(VIDEO): My biggest new parent regret: not reading books on sleep training for babies

sleep training,

This morning I feel so rested because A.J. technically “slept through the night.” He could have accomplished this a lot sooner if I had done a better job of reading about sleep training before he was born. I didn’t and I’ve paid the price ever since. We’ve had nights where I’ve rocked him, my husband has rocked him or I just let A.J. cry it out. In fact, crying it out helped us reach this morning’s milestone. Watch my biggest new parent regret:

Share how you overcame any sleep challenges with your child by posting below. Include any suggested books, cds, dvds or general advice.

Consider these popular baby & toddler sleep training books from trusted retailer, Amazon.com:

About Joyce Brewer

Creator & Host of Mommy Talk Show. Emmy award-winning TV journalist.Wife & Mommy; Mom Blogger; Social Media Coach; Long Island, New York transplant living in Atlanta, GA. Follow Joyce on Twitter @MommyTalkShow Author of Use What You Know: A Business Idea Guide for Moms featuring interviews with mompreneurs who created businesses using their skills & backgrounds.

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9 comments

  1. I really liked The Sleep Lady’s “Good Night, Sleep Tight.” It covers many ages and was extremely helpful for me.

    • Thanks Lindsay. I’ll check it out. I really need to catch up on my “sleep training” books even though A.J. is almost 15 months old 😀

  2. Congratulations on hitting a new milestone with A.J. I’m so excited for you both. I love how you said you just had to let him work it out for himself. I think that’s where most parents have the hardest time in sleep training. It’s so hard to not to go make it better for your baby. I think if a lot of parent changed their thinking as you have, many of them would be much happier! I think you will be very happy with your book choices. I am a very BIG fan of the Happiest Baby on the Block… Toddler too!

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  3. I hear ya, Joyce! My husband and I ran out of steam by the 4 month mark. We picked up Solve Your Child’s Sleep Problems by Dr. Ferber and have been enjoying a full night of sleep ever since. I can’t recommend that book enough! The best part is, Jackson is so much happier because he, too, is getting good sleep. Great post!

    • Sara, I believe in Dr. Ferber and we let A.J. cry it out around 6 months and he slept well. Somehow, somewhere I started “backsliding” and nursing him when he woke up in the middle of the night because I thought he was hungry. How wrong I was! He slept until 6 a.m. this morning which was fabulous 😀

  4. Dr. Ferber rocks. No one ever said it would be easy, but it was worth it. It took us three days to complete. The first night was 23 minutes of parental anguish, 5 minutes on night 2 and night 3 she lay down and slept through the night. We had to “re-ferberize” her a couple months later when our whole routine was thrown off when the entire family got the stomach flu. The re-do was far less painful and shorter in duration than the first time around. Besides, we knew the benefits this time around. I’m glad you stuck it out!

    • Thanks Catherine. We have had to re-ferberize A.J. a few times. Thankfully, he doesn’t wake to nurse anymore. A few moms suggested I use a sound machine with “white noise” to help him nap longer. I’m really considering it. Have you used one?

  5. I thought I was the only one! I don’t sleep at all! I may get 3 hrs in a row. I have not tried out the cry it out yet. My her Pedi told me to do this too. This is so frustrating! She ends up in the bed with us half the night. Thanks for sharing!

  6. Thanks. He’s doing much better, but the time change has thrown things out of whack. He woke at 4:22 this morning!
    I totally believe in crying it out. It helps a lot and they learn to pacify themselves.