The Good Sleeper The Essential Guide to Sleep for Your Baby--and You

by Kennedy, Janet Krone, PhD

• ISBN13: 9780805099430
• ISBN10: 0805099433
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2015-01-20
• Publisher: Holt Paperbacks

Summary

A refreshingly straightforward method for training infants to become great sleepers for life, inspired by clinical psychologist Janet Kennedy's popular psychotherapy practice, NYC Sleep Doctor

Cry it out or co-sleep? Bassinet or swing? White noise machine or Bach? How many hours anyway? For something so important, there's too much conflicting information about how best to get your baby to sleep through the night and nap successfully during the day. This book is a straightforward, no-nonsense answer to one of the biggest challenges new parents face when they welcome a brand new baby home. This book is written for exhausted parents, giving them immediate access to the information they need. Reassuring and easy to understand, Dr. Kennedy addresses head-on the fears and misinformation about the long-term effects of crying and takes a bold stand on controversial issues such as co-sleeping and attachment parenting. With polarizing figures and techniques dominating the marketplace—and spawning misinformation across the internet—Dr. Kennedy's methods and practices create an extensively researched and parent-tested approach to sleep training that takes both babies' and parents' needs into account to deliver good nights and days of sleep, and no small dose of peace of mind.

The Good Sleeper is a practical, empowering—and even entertaining—guide to help parents understand infant sleep. This research-based book will teach parents the basics of sleep science, determine how and when to intervene, and provide tools to solve even the most seemingly impossible sleep problems.

Author Biography

Janet Kennedy, Ph.D is a clinical psychologist who spent eight years at the Manhattan Veterans Affairs Medical Center where she developed the Sleep Disorders Treatment Program. She is the founder of the successful consultation and psychotherapy practice NYC Sleep Doctor, has been featured on CBS This Morning and has been quoted in Parents Magazine, NY Press, Redbook, and the Encyclopedia Britannica website. Dr. Kennedy lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband and two children.

Table of Contents

Introduction    1
    The Good Sleeper Approach to Infant Sleep    5

1. It’s All About Adrenaline    13
    Adrenaline and Overfatigue    14
    Keeping Your Baby Well Rested    16
        Watching the Clock    16
        Following Drowsiness Cues    17
    Common Myths and Misconceptions    22
    Key Points from Chapter 1    23

2. The Early Weeks (0–6 Weeks Old)    24
    Where Will Your Baby Sleep?    25
        A Hierarchy of Sleep Independence    28
    Becoming Your Baby’s Sleep Facilitator    31
        Responding to Drowsiness Cues    33
        White Noise    35
        Responding to Night Waking    36
        Pacifiers    37
    The Onset of Fussiness    38
        Coping with Colic    38
        Is It Reflux?    43
    Avoid Information Overload    44
    Key Points from Chapter 2    45

3. The Light at the End of the Newborn Tunnel (6–12 Weeks)    46
    The Beginnings of the Body Clock    47
    The Sleep and Eating “Schedule”    49
    The Sleep Environment    52
    Easing into Independent Napping    53
    Establishing the Bedtime Routine    55
    Lengthening Night Sleep    57
    Baby Monitors    60
    Transitioning to the Crib    62
    Pacifiers    63
    Swaddles    63
    Challenging Situations: Colic and Reflux    65
    Key Points from Chapter 3    67

4. A Schedule Emerges (12–20 Weeks and Beyond)    68
    Toning Down the Soothing    70
    The Schedule Develops    72
    Why So Much Focus on Naps?    75
    The Early Bedtime    78
    The Schedule Evolves    82
        What If You Don’t Have a Choice About Nap Times?    85
    Key Points from Chapter 4    86

5. Sleeping Through the Night    87
    Step 1: Get Your Baby as Rested as Possible    88
    Step 2: Create Sleep Cues and Stop Feeding to Sleep    89
    Step 3: Teach Your Baby to Fall Asleep in the Crib    90
    Step 4: Figure Out Why Your Baby Is Still Waking Up    92
        Need Versus Want    93
    Step 5: Pick a Strategy: Methodical Step-by-Step or Cut to the Chase    94
    Step 6: Weaning from Night Feedings    95
    Step 7: Weaning from Night Soothing    98
    Step 8: The Final Hurdle: Cry-It-Out    99
        Timing    100
        Extinction Explained    101
        Preparation and Safety    102
        The Process    103
        Crying with Checks: AKA the “Ferber Method” 105
        Crying Without Checks    107
        Keeping a Scheduled Feeding    109
        Dream Feeding    110
        Vomit    112
        How to Survive Cry-It-Out    113
        Your Baby’s Reaction    114
        How Long Does It Take? 115
        Does It Last?    115
    Key Points from Chapter 5    116

6. Getting Unstuck    117
    Your Self-Assessment    119
    Determining Your Plan of Action    123
    Working in Phases    126
        Phase 1: Laying the Groundwork    126
        Phase 2: It’s Time for Crying    134
    Nights, Naps, or Both?    135
    How to Use Crying at Nap Time    137
    What If Crying Doesn’t Work?    141
    Key Points from Chapter 6    146

7. Tricky Circumstances    147
    Space Challenges    148
    Siblings    149
    Room Sharing    152
    Travel    156
    Jet Lag    160
    Daylight Savings    161
    Changes and Derailments    165
        Illness    165
        Teething    166
        Developmental Milestones    167
    Developmental Changes to the Sleep Schedule    171
    Key Points from Chapter 7    172

8. Child Care    174
    Day Care or Nanny?    176
    Benefits of Day Care    177
    Disadvantages of Day Care    182
    Benefits of Hiring a Nanny    184
    Disadvantages of Hiring a Nanny    186
    What to Look For in a Day Care    187
    Talking to Your Nanny About Sleep    190
    And Now, Take the Leap    190
    Key Points from Chapter 8    191

9. Reality Check    192
    You Can’t Control Everything    193
    You Do Need to Have Some Control    196
    Sleep Is Not Always Perfectly Predictable    197
    Good Sleepers Make Noise During the Night    199
    Taking a Step Back    200
    Key Points from Chapter 9    201

10. When the Baby Is Sleeping but the Parents Aren’t    203
    Having a Baby Is Stressful, Even When Things Go Smoothly    205
    Taking Care of Yourself in Increments    206
    Getting the Sleep You Need    211
    Resetting Your Body Clock    219
    Take Care of You     231

Appendix A: Cry-It-Out: Is It Harmful?    233
    “Scientists Say . . .”    237
    What the Leading Scientists Really Say    241
        Research on Cry-It-Out/Extinction    241
        The Impact of Sleep Training on Attachment    243
        The Truth About Cortisol    244
        What About Long-term Effects of Cry-It-Out?    247
Appendix B: The Good Sleeper Primer    252
Appendix C: Sleep Diaries    254
Index of Case Examples    258
Recommended Reading and Viewing    260
References from Appendix A: Cry-It-Out: Is It Harmful?    262
Additional Sources    268
Acknowledgments    275
Index    279