Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Weissbluth

I used this with my son and it worked perfectly. However, he was 10 days overdue. My girls were a little over 3 weeks premature. Dr. Weissbluth suggests you start sleep training from the due date with preemies, not the delivery date. Has anyone tried with their preemies from the delivery date instead of the due date? My girls seem to have longer night periods and are starting to have somewhat of a sleep schedule during the day as well as more wakefulness. Thankfully, their fussy time is during the day as well. I am blessed that they eat at night and go right back to sleep. I put them to bed "for the night" between 6:00-7:30. It seems to be working. We have been on that schedule for 1 1/2 weeks now. They will be 6 weeks old on Thursday. Their due date was actually June 5th, so the adjusted age would be two weeks today.

 

He's our pediatrician and we followed his book. With my first who was 9 days late and the twins who were "only" 12 days early and well over 7 1/2 lbs each. I think it really depends on your children and how they're doing. The one thing he told me when I came in for the 2 week appointment was to start teaching them to fall asleep on their own. I would look at their cues and the clock and would put them down. In the beginning I would spend a little more time with them, and then I started slowly reducing that, and I would leave them fuss a little longer each time. At 3-4 weeks they mastered it, without a paci, and it has been a godsend. It's such a great thing not having to rock your twins to sleep every single nap and at bed time, especially with an older child in the house.

I also started pushing for a sleep schedule sooner, trying (and partly forcing) them at the same schedule. They have been napping in their cribs since 4 weeks old (as long as I was home). At 4 months they were on a 2 nap schedule (9 am and 1 pm) combined with a 6 pm bed time and a 7 am wake up time (scheduled if necessary). They still wake once around 5.30 - 6.15 am, and I'll put them down if it's before 6 am, but they have been sleeping 11-12 hours straight since 3-4 months (2 months for my girl). They just have trouble getting past 6 am unfortunately, at least consistently.

So yes, I think starting early is important, but it also depends on your child. See how they do and if they're doing well, don't be afraid to "push" them in the right direction. My kids tend to be good sleepers, big and healthy so I wasn't scared to be a little more strict. Partly because I feel I don't really have a choice with 3 kids, and also because I am simply not the AP type mom.

Hope that helps!

 

Hello! Well I don't know much about the book, but I have read many people that swear by it. Tell me a little about how it works. Currently my twins girls (3 months old) eat every 3 1/2 hours and their last feeding is at about 9 - 9:30 pm. Then they usually sleep for 5 - 6 hours and get up at about 3 am and then for the day at 7 am. Does this sound right?? They were 6 weeks premature and in hospital for a few weeks as growers and feeders.

Thanks,
Jen

 

I read it but had a very hard time following it until they were about 4 months. Things were just too out of whack before then. BUT once it did start to work everything fell into place and it all made sense!

 

I read that book when the boys were about 9-10 weeks old. I decided not to wait until they were 4 to 5 months to implement a schedule - I started that day. Well, it has been a godsend. One baby can't get to sleep on his own quite yet, but once they're down they both sleep really well. We do 4 naps per day (about 45 min. each) - I'd like to do 3 longer naps instead but the babies aren't up for it yet (they're 3 and a 1/2 months now). At night, I have one sleeping from about 7:30 until 6:30 without waking (I hope I didn't jinx myself) and the other just waking once around midnight for a quick feed and going right back down. I really credit that book with helping me to understand the importance of sleep and learning how to help the babies into a good routine. Of course we still have off days and nights, but I can usually get back on track within a day or so.

On Thursday night we're taking the boys out to my mother in law's 60th birthday party so our bedtime routine will be out the window. We've never done this before and I hope they're alright. I am thinking I'll feed them around 5, put them in the car seats and take them to the party and just see what happens. If we only stay an hour, fine. If they fall asleep in our arms, great. One night hopefully won't mess us up too much!!

 

I would love to hear more abotu the book . I actually have it . Read some before the twins were born. I remember the theories abotut eh need for good sleep habits but forgot the practice. Sounds crazy but I can't remember what to do wiith 4 1/2 monthers.

Any place for a summary , because I have no idea where the book is now. Thanks, all.

 

It is hard to sum up the whole book, but here are some key points:

Always put babies down to sleep w/in 1-2 hours of wakefulness

Motionless sleep is best (not in the car, stroller, swing)

Teach babies how to fall asleep on their own, put them down in a drowsy state, not fully asleep (yes, they may cry hard a little bit, but should settle, if not, soothe only for a few minutes and try gain)

Early bedtimes are best (I remember putting my son down at 5 or 5:30 and he would sleep until 5 or 5:30).

I was dubbed the "Sleep Nazi" by family and friends because I had my son on a tight sleep schedule for the few years. I was a SAHM so it was easy for me to schedule around his sleep. He is now 5 and is a pleasant child. He rarely has a tantrum, and goes to bed w/out a fuss. Sometimes he tells me it is time for bed. Some people think I was nuts, but they still have sleep issues with their kids. Yes, I did go on trips and had to reprogram the little guy, but it only took a night or 2. My life revolved around his naps. Some may think it extreme, but it is worth it to me. Sleep is so important. I should know, I have sleep issues. I don't want my kids to have the same.

 

My oldest is also his perfect example. Still sleeps 12 hours at night and 2 hours during the day. I never had issues with her. I guess I had to get up around 20 times during the night since she started sleeping through (3 months of age 7 to 7). She's now a little past 3 ...

People have called me crazy, but my kids are happy, well rested and hardly ever sick (I believe well rested people are less likely to get sick, in general, because your body can just handle more). I would do again, actually I am doing it again!

He's a really nice guy too. Down to earth and very involved. I always get hugs. The last time my twin girl was hospitalized he gave me his home phone number (I am NOT selling it !) and called me every day to see how she was doing. He made sure she had the top surgeon of Children's Memorial who's actually a transplant surgeon (and she just had an abscess on her butt). I'll truly miss him when we go back to Europe.

Read the book, although there is not a lot about twins in it (he's working on that), it makes you understand sleep so much better ...

 

My babies were 4 weeks early. I found that some things they were more on the delivery date for and others were more towards the due date. You just have to play with the timing. What I liked was that I could set expectations and look for behaviors at/about the time he said they would happen.

The only thing that I'm not agreeing with right now is the elimination of the morning nap. Mine still very much need this nap and I let them have it. I have my eyes open for the signs that they don't need it and I'll work towards modifying the afternoon schedule at that time.

 

QUOTE(first_second_and_last @ Jun 19 2007, 03:56 PM) [snapback]298391[/snapback]
The only thing that I'm not agreeing with right now is the elimination of the morning nap. Mine still very much need this nap and I let them have it. I have my eyes open for the signs that they don't need it and I'll work towards modifying the afternoon schedule at that time.


He always told me that most children drop the morning nap between 15 and 18 months of age, so since your twins just turned 1, I am not surprised they still need it. My oldest didn't drop it until 18 months of age, and had no trouble going to 1 nap from 1 day to another.

 

I read the book when the girls were first born, but it didn't make much sense to me until they were about 8 weeks (actual -- born at 37w). If you have already been through it with your older child, it may work for you to start now. Mine just didn't seem to have any rhyme or rhythm to them for the first several weeks -- though that may have been my inexperience as a parent (and my overall sense of overwhelmedness), that I just couldn't see it!

I did find that some things followed gