As I read it, I realized why it's so popular: it seems to be a happy medium between the other two books I've read (Babywise and Happiest Baby on the Block). Babywise is a bit controversial because it recommends adjusting the baby to YOUR schedule, instead of feeding and holding the baby every time it cries. Happiest Baby on the Block is on the other extreme, insisting that you can't spoil a baby, and to pick them up and/or feed them whenever they fuss.
HSHHC, on the other hand, falls somewhere in between. For example, when "sleep training" (trying to teach the child to sleep through the night), there are two schools of thought, and experts usually fall into one camp or the other. One is "cry it out," where the parents are encouraged to ignore the child's crying, no matter how long it continues. The other involves gradually adjusting your child to sleeping through the night (consolation when he cries, allowing him to sleep with you, etc). Dr Weissbluth says there is a time and place for each philosophy, depending on the age and developmental level of your child. How refreshing!
The first half of the book is an in-depth look at why sleep is so important. Dr Weissbluth runs a pediatric sleep disorders clinic, so he is certainly knowledgeable on the topic. However, I didn't need quite so lengthy an explanation. I get it -- sleep is important!
The most valuable part of the book, in my opinion, is the last half, when he has a chapter on each age level. I read the first two of these chapters, which got me to 6 months. I will save the later chapters until I need them! But I found it helpful to have such age-specific information in the book.
As I get ready for Otto's imminent arrival, my plan is to use the books I've read in the following ways:
- Babywise: for getting both me and Otto on a good schedule
- HBOTB: using the 5 S's for soothing when Otto is extremely fussy
- HSHHC: for information about sleep stages, and recommendations for amounts of sleep at each age level
No comments:
Post a Comment