The Dream Sleeper: A Three-Part Plan for Getting Your Baby to Love Sleep

by Conner Herman, Kira Ryan

Overview

Dream Team's new way to a good night's sleep for babies andparents

With a simple and easy-to-follow plan for today's fast-moving(and often sleep-deprived) parents, this book offers a new, modernapproach to teaching babies how to sleep independently. Theauthors' proven methods, prepared with a team of esteemed pediatricadvisors, show anyone how to coach their baby to sleep through thenight on his or her own. The importance of preparation,consistency, and patience is explained in a down-to-earthstyle.

• A primer on the science of sleep
• Instructions for setting up the sleeping environment andcreating sleeping and eating schedules
• Advice on identifying sleep associations and creating a supportsystem
• Checklists and strategies to implement the three-part plan

With respect for many styles of parenting, this step-by-stepprogram includes methods for helping baby get a good night'ssleep.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781118018422
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	03/13/2012
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Conner Herman & Kira Ryan founded Dream Team Baby with the help of an advisory board including a neurologist, pediatrician, nurse practitioner, psychologist, and behavioral therapist. Together they created new ways of getting children to love sleep.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Amy DeMattia xi

Meet Our Dream Team xv

Preface xix

Acknowledgments xxi

Introduction: A Perfect Little World—Until SleepDeprivation Knocks at Your Door 1

PART ONE Get Ready!

Great sleep teaching begins with choice, change, andflexibility, not a quick fix.

1 What You Should Know Before You Start 7

The benefits of getting good sleep and a look at differentphilosophies on sleep. How to know whether your baby is ready forsleep teaching—and whether you are too.

2 Sleep Science 101 19

How sleep develops in children and the truth about nightwakings. The science behind the reasons sleep is a learnedskill—and the reason that going with your child’snatural sleep tendencies doesn’t work for a lot of babies.Also includes an overview of safe sleeping practices. An importantchapter for all parents struggling with their child’s sleepissues.

PART TWO Get Set!

The six critical steps in guiding your baby toward sleepsuccess.

3 Setting the Stage 37

Setting up your baby’s room to encourage better sleep andhow to deal with unique or challenging sleep situations such assharing a room.

4 Identifying Your Child’s Sleep Associations57

Sleep associations are one of the biggest barriers to sleep.What sleep associations are, the negative associations common inyoung children, and the more positive associations parents shouldtry to incorporate into their baby’s sleep time.

5 Creating a Daytime Sleeping and Eating Schedule 65

A guide to setting up the ideal eating and sleeping schedule,broken down by ages (birth to two months, two to four months, fourto six months, six to fifteen months, fifteen months to threeyears).

6 Fixing Potential Feeding Issues 79

Examining and then maximizing your child’s feedings toquell fears of nighttime hunger and make sleep easier and morestraightforward.

7 Setting Up a Support System 99

Reasons that parents should be equal participants in the sleepteaching process and ideas for getting aligned.

8 Keeping Emotional Issues in Check 109

Tips for managing your expectations of your child’s sleep,being the best sleep teacher you can be, and handling the guiltassociated with hearing your child cry.

PART THREE Get Sleep!

Where the real work of sleep teaching begins—andcontinues.

9 Creating Your Lesson Plan 123

Picking the best day to begin, choosing a bedtime, decidingwhich room or place will work best to sleep-teach, teachingmultiples, and emotionally preparing toddlers.

10 The First Twenty-Four Hours 143

The meat of our proven approach for putting a baby down for thenight, interpreting different types of cries, determining how torespond to your child while he or she learns, and what to expectthroughout the first night.

11 The Next Two Weeks (Including Naps) 173

The challenges associated with napping, what to do when aschedule isn’t working, and how to make modifications to youroverall sleep plan.

12 Keeping It Going 195

Various issues that affect sleep, even in children who lovesleep: dropping a nap, dealing with sickness or teething, traveldisruptions, when to move your child to a toddler bed, andmore.

Appendix A: Frequently Asked Questions 213

Newborn and Baby 213

Toddler 218

Feeding 221

Sleep Teaching 223

Crying 229

Napping 231

Odds and Ends 232

Appendix B: Sleep Teaching Overview 239

Appendix C: Worksheet Templates 241

Worksheet 1: Sleeping and Eating Log 241

Worksheet 2: Contract for Sleep Teaching 243

Worksheet 3: Your Child’s Sleep Schedule 246

References 249

About the Authors 251

Index 253

Editorial Reviews

One-time US Air Force intelligence officer Herman and research strategist Ryan, cofounders of Dream Team Baby, specialists in telephone sleep consultations and sleepovers (for nearly $2000) appear to be cutting their teeth on new parents’ weary desperation. With backing from a team of professional consultants, the book is divided into three parts and covers the usual terrain of Q&As, worksheets, and sample schedules based on the baby’s age.
VERDICT Kudos to the authors for keeping the text under 250 pages—Still, my advice is the same as last year: if you have Marc Weissbluth’s titles on sleep, there is no need to update. See also Harvey Karp’s The Happiest Baby Guide to Great Sleep: Simple Solutions for Kids From Birth to 5 Years reviewed below. No silver bullet here.

(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Library Journal