The Happiest Baby Guide To Great Sleep Book Review

My children are young adults now but I was interested to review The Happiest Baby Guide To Great Sleep Simple Solutions for Kids from Birth to 5 Years, written by nationally celebrated pediatrician Dr. Harvey Karp.

Harvey Karp, M.D., America's favorite pediatrician, now focuses his unparalleled knowledge, experience, and insight on solving the #1 concern of parents everywhere: sleep.  With The Happiest Baby Guide to Great Sleep, Dr. Karp-arguable the world's foremost parenting expert and bestselling author of The Happiest Baby on the Block and The Happiest Toddler on the Block-offers invaluable tips on how to help your newborn, infant, or toddler get the rest they need, while debunking some of the most widely held myths about babies and sleep.

When my three children were young they didn't want to go to sleep or have a regular bedtime.  I had a two year old and baby twins and it was impossible to have a regular schedule for sleep, let alone anything else.  Sleep was something that I longed for and I was always tired.  I wish this book would have been available for tips at that time.  My adult kids don't have any problem sleeping now, ha, ha.  Especially sleeping in the morning.

This book is filled with so much information that I don't know where to start but I will.  I'm going to tell a little bit about the chapters and some information I found interesting.

Chapter One tells about the science of sleep and understanding the facts and myths about sleep.  One thing it said was that "our brain craves a twenty-five-to twenty-six hour day!"  Also that over the past fifty years the average adult nighttime sleep dropped from eight hours to about seven.  No wonder people are so tired these days.

Chapter Two lists the top ways to reduce your baby's risk of SIDS or suffocation which all parents should read.   It also has information about how much sleep you can realistically expect in those first months, and information about whether it's a good idea to share the bed with your baby.

Chapter Three focuses on helping your baby fall asleep from birth to three months.  I read that turning on your baby's amazing calming reflex is easy once you can do the 5 S's (swaddle, side/stomach position, shush, swing, suck) correctly and in combination.

In Chapter Four one statement was that "postpartum depression is real, treatable...and sometimes even preventable".  I'm sure a lot of mother's would be interested in finding out that "10 to 30 percent of all new moms develop PPD.  That virtually makes PPD a national epidemic!"

I learned in Chapter Five that "even when babies sleep, they still feel, hear, and see.  The early morning light filters through their closed eyes, soft spot, and thin skull, turning off their melatonin and turning on their circadian rhythm alarm clock".

Chapter Six and Seven deals with sleep problems from three to twelve months of age.  A fact that I learned is that fatique makes adults sleep better but it's not the same for infants.  It can make them wired and restless.  Also that bed-sharing is not a good thing because it can lead to poor sleep.

A Key Point in Chapter Eight was "like struggles falling asleep, popping awake at night can happen when your little one is too revved up; something's disturbing her (teething, etc); she's learned the wrong sleep cues; or she's going down too early (or too late)".

One thing I learned in Chapter Nine was to not let your baby sleep in the same room as your other toddler child until the younger child is around two years old.  You never know what a toddler will offer the baby, such as crackers, metal trucks, or something dangerous to them.

Chapter Ten dealt with the big changes in your tot's verbal and mental abilities and I learned that having a TV in your child's room increases sleep struggles and obesity.

On to Chapter Eleven I learned that overexcitement and stubbornness can lead to troubles at bed time.  Maybe that's why I had trouble with a couple of my kids, ha, ha.

In Chapter Twelve it focused on helping your one to five year old sleep all night.  A point which I found interesting was that hunger to growing pains to pinworms can prevent your child from sleeping soundly.

Chapter Thirteen listed that some reasons tots wake up cranky.  Reasons given were the bedtime could be too late or their sleep could be upset by sounds, lights, or internal sleep stoppers like teething.

In Chapter Fourteen a key point that I found interesting was that a child's nap time will shift from twice a day to once...to none.  The ends of naps marks your tot's passage into childhood.

Chapter Fifteen dealt with "Red Alerts and Special Situations" such as asthma to seizures, and other medical problems that can keep your child awake and tips to help them from ruining your night.

All in all I liked this book and it is full of a lot of information to help you and your child have a better sleep.  I would recommend it to anyone.  

Disclaimer: I am participating in a book review campaign with One2One Network. I received this book from Harper Collins for the purposes of reviewing it. I have not received compensation. My participation in the campaign enters me into a drawing for a gift card. All opinions stated are my own.