https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Mon, 13 Apr 2026 11:28:52 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/healthy-sleep-habits-happy-child#post-272761 Mon, 27 Aug 2012 18:53:39 +0000 Sammyfab 272761@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This is a great book for learning the importance of sleep and teaching parents about the science of sleep and circadian rhythms. it doesn't give a lot of practical advice though (Ferber gives more specific advice).</p> <p>In regards to 'junk sleep' and feeling like you are chained to your baby's sleep schedule so they can nap at home, Weissbluth does say that it is ok to let your baby nap on-the-go, but to make it the exception not the rule. my LO falls asleep easily in the car or the stroller but he sleeps for a MAX of 30 mins so I'd muchmuchmuch rather he sleep in his crib! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/healthy-sleep-habits-happy-child#post-272721 Mon, 27 Aug 2012 17:37:50 +0000 Rubies 272721@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I swear by this book. I recommend it to everyone and even LO being 13 months, I still refer back to it very regularly. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/healthy-sleep-habits-happy-child#post-272667 Mon, 27 Aug 2012 16:30:39 +0000 Mrs. Pen 272667@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@bree72: I try to take 99% of parenting advice with a grain of salt. My mantra, and many "professionals" would probably scoff, is that if I personally do not feel right in my cut, then I will always allow myself to "break the rules" or modify the program. We started doing the ferber, where we "check" him and it just made him more mad having us go in there. Then we switched to extinction (the method in this book) and it's been working really well for us. However, there have been a few mishaps - he's gotten into banging his head into the crib and then screaming. Right now he has a big red mark on his head. I ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS go comfort him when he is hurt. No exception. I don't care what a book says, I would never feel right as a mother leaving my son hurt.</p> <p>It's definitely taking longer to sleep train because of that, but I am a-ok with that. As long as I am comfortable with what I'm doing, I feel that is most important. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/healthy-sleep-habits-happy-child#post-272654 Mon, 27 Aug 2012 16:15:26 +0000 Mrs. Confetti 272654@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@cvbee: thanks :) my son is passed out in his swing right now because I wanted to be out to lunch today with a friend and he was just too overtired (my fault - oh well) to wind down and sleep in the crib. can't win 'em all every time :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/healthy-sleep-habits-happy-child#post-272642 Mon, 27 Aug 2012 16:07:02 +0000 cvbee 272642@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@FriedBabyMama: love your advice re naps! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/healthy-sleep-habits-happy-child#post-272635 Mon, 27 Aug 2012 16:01:26 +0000 Mrs. Confetti 272635@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@meredithnyc: I think you may like the early bed time thing. For the first time last week, we actually felt like we could take out time and cook and relax in the evening.... despite some of the crazy in that book, that one tip has been a godsend. Also, I've heard from some mom friends that it can be tough to set a real nap schedule til your LO has a very consistent thru-the-night routine. My son is still taking more like 4 naps a day - I think the ultimate goal at this point is just not to let them get overtired, and whatever you end up with to make that work helps in the long run. good luck!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/healthy-sleep-habits-happy-child#post-272625 Mon, 27 Aug 2012 15:55:28 +0000 meredithNYC 272625@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@FriedBabyMama: Yeah, I suppose it's the rare person who is able to follow everything exactly. I think I'll just try and be really strict in the beginning while we're establishing the routine and then hopefully I'll be able to relax a little when it's clear that things are going well consistently. Looks like we're going to have to start the earlier bedtime tonight, too. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/healthy-sleep-habits-happy-child#post-272611 Mon, 27 Aug 2012 15:48:20 +0000 Mrs. Confetti 272611@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@meredithnyc: my LO is also 13 wks, and we are also starting to read this book. It's already helped tremendously at night, but I'm TOTALLY with you on the nap thing - I feel like if I'm not chained to my house to avoid "junk sleep" in the car or stroller, that I'm hurting my son's sleep well being. I think personally that you have to pick and choose from all parenting books what works for you.... I've also noticed in the past week or so since we started earlier bed time and had more night sleep that the days where I "cheated" and had him nap in the swing or while I was out and about, he was FINE. It totally did not ruin his nights or destroy his well being. I think Weissbluth is a bit hyperbolical with his opinions on naps. Just relax and encourage your LO to nap when she needs it, wherever works for you that day. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/healthy-sleep-habits-happy-child#post-272609 Mon, 27 Aug 2012 15:44:02 +0000 cvbee 272609@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@meredithNYC: I just read the book a few days ago, so we're working it out. We were doing 8-8 for a couple months, and then this nightwaking problem started. The first day that I made bedtime earlier, the nightwaking stopped. (Just wakes at 2 normal feeding at night times). </p> <p>Uh oh. Too late. meltdown now at 4:45. yikes. bye.</p> <p>Edit: so, it is 5pm and he is down. Naps were terrible today. Is this the sleep for the night or a nap? Who knows, but in the end he was tired and now he is sleeping and that is a good thing. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/healthy-sleep-habits-happy-child#post-272598 Mon, 27 Aug 2012 15:38:46 +0000 meredithNYC 272598@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@cvbee: Okay, that's fair enough - so even if a day doesn't go perfectly to plan on occasion you can make up for it.