Silent Nights: Overcoming Sleep Problems in Babies and ... (ISBN 0195517865)

Infants should NOT be sleeping throught the night!:
a 9 week old sleeping through the night? Not likely. They have small stomachs and still need to eat frequently. I read a book that said that even 9 month olds still need to sometimes eat in the nighttime. Why is our society so eager to push independence in infants? They are only babies for a short while. Why do we want to rush that? Babies will sleep when they are ready to sleep. The only "Sleep problems" created our by these books that make parents feel that if their 3 week old is not sleeping 10 hours that they have created a monster! Babies were not designed to sleep all night. They need to eat! Even Adults can't always make it all night without a drink of water! Why the heck should we deny infants this?

Can't say enough about this book:
I borrowed this book from the library on the recommendation of a friend. I was getting nowhere with my son and his sleeping. This book certainly saved my sanity and assured both me and my husband that it was okay to let the little guy cry. If you're not a fan of leaving them to cry then you will hate this but we'd tried everything else and it didn't work. This book got us on track within 3 days. I have since brought the book and recommended it to various other friends with children with sleep problems and they have all had success. I've gone thru' mine with a highlighter and keep it hand for points of reference. Covers everything from sleep associatioin tools (dummy, blanket mum, dad) and why you shouldn't let them fall asleep in your arms. Easy to read, I read the revelant bits to me in a day and found myself nodding in agreement and reading passages aloud to my hubby. Worth it's weight in gold.

If you only read one book about babies...:
Let it be this one. I have had 3 children in the last 5 years, and this book was the best, and most useful book that I ever read by far. Reviewers who say that this book is about letting babies cry have totally missed the point that the author is making. In fact the research that has been done shows that by following the advice of the book babies will not only sleep more, but cry LESS. I read this book before my first was born, and followed it very closely. The result is that my 3 babies slept through the night at 9 1/2, 8 and 16 weeks and also had excellent daytime naps with no fuss at all. The sleep habits that his book teaches will set them up for their whole childhood, and save your family a great deal of stress and sleep deprivation. Every time that travel or change has messed up my children's sleeping we have followed the book and once again had 3 children sleeping through the night for 10-12 hours again. This has included more than 5 episodes of international travel and time zone changes. This book is not about making babies cry, it is about helping parents to understand that the most important thing for your baby is having a parent who can cope with life. It is about being kind to your baby by setting up good sleep habits for life.

Good sleeping habits are good for the whole family:
On the recommendation of a friend, I read this book while I was pregnant with my triplets. In the early months after they were born when I was too tired to think, it was fabulous to have a guide about what we were doing and why - and some hope that there was a light at the end of the tunnel. My triplets were premature but slept through the night (6 hours plus) by 4 months of age - and I started to feel human again and enjoy being a mum. The book uses aspects of behavioural psychology (eg: not encouraging playing during night feeds), but the emphasis is on training the parents. Babies benefit from having parents who are not sleep-deprived and from getting enough sleep themselves.

Excellent book, good for baby and good for the family:
This book is written by a world expert on infant sleep disorders - he did his MD on the topic. He has also published research on it in refereed medical journals. If you are going to read a book on the topic, make it a book written by a qualified medical expert like Brian Symon. The advice given here helped our baby enormously: he sleeps from 7pm to 6am perfectly, and he is happy and energetic during the day because he is well rested. People who tell you that you shouldn't teach your baby to sleep have obviously not seen the difference a night's sleep makes to a baby. Our little guy was happier, more energetic. If your baby is irritable and cranky during the day and gets up all night, if he/she seems to wake every few hours yet refuses feeds when offered, it could actually be....because he is TIRED! It's so simple to fix, and the baby is so much happier at the end of the day. Symon advocates going to see your GP before you diagnose your baby with overtiredness of course. I have recommended this book to all my friends with new babies, and highly recommend it to anyone who is pregnant/trying to get pregnant. If you can get in early and teach your baby the difference between day and night, and be attentive to when they are overtired or hungry, you can actually prevent seep problems from ever occurring. Oh, and by the way, a full night's sleep has benefits for the mum and dad as well, a nice side effect. The most amazing side effect though is a baby who is full of beans and energy during the day.