Friday, January 8, 2010

SLEEP LADY'S GOOD NIGHT, SLEEP TIGHT: REVIEW, ARTICLE, and GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY ENDED
THE SLEEP LADY'S

GOOD NIGHT, SLEEP TIGHT
BY KIM WEST
WITH JOANNE KENEN

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Kim West, The Sleep Lady® and nationally respected child and sleep expert, has brought peaceful slumber to many parents and children with her well-thumbed book, Good Night, Sleep Tight. In it West introduced a gentle and effective approach to putting babies and children to sleep that includes her signature step-by-step "Sleep Lady Shuffle."

Now, in this revised edition, Kim West expands and completely updates her book. The Sleep Lady®'s Good Night, Sleep Tight deals with one of the most challenging aspects of parenting -- getting young children, from newborn to five years old, to sleep. West offers a practical, easy-to-follow, and flexible approach to sleep that is gentle on both parent and child and doesn't require leaving your child alone to cry.

This updated edition offers advice on everything from how to guide young babies into good sleep rhythms and coping with "routine busters" like travel and teething, to moving your child from a crib to a bed, and sleep tips for twins and siblings. It also includes the latest research on sleep safety, deciphering newborn cries, and pacifier use, with expanded sections on breastfeeding, room sharing vs. co-sleeping, postpartum depression, baby and toddler yoga, phasing out nighttime feedings, and much more.

Whether you want to gently shape your newborn's sleep habits or you need to address specific sleep problems in your child, The Sleep Lady®'s Good Night, Sleep Tight will give you the answers you need.


ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Kim West, LCSW-C, known as The Sleep Lady®, has helped thousands of tired parents gently teach their babies and children how to go to sleep and stay asleep. West has appeared on Dr. Phil, the Today Show, NBC Nightly News, Good Morning America, TLC's Bringing Home Baby, and CNN, and has been written about in a number of publications including The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Parents, Baby Talk, Parenting, the Baltimore Sun, USA Today, and theWashington Post. West hosts the sleep section of The Newborn Channel, played in maternity wards in hospitals across the country. She is the mother of two daughters and a licensed child and family therapist, practicing for over seventeen years. She lives with her family in Annapolis, Maryland.

In addition to The Sleep Lady®'s Good Night, Sleep Tight, West is also the author of 52 Sleep Secrets for Babies and the upcoming, Good Night, Sleep Tight Workbook.

Visit Kim West at www.sleeplady.com.

Joanne Kenen is a journalist, writer, and mother of two who met Kim West while seeking a remedy for her younger son's sleep difficulties. She graduated from Harvard, reported from Latin America, the Caribbean, New York and Miami, and is now a Washington-based writer, specializing in U.S. politics, health care and health policy. She lives with her family in the Washington, D.C. area.


REVIEW:
Although I have no little ones around to try out this on, I like West's book as she seems to give advice on getting children to sleep with a practical and gentle manner that would lead me to believe it would work and the children would wake up happy and rested. Her research certainly proves it out as well. I also like how she has set up the book with an overview of just who "the Sleep Lady" is and what she stands for. The book is then presented in an organized way starting with how to get started and some tips for success right away. She then discusses how to start with newborns and writes about problems that can occur and how to deal with them.

The second part of the book is divided into ages starting with "Newborn to Five Months" on up to a sixth chapter that covers "Two and a Half to Five Years Old". The final part of the book, Part Three, has six chapters that address issues such as whose bed the child should sleep in, twins, nightmares, illness, etc.

I like the way this is written and set up that I guess I can't give it a better recommendation then to say I am getting a copy for my son and his wife who are expecting our first grandchild in three months! I think you just might find this to be a great help yourself or for a wonderful gift for new parents as well.

ARTICLE:
Sleep Myth Busters:
The Sleep Lady Sets the Record Straight

By Kim West, LCSW-C,


#1 If I skip my child's nap, he will sleep longer at night. Also, the later I put my child to bed, the later he'll sleep in the morning.

Sleep Lady: The more overtired you allow your child to get, the more wired he'll get -- making it harder for him to get sleep and stay asleep.

#2 Children not sleeping through the night for the first year or two is a fact of life.

Sleep Lady: Healthy babies 6 months or older who are growing well can often sleep 11 hours at night. Although teething, illness and developmental milestones can disturb sleep at various times, they're only temporary interruptions.

#3 Newborns sleep all the time and know what they need. You don't need to schedule their sleep times.

Sleep Lady: Even very young babies benefit from scheduling and consistency at night time and nap time. It cuts down on their crankiness and crying and lays the groundwork for learning how to sleep through the night once they're a little older.

#4 Children know when they're sleepy and when they should go to bed.

Sleep Lady: Not once they learn to fight sleep for your company! Children need our direction and guidance with a soothing bedtime routine to help them slow down and transition to sleep. Once you get your child on a consistent schedule, you can plan your own day better and can count on having a happy awake child.

#5 Some children, including babies, don't need as much sleep as others.

Sleep Lady: Very few children need less than the average amount of sleep for their age. They need enough good quality sleep to grow and learn at the incredible rate they do! They need us to protect their need for sleep.

#6 If I let my child "cry it out" at bedtime, I can do whatever it takes (rock, walk, nurse, bottle feed , etc.) to get him back to sleep in the middle of the night.

