Recently I received a sponsored copy of The Happiest Baby Guide by Harvey Karp to read and review as part of the One2One Network. Right after I delivered Ana I was shown a brief video featuring Dr Karp, and his methods on calming down a baby and putting her to sleep and some of those methods including the shhing worked like a charm. His calm demeanor and patient methods really appeal to the me and calm down my fears of ever getting a good night of sleep.
All in all we have been pretty lucky with Ana and her sleep patterns. Other than being a naturally early riser, with an early on-set routine established , she has slept through the night for a long time and knows the bedtime routine. We have maintained consistency with bedtime for the past year or so, and so Ana not only enjoys the routine, but expects it. Therefore, we have changed bedtime from 8-9 pm ish to 730ish.
Upon reading this great guide, I turned to Part 3: Sleep Solutions in the Toddler and Preschool Years: One to Five Years. Chapter 10.
Here I learned that my child is a pretty easy kid. I always knew that Ana has a good disposition and rarely exhibits that horrible toddler tantrum stuff that 2 and 3 years old often fall prey to. And that by putting her life into a routine pretty early on, it has helped organize our day and helped her sleep time too. Ana loves brushing her teeth, taking vitamins and picking out which books we are going to read. We visit the library at least once a week and I let her choose a couple of books that I know she will love to keep the books from becoming too repetitive. Also, we have made bathtime even more fun by adding a fun bubble bath that she can play in while I wash her hair. Most of these steps we do in our own way, but I will be adapting a couple as well and adding them to our night. I really like the idea of Patience stretching (pg 214), and will be using this as learn patience together. I have always used counting for my own patience so it only makes sense that Ana would respond well to waiting for something worth waiting for too.
I love how well organized this book is. You can read it in order or out of order, or just skip to the parts you really need for your routine. I read a good deal of it even though Ana is almost three. I really love the language that is used, how the chapters are broken down and the calm and fun way that sleep is dealt with. I will be adding this book to my book collection on raising Ana, and would recommend it to any parent with or without baby/toddler sleep issues.
The book suggests several steps to make the bedtime routine easier. Toddler-ese, patience-stretching, magic breathing, gossiping, playing the boob, sticker charts, fairy tales, role-playing, and a Beddy-Bye book. I will be adding some that I think will work with Ana and will store the rest away to remember if we encounter a sleep problem further down the road.
Important Links:
Bullet Points from the Publisher:
Harvey Karp made doctors applaud and parents cheer with his brilliant
solutions to centuries-old problems such as colic and tantrums. Now, in THE
HAPPIEST BABY GUIDE TO GREAT SLEEP: Simple Solutions for Kids from
Birth to 5 Years (William Morrow Paperback; On-Sale: March 19, 2013;
$15.99; ISBN: 9780062113320), Dr. Karp stuns the world again by
solving the #1 problem plaguing new parents: exhaustion. Dr. Karp's
surprising insights include:
How to train brand new babies to sleep better: Infants can be taught to sleep at least one extra hour from the first weeks of life! Dr. Karp shows how to safely boost baby sleep in just days.
What’s the best white noise (and which ones worsen sleep): The right white noise (low pitched and rumbling) is the key to good sleep—even through teething—for all babies. Plus, it even gives parents a more restful sleep
Why parents should always wake a sleeping baby: For good sleep, babies must learn how to self-soothe. The best way to teach babies how to fall back to sleep—when they rouse in the middle of the night—is to wake them just as they’re being put into bed.
How to enjoy the benefits - and avoid the risks - of swaddling: Swaddling dramatically improves a new baby’s sleep. Yet, many states are shockingly banning this ancient parenting tool. Smart moms should do it and Dr. Karp will teach them how to do it properly and safely.
The importance of powering down: Staring at bright screens at night (TVs, computers, phones) can wreak a toddler and a parent’s sleep.
Easy "no-cry" tips that end infant and toddler bedtime struggles in just days!
With THE HAPPIEST BABY GUIDE TO GREAT SLEEP, no longer will new parent have to suffer months of sleep deprivation and no longer will babies have to cry themselves to sleep. Backed by compelling science, common sense and decades of experience, Dr. Karp’s landmark guide will revolutionize how millions of children drift off to dreamland.
How to train brand new babies to sleep better: Infants can be taught to sleep at least one extra hour from the first weeks of life! Dr. Karp shows how to safely boost baby sleep in just days.
What’s the best white noise (and which ones worsen sleep): The right white noise (low pitched and rumbling) is the key to good sleep—even through teething—for all babies. Plus, it even gives parents a more restful sleep
Why parents should always wake a sleeping baby: For good sleep, babies must learn how to self-soothe. The best way to teach babies how to fall back to sleep—when they rouse in the middle of the night—is to wake them just as they’re being put into bed.
How to enjoy the benefits - and avoid the risks - of swaddling: Swaddling dramatically improves a new baby’s sleep. Yet, many states are shockingly banning this ancient parenting tool. Smart moms should do it and Dr. Karp will teach them how to do it properly and safely.
The importance of powering down: Staring at bright screens at night (TVs, computers, phones) can wreak a toddler and a parent’s sleep.
Easy "no-cry" tips that end infant and toddler bedtime struggles in just days!
With THE HAPPIEST BABY GUIDE TO GREAT SLEEP, no longer will new parent have to suffer months of sleep deprivation and no longer will babies have to cry themselves to sleep. Backed by compelling science, common sense and decades of experience, Dr. Karp’s landmark guide will revolutionize how millions of children drift off to dreamland.
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