Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child Book

This book is definitely worth the money. This is an easy-to-read book about children at ALL AGES and the sleep they need. It also outlines the various sleep issues that children go through at each stage -- not just during the child's first year or two! It will tell you everything you need to know about how much sleep your child should be getting at every age -- and how to prevent and solve potential sleep issues. Dr. Weissbluth is the world's leading researcher on sleep and children. The book is organized into sections by age, so you don't have to read the entire book before you have information you can use.

Although Dr. Weissbluth recognizes and supports the family bed, he does not offer techniques on this approach. His focus is on methods to teach your child how to soothe himself back throughout the different sleep cycles throughout the night. He explains the rationale and "how to" for cry-it-out (depending on the age of the child!), as well as a "gradual extinction method" as an alternative to cold-turkey CIO. His primary focus is about the necessity of healthy sleep for a child's physical and mental development. (And he's got the science and experience to back it up.)

Your son is at a really interesting age right now. This is when Dr. Weissbluth believes a child is able to begin sleeping through the night. I think you'll find it helpful. It was a lifesaver for my family.

Why don't you go to the library and check it out. That way you don't have to spend any money unless you like it and want to keep it as a reference guide or something. I've never read it but it's the book my friend refers to all the time and I found all of the information VERY helpful and very accurate that sha has given to me. You can take a peek inside it at Amazon.com which may help you decide. The best advice I was given from the book was to put my daughter to bed earlier. At 11 months we moved her bedtime from 7 to 6 and she started sleeping through the night FINALLY!
Best of luck!
C.

I don't really have an answer for you, just a suggestion. My ped also recommended that book, however, I have a two year old as well as my 8 month old and I just don't have time to read a book. If you google "Weissbluth Method" you can get an idea of what it is about. I do think that one strategy (extinction method) does focus on CIO, but I think that there are other strategies suggested. Anyway, my son's crib is in our room also, only because we are renting a two bdrm apt until our house is ready, and he still wakes up a few times a night. It is impossible to get him to go back to sleep unless I nurse him because he knows we are there. Two of my friends were going through the same thing until they moved their babies out of their rooms. Once they did this they noticed they slept much better. I hope that once we move into our house, my son will do the same thing, but right now it's just not possible. Is it possible for you to move your son into his own room? If so, it's worth a shot. I can't wait to do it. My daughter was always in her own room and she has always been a great sleeper. Good luck, sorry I couldn't be more of a help to you.

We had to put our 1st son in his room after two weeks b/c he was a loud sleeper - he kept us up!

Is there a reason your baby is still in your room? Can you put him in his room - by 10 months old, it is time for them to be in their own room learning how to soothe themselves to sleep. B/c you are starting late, this will be a longer, gradual process, but he will get used to it. How long did you let him cry it out? It has to be more than 30 minutes or so and some say going back in reassuring him you are around then leaving the room helps too. This will take many nights, it's not a quick fix.

I know you will probably get better/different advice, but this is what worked for us and our sons were sleeping on their own after only a few nights.

i like the advice of getting the book at the library first, or used on amazon even. i read the book and found it helpful even though the CIO method didn't work for us. it has good nap strategies, bedtime routines etc. and it gives you an idea of how much sleep your baby needs at all stages. i agree that you should move your son to his own room if possible. the longer you wait, the tougher it will be. on a side note, one of my kids was a terrible sleeper no matter what we tried. i read 4 or 5 sleep habit books, tried everything under the sun. she finally started sleeping well at 2 yrs. i know that sounds like a long time, but eventually it will get better. my other one, slept through the night at 6 weeks and still does. good luck!!

i haven't read this but i've been reading and following the steps in good night, sleep tight by kim west and its working! my baby was just like urs and we'd always end up putting him in our bed at the halfway point every night. after buying and trying so many sleep books, i gave up and just got kim west's book at the library thinking it wasn't going to work and voila! it's working! i really can't believe it. go to the library and get a copy. its a cross between cio and no-cry so a healthy balance which was perfect for me and my baby.

This book is interesting and helpful, yet a little strangely organized and written. I had to read it once and skim it twice and mark up all sorts of pages to piece together how to use it in any useful way. I'd say talking with your pediatrician and/or reading this book with your partner would be helpful. With the understanding of sleep cycles and timing from the Heatlhy Sleep Habits book and my pediatrician's support and advice (basically Ferber sleep training, which took 2 nights and was super simple), we feel we have some good tools to make sleep more manageable, if not perfect. Best of luck!