Hi there,
My bub is due next month and I have been recommended the following two books:
"SAVE OUR SLEEP" Tizzy Hall
"BABY WHISPERER" Tracy Hogg
I know there is a lot of books out there - thought I would make a start reading before baby is here. I have looked at "Contented Baby" and found it a little too prescriptive..
I would like a book to guide me with when where how etc... but not to the point where I cant leave the house IYKWIM
I would love to hear your thoughts.
Anna ;)
I am not a fan of either of those books. The recommendations in there go against my intuition and Save Our Sleep has some suggestions which could well cause problems with maintaining your milk supply.
I much prefer Pinky McKay's books, such as Sleeping Like a Baby (and for later, Toddler Tactics), and I also love The No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley.
I second that... if you do a search in this forum for the authors or books you will get loads of previous discussions on the topic.
Any of the books here are ones BellyBelly recommends for credible, researched and quiality reading.
I have not read either of those, but can recommend the The no cry sleep solution. I have just read it and really loved it. The methods in it are just what I was looking for for my DS... Really intuitive and gentle. I am in the process of trying out the methods in it. I wish I had read it before DS was born...
Good Luck with your new baby!!!
If you want flexiblility with a routine, then I would not recommend Tizzi Hall's Save Our Sleep. It is based on a very strict routine, which I personally don't approve of.
I, like MantaRay, enjoyed Pinky McKay's books.
If you don't want anything too prescriptive then you won't like Save Our Sleep - it's very much along the lines of strict routines.
Save our Sleep, um no thanks. I took it back the same week I got it!
I too was reccomended Save our sleep, so when I was near a bookshop, I checked it out. I flicked through, found a page, and read a paragraph and laughed out loud in the shop!
DH came to see what I was laughing about, when I showed him, he said to put it back on the shelf!
Nic
I agree with everyone above, Pinky Mackay & Elizabeth Pantley are the queens, and worth every cent you might pay for them.
IMHO, Contented Little Baby books are great if you need to start a fire.
Good luck with everything, it's a very exciting time.
Hi AnnaBelle,
I agree when everyone. The routines in save our sleep are very similar to the ones in Contented Baby. I tried to follow the Save our Sleep routine and both me and DD were miserable. She did follow it for a couple of days but a actually felt more tired with expressing and dream feeding... Much better to read her signs and means i get to have a life!
Good luck with your new bundle of joy. Hope all goes well.
I am a total earth mother and am currently reading Pinky McKay's book Sleeping like a baby and am loving it so far! I also have no-cry sleep solution which is also a great book.
I DID read contented little baby book and it worked for a little while but I realised that things don't ever happen 'by the book' anyway, so you may as well just go with the flow and have some ideas on hand that may help with settling etc from an early age. Every baby is different!
Good luck :)
I agree with all the above about Save Our Sleep. The routines are ridiculously rigid.
The Baby Whisperer I quite like, although I do take it with a grain of salt. Tracy Hogg seems to have a nice gentle approach in general, in that she stresses the importance of treating your baby with respect, which I really like. I found it impossible to follow her principles exactly, but I did get some very useful tips from her book.
But now I really want to try the other ones people have mentioned here!
yeah have to say that tizzy hall's book was a popular buy at mums group, only to hear about a week later from everyone that it was pure madness...very strict and largely unachievable.
most books have a line drawn in the sand re: their recommended methods so a cursory glance through them before you buy is my best recommendation. i failed to do this with Kaz cookes kid wrangling and was shocked at the hard-line mantras in her sleep section.
i actually found a good system for me was Pinky McKays articles and books + robin barkers baby love (i know i know a strange combo, but it worked for us!)...
We love Robin Grille. He has a new book out called 'Heart to heart parenting'.
I find some of the others mentioned are more to do with sleep issues while this one is a generally parenting book so I guess it depends on what you are after.
Robin Grille is an Aus psychologist and this book is very readable but still based on current research. We would call ourselves gentle parenters and it fits in with our parenting styles and really helps us understand what is happening so we can make our own decisions on the best course of action.
I second all the Pinky McKay recommendations (have been using Toddler Tactics since DS turned one and it is also brilliant), and I really loved the Heart to Heart Parenting by Robin Grille. I also used Baby Love by Robin Barker, which was really helpful. I found she offered a few different versions of how to do things instead of just one way. I work in a bookshop and run the parenting section and these books are our best sellers. A while back I asked for some recommendations of the girls on BB, and these seemed to be the ones everyone loved.
On 'Save our Sleep', we sell a lot of it at work - you have to stock it even if you don't agree with it, and no-one has ever brought it back and asked for a refund. Some of the girls at mums group also use it. I found it to rigid, but one thing I did find it helped with was giving me an indication of the length of time (roughly) that a baby will stay awake for between sleeps. DS was always pretty spot on. I never brought the book, I was just flick thru it occasionally in the shop whenever he needed his sleep times adjusted.
I can't comment on most the books mentioned as I have not read them but I did read the contented child one before DS & found it to be so silly that I just chose to leave it....but I am totally opposite to everyone else & loved "Save our Sleep" at one point in "saved" me!!
Like all advise, we take what we need, and want etc, process it & go with our own instincts. I didn't follow any routine but in regards to solids & having a comforter & awake times etc it helped me....depending on what you like & don't like you will prob find bits & pieces in most books you have.
I have heard great things about "raising boys" I went to get it at the library had a flick through got to about page three where it stated "boys under the age of 3 should not be sent to Child Care"& I thought well failed there & put it back on the shelf LOL.
Thank you everyone for your comments.:D
I have checked out the BB list of recommended books but was also told about the others from friends and relatives - so thought I would ask.
I am going to research a little more and try to get some out from the library first before I go ahead & buy.
Thanks again for your honest opinions
Anna :lol: