The dream sleeper: a three-part plan for getting your baby to love sleep (paperback)

From planning the perfect day/night sleep schedule to fixing troublesome sleep challenges, The Dream Sleeper provides a simple and easy-to-follow plan for getting babies to learn how to consistently and happily get themselves to sleep. Based on the advice of a team of pediatric advisors and the authors" proven methods, this essential book for sleep-deprived parents shows how to set yourself up for sleep success so the entire family can begin getting a good night"s sleep in just a few weeks.

You will learn

• Why baby"s sleep is different and how it changes over time

• When to start sleep teaching

• How to prepare your baby"s environment for sleep teaching

• How to plan a sleeping and eating schedule

• Strategies for dealing with crying and setbacks

• And much more

"Give your child and yourself the gift of a good night"s sleep. The Dream Sleeper is chock-full of useful strategies for sleep-deprived parents. Herman and Ryan put sleep in terms that today"s parents can relate to, offering compassion and empowerment with a side helping of humor."*Dr. Michele Borba, Today Show parenting expert and author of The Big Book of Parenting Solutions: 101 Answers to Your Everyday Challenges and Wildest Worries

"Finally, a realistic and modern approach to helping baby sleep from two of the best sleep experts around. The Dream Sleeper is an invaluable guide with advice from real (and formerly sleep-deprived) moms and provides great anecdotes and tips for navigating all the baby sleep challenges that both new and experienced parents face. I wish I"d had this book when my babies were learning to sleep!"*Carley Roney, cofounder and editor in chief, TheBump.com

Meet Our Dream Team!

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction: A Perfect Little World-Until Sleep Deprivation Knocks at Your Door

PART ONE Get Ready!

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

1 What You Should Know Before You Start

The benefits of getting good sleep and a look at different philosophies on sleep. How to know whether your baby is ready for sleep teaching-and whether you are too.

2 Sleep Science 101

How sleep develops in children and the truth about night wakings. The science behind the reasons sleep is a learned skill-and the reason that going with your child"s natural sleep tendencies doesn"t work for a lot of babies. Also includes an overview of safe sleeping practices. An important chapter for all parents struggling with their child's sleep issues.

PART TWO Get Set!

The six critical steps in guiding your baby toward sleep success

3 Setting the Stage

Setting up your baby"s room to encourage better sleep and how to deal with unique or challenging sleep situations such as sharing a room.

4 Identifying Your Child"s Sleep Associations

Sleep associations are one of the biggest barriers to sleep. What sleep associations are, the negative associations common in young children, and the more positive associations parents should try to incorporate into their baby"s sleep time.

5 Creating a Daytime Sleeping and Eating Schedule

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

6 Fixing Potential Feeding Issues

Examining and then maximizing your child"s feedings to quell fears of nighttime hunger and make sleep easier and more straightforward.

7 Setting Up a Support System

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

8 Keeping Emotional Issues in Check

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

PART THREE Get Sleep!

Where the real work of sleep teaching begins-and continues

9 Creating Your Lesson Plan

Picking the best day to begin, choosing a bedtime, deciding which room or place will work best to sleep-teach, teaching multiples, and emotionally preparing toddlers.

10 Sleep Teaching: The First Twenty-Four Hours

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

11 The Next Two Weeks (Including Naps)

The challenges associated with napping, what to do when a schedule isn"t working, and how to make modifications to your overall sleep plan.

12 Keeping It Going

Various issues that affect sleep even in children who love sleep: dropping a nap, dealing with sickness or teething, travel disruptions, when to move your child to a toddler bed, and more.

Appendix A: Frequently Asked Questions

Newborn and Baby

Toddler

Feeding

Sleep Teaching

Crying

Napping

Odds and Ends

Appendix B: Sleep Teaching Overview

Appendix C: Worksheet Templates

Worksheet 1: Sleeping and Eating Log

Worksheet 2: Contract for Sleep Teaching

Worksheet 3: Your Child"s Sleep Schedule

References

About the Authors

Index