her children and they are not whiny, sniveling brats as this book and others against co-sleeping suggest! They are happy, well adjusted children who are confident and secure. And also, to think that the AAP would scare poor first time parents into believing that they could accidentally suffocate their own children is appaling to me! There has never been any scientific proof thus far that this happens, unless the parent is drunk or otherwise impared.My sister has 5 living breathing human beings to attest that this rarely happens.I wish sleep books would give parents this option without presenting it in such a negative fashion.The parents have the right to do what they feel is best for their children without being made to feel guilty for doing it!

Pretty Basic:
I bought this book on the advice of my pediatrician to help my newborn sleep through the night. While it was no miracle-worker, it did give me some basics such as a nightime routine to follow, and what I could actually expect my child to do at his age. I recommend it to someone who has no good "sleep" resource, but for seasoned moms, it is probably not any help.

Just an outline of the options...:
Because this book was edited by the AAP, I expected a detailed and methodical perscription for getting my baby to sleep. Instead, the book is really an expanded pamphlet that describes the different sleep options out there with a clear bias against co-sleeping. Frankly, I wasn't interested in co-sleeping with my baby either, but I found their "con" (from the "pro/con" section) to be laughable--that co-sleeping is dangerous because you could smother the baby accidentally. Lots of other books out there. Don't buy this one.

Difficult to read:
I cannot honestly say whether or not this book would have helped us because I couldn't get myself to read it. It is not organized in a reader-friendly way and it is difficult to get help quick. When you're sleep-deprived, the last thing you need is to slog through a difficult book. I recommend instead "Sleep: how to teach your child to sleep like a baby" from Child magazine.