Has anyone read the SleepLady book?

[Moochie Mamma]

I'm loosing my mind from lack of sleep but absolutely won't do CIO with my little ones. DD slept great (9pm-4am) until a month ago when she went back to every 2-3hour wakings. (We co-sleep only part of the night. She starts in a crib next to my bed but comes in with me after about 6am. I don't sleep well with her next to me cause I'm so afraid I'll smother her that I don't go to sleep fully. We also have a pillow top mattress and am concerned with her rolling onto her tummy and not being able to breathe.) I've heard of this book as a way to gently help your baby to learn to soothe themself back to sleep without CIO and I'm wondering if anyone has experience with it?

TIA!!

[annakiss]

Moved to The Family Bed and Nighttime Parenting

[wannabe]

I found this for you

West recommends putting the baby to bed drowsy but awake, just as most sleep professionals do. After giving the baby a favorite blanket or soft toy, the parent or other caregiver sits nearby to provide comfort and reassurance. Every three days, the adult moves a little further from the crib, across the room, to the doorway, and out in the hall, still offering soothing words to let the baby know someone's there. As the distance increases, West says, babies will learn to soothe themselves, sucking a finger, or snuggling against the blanket or toy. At the same time, they remain confident that mom or dad is nearby.

With co-author Joanne Kenen, a former client, West advocates what she calls a “middle road” approach. It involves allowing kids 6 months and older to cry – while parents stay in the room with them.

She calls it “The Sleep Lady Shuffle.” It can take as long as two weeks.

First, the parent sits next to the crib and intermittently pats and talks to the child until she goes to sleep – as long as that takes. To keep the baby from being overly entertained by this, West recommends that the adult close his or her own eyes. “Don’t stimulate him,” she writes of the baby. “Bore him.”

After a few days, the parent moves the chair halfway to the door. Then, to the doorway. By night 10, Mom or Dad is sitting in the hallway.

Three nights after that, parents can usually do what they like – as long as they’re on the same floor, listening for the baby to cry.

Two prominent sleep experts said the West’s “shuffle,” is similar to “fadeaway” techniques that have been used for years.

“It works for some children and utterly fails for some,” Weissbluth said. “Any piece of advice has to be temperament-specific, age-specific. There’s no cookie-cutter approach that works for every family.”

Dr. William Sears, author of many books on attachment parenting, said he recommends a similar method for parents who want an older child to leave their bed for his own room. But Sears is leery of doing it much before a child is a year old. “Fading away too fast, too young is risky, because a child loses trust,” he said.

[rzberrymom]

2-3 hour wakings, while they may be annoying, are quite normal at that age. I nurse on my side, and I sort of drift in and out of sleep as she nurses every 2 hours.

[Moochie Mamma]

That sounds like CIO but with parent in the room rather than just walking away. I've been able to put her down awake for naps and at bedtime but in the night she nurses then is zonked out. Last night was better- a couple days ago I decided to take her off solids for a couple weeks and it seems like her guts are hurting less already (she's tooting less and pooping more anyway). I'm thinking I'll skip that book and just go with her cues. :)

[starparticle]

I have read this book and highly dislike it - she mentions that crying till the point of vomiting is normal, and that one of her moms had to move into a motel while the "process" took place. Nothing but CIO here.

She also promotes not feeding your newborn at night (only at certain points in time - like if you know your baby can go 4 hours without a feed, you should only feed them every four hours, etc.)

I bought this book and was very upset I ever gave her my money :(

rachel

[wannabe]

:thumb I was hoping you'd say that.

Have you read Elizabeth Pantley's 'the no cry sleep solution"?