Getting Your Baby to Sleep Through the Night

I used The Baby Sleep Solution: A Proven Program to Teach Your Baby to Sleep Twelve Hours a Night and On Becoming Baby Wise: Giving Your Infant the GIFT of Nighttime Sleep by Ezzo. I like these books because they are very easy to read and follow and can be read in one sitting. They are based on getting YOU and your baby on a schedule. I'm the type of person that needs some sort of organization or routine and these books were really in line with my philosophy about parenting. The Babywise book talks about establishing a feeding and nap/sleep schedule, and the Baby Sleep Solution is more specific about nighttime sleeping and feeding. Both books have example schedules (that I used mainly as a guide), and have sample charts you can photocopy to implement your own schedule and keep track of. This was a perfect way for me to organize the feedings, naps, diapers, and bedtime routines, and helped me better understand my baby. In addition, I also got this Summer Infant Day and Night Digital Video Monitor. Sleep training does involve some crying and I HAD to know what was happening in the room, so this video monitor helped ease my worries alot. I had read some parts of Ferber, Weisbluth, and Pantley, but I found that the books I suggested above, Giordano and Ezzo, were the simplest and easiest to follow and implement with my lifestyle as a working mommy. I couldn't have done this sleep training without the support of my husband and my pediatrician. My pediatrician said, "If you don't 'sleep train' them before they start walking, they will always be in your bed." That got my husband REALLY motivated! =)

This post is part of the Mom's 30-minute Blog Challenge and Works for me Wednesday.