</p> <p>Out of curiosity, what time does your baby go down for the night now? Mine was doing 8pm-7am pretty consistently, but now the wake up time is creeping up to 6:00 or 6:30am. So I'm thinking we may need to try an earlier bedtime, as well. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/healthy-sleep-habits-happy-child#post-272541 Mon, 27 Aug 2012 15:18:19 +0000 cvbee 272541@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@meredithNYC: I will respond as well about the car seat/stroller thing. I am now aware that it is not as restorative a sleep as if he was having stationary sleep. But if the nap starts in the car for 20 minutes and then he keeps sleeping in the car seat at home, it's all good. </p> <p>Today we did that and then actually when we got home he didn't stay sleeping, so it was a 20 minute in the car nap....and he says 20 minutes doesn't really 'count' as a nap. </p> <p>I don't feel bad about this, though because now am aware of the issue and I know that I'll need to put him to bed earlier tonight. (Or if it was an earlier nap it would make the next nap start earlier). This is much nicer for me than the old days when he'd suddenly 'flip out' an hour before bedtime and I'd think "what on earth is going on?". </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/healthy-sleep-habits-happy-child#post-272523 Mon, 27 Aug 2012 15:10:58 +0000 mrs. wagon 272523@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@meredithNYC: I honestly took the strategies of the book and applied them to us in the way that I wanted to. So I WAS a slave to the schedule, but only because it worked SO well, and I let him take naps in the stroller or carseat. As long as it was on schedule (and a good length nap). Dr. Weissbluth says stroller and car seat naps are fine, as long as you stop the motion when they're asleep to allow them to enter deep sleep. I spent a lot of time parked in parking lots or on mall couches letting him sleep :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/healthy-sleep-habits-happy-child#post-272514 Mon, 27 Aug 2012 15:06:49 +0000 meredithNYC 272514@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@cvbee: Less reading = awesome. I will take that advice! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/healthy-sleep-habits-happy-child#post-272512 Mon, 27 Aug 2012 15:06:22 +0000 meredithNYC 272512@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrs. wagon: That's really reassuring! But did you feel like you were a slave to the schedule? I mean, I understand why it's frowned upon to try and let your baby nap in the car seat or in the stroller, but I guess sometimes it's necessary. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/healthy-sleep-habits-happy-child#post-272495 Mon, 27 Aug 2012 15:00:22 +0000 cvbee 272495@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think it's a great book up until chapter 5. Read 1-4 and stop. :) Chapter 5 is where it becomes an instruction manual on cry it out....before that it is super inclusive and lovely.</p> <p>I just read it now, with baby at 4 months old and it solved a sleep problem for me with one simple adjustment (earlier bedtime). I had been on a great schedule for a couple of months and suddenly it wasn't working out and all my googling didn't solve the problem, but reading the book did. </p> <p>I think it is a really interesting read that gets you the understanding of why sleep is important and what kind of sleep each stage of child needs. Then you can do with that info what you want. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/healthy-sleep-habits-happy-child#post-272480 Mon, 27 Aug 2012 14:51:02 +0000 mrs. wagon 272480@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@bree72: we never let him cry for more than 15 mins. For training we would let him cry for 5 mins then go in and soothe him back to sleep... next cry we would wait 10 mins... next cry, wait 15... and every time after that would be 15 mins. It was the toughest thing to listen to him cry, but watching the clock and having a limit really helped. And we only needed to let him cry for 15 mins just once. He learned how to fall back asleep on his own really quickly. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/healthy-sleep-habits-happy-child#post-272477 Mon, 27 Aug 2012 14:49:47 +0000 mrs. wagon 272477@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I absolutely loved this book and Wagon Jr. took to it really well. I'm a little too far removed to remember exactly what we followed and what we didn't (we sleep trained and nap trained at 4-5 months, he's 2 years 8 months now) but I can tell you that the book was like my bible for months. Wagon Sr. threatened to throw it out because I was so obsessive about it. I totally attribute Wagon Jr.'s excellent sleep to it. He still takes a 2 hour nap every day, and he's slept thru the night every night since we sleep trained. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/healthy-sleep-habits-happy-child#post-272474 Mon, 27 Aug 2012 14:48:44 +0000 BananaPancakes 272474@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm interested in this, too. I stopped reading it after seeing him mention letting my child cry for an hour without going in to check on him. No thanks. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/healthy-sleep-habits-happy-child#post-272465 Mon, 27 Aug 2012 14:43:33 +0000 meredithNYC 272465@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>For those of you who read and followed the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child," how well did it work out for you? I started reading the book on Friday and I'll admit I'm a little scared because it seems kind of militant. You know, I want to be able to leave the apartment occasionally and not always have to follow a super strict schedule. On the other hand, I would really like a better rested and less grumpy baby. </p> <p>LO sleeps well through the night (she's 13 weeks), but I'm trying to establish a nap schedule. Over the weekend it was hit or miss, but today she's on her third nap, which is unheard of for this non-napper. She had a morning nap for 2.5 hours, an early afternoon one for 45 minutes and is now taking the late afternoon one. I hope this will continue and I guess I need reassurance that it will and that following the program is worth the commitment. </p>