Sleep Lady: Once your baby is over 6 months of age, you must be consistent at bedtime AND all night wakings. If he becomes accustomed to being fed, rocked, walked, etc. during the night, that is what he will need and expect each time he wakes up in order to go back to sleep. He won't understand why you are doing it sometimes and not other times.

#7 I will have to give up all forms of co-sleeping if I want a baby with good sleep habits.



Sleep Lady: Not true. Consider an alternative middle ground called "room sharing" -- where you keep your baby in your room in a crib or co-sleeper for months or even a year. You can easily feed your baby, its gives you the peace of mind of having her close by and you don't have to worry about the safety challenges of bedsharing. Most importantly you can begin to put your baby down "drowsy but awake" at nap time so she can learn to put herself to sleep independently and you are still near by. This will make the transition to her own crib and room one day much easier!

#8 If I feed my baby late at night, he will sleep longer.

Sleep Lady: A baby will sleep for a longer stretch when he no longer needs to eat at night AND if he knows how to put himself back to sleep without being fed.

#9 Feeding my child formula rather than relying on breast feeding in the evening will help her sleep longer.

Sleep Lady: It may help her sleep longer since formula takes longer to digest, but it won't make a difference if she doesn't know how to put herself back to sleep without nursing or bottle feeding.

Copyright © 2009 Kim West, LCSW-C, author of The Sleep Lady®'s Good Night, Sleep Tight: Gentle Proven Solutions to Help Your Child Sleep Well and Wake Up Happy
GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO MY FRIENDS AT
FSB ASSOCIATES,
I HAVE ONE COPY OF THIS BOOK
TO GIVE AWAY TO A LUCKY READER!


RULES:
--U.S. Residents Only
--No P.O. Boxes, Please
--Email address must be in your comment
--ALL comments must be separate to count
or
they will count as one instead of possibly two



HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE OF THE SLEEP MYTH BUSTERS, FROM THE ARTICLE ABOVE BY KIM WEST, THAT YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED OR KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT

+1 MORE ENTRY:
COMMENT ON A THING YOU DO THAT HELPS YOU TO SLEEP WHEN YOU CAN'T

DEADLINE TO ENTER IS

6 PM, EST, JANUARY 20

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

#3...wish I had been more consistent with my second child from the beginning, now at 10 months I'm still getting up too many times during the night. This is part of our new years resolution, to be more consistent with the bedtime routine so that he will learn to put himself back to sleep. This will be better for him and us.
Wendy
ebeandebe at gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

I stop trying to fight it. I get out of bed and to something else for 20 minutes or so and then try going to bed again. Worked for me last night!

Wendy
ebeandebe at gmail dot com

Unknown said...

Her comments about co-sleeping are very good. Co-sleepers are a great way to have a close baby/a minimally different sleeping environment without worries.

Unknown said...

A little head massage with light singing works wonders!

Linda Kish said...

#1..consistency and early bedtimes make for better sleeping and less crankiness

If I really can't fall asleep I will take a Calms Forte.

lkish77123 at gmail dot com

Linda Kish said...

follower

lkish77123 at gmail dot com

Lacey said...

#7 I have never understood cosleeping. What about your partner? I just don't think the parents bed is for the baby or children unless their are emergent circumstances. Like mentioned in #8 or #9 consistence in sleeping patterns is important. Cosleeping hinders your relationship with your partner if you are consistently cosleeping with your baby. Loose Loose situation there!!

Lacey914@sbcglobal.net

Lacey said...

Alcohol helps me sleep...lol also reading.

Lacey914@sbcglobal.net

Mitzi H. said...

I've got to have this book. My daughter and/family just moved back home and her 2 year old goes down pretty good...but what will happen when we take the bottle away?? My daughter doesn't want to let her cry because she will might suffer a seizure...due to her being a preemie...and my old fashioned ways (get over it) are not welcome.

mitzihinkey at sbcglobal dot net

Benita said...

#4 Children don't know when they should sleep. Even if they are sleepy, they try to stay awake as long as they can just to be with the family. That's more important to them.


bgcchs(at)yahoo(dot)com

Benita said...

I drink a hot cup of chamomile tea to make me sleepy.


bgcchs(at)yahoo(dot)cominf

LoveMyCoffee said...

The being more consistent at bed time. I would love to win this for my neice who has two little ones

Dutchlvr1(at)aol(dot)com

LoveMyCoffee said...

LOL when I can't sleep I read book blogs! Or I try reading a book.

Dutchlvr1(at)aol(dot)com

Angie said...

Mythbuster #3 I have had experience with. I am a firm believer that youngsters need a sleeping schedule and a nap was always a must in my home. Now if only I could get my son's girlfriend to believe that!

aksimmo at brainerd dot net

Angie said...

since reading relaxes me I always have to pick up a book if I've been tossing and turning too long. Of course if it's a really good book that sometimes backfires on me!

aksimmo at brainerd dot net

Wickdogg said...

This looks like one I could use with a new baby...we tend to get up each time he cries and that can't be right


wickdogg AT gmail dot com

Wickdogg said...

I have to read or watch tv and then I go right out


wickdogg AT gmail dot com

CLICK HERE TO
SEE MY POLICY