Silent Nights Overcoming Sleep Problems in Babies and Children

by Symon, Brian

• ISBN13: 9780195517866
• ISBN10: 0195517865
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-03-03
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Few sounds are more disconcerting than that of a crying infant unable or unwilling to go to sleep. The sound is particularly distressing in the middle of the night when the parents know that the baby - and what they - need is sleep. Nor is the problem limited to babies. Many families endure months or even years of insomnia because of their children's habitual lack of sleep. The consequences for the parents' health, well-being, enjoyment of their children, and in some cases the health of relationships and working lives, are considerable. This book provides a sensible, no-nonsense guide to how babies sleep and why they cry. It shows how this knowledge can be applied in practical ways to help the normal, healthy baby to establish sleeping patterns that will improve its life and benefit the entire family. The process is not always easy, but following this program means that a good night's sleep may no longer be an impossible dream.

Author Biography

Dr. Brian Symon has worked as a general practitioner for two decades. He now works as a special-interest practitioner, seeing families with sleepless children exclusively. After five years as an academic he has returned to full-time practice but has recently been granted an MD (PhD) in the field of infant sleep by the University of Adelaide.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	v
Introduction	1	(130)
1 Food, feeding and breast care	7	(14)
2 Starting solids	21	(10)
3 Sleep basics	31	(18)
4 Sleep problems	49	(26)
5 The essential advice	75	(12)
6 The first six weeks	87	(14)
7 The first two years	101	(12)
8 Day sleep	113	(8)
9 Dreams and nightmares	121	(10)
10 Winning	131	(14)
11 Losing it	145	(12)
12 Failure	157	(12)
13 Colic and other issues	169	(12)
14 Sex and parenthood	181	(6)
15 Research	187	(6)
Appendix: Instant diagnosis	193	(3)
Index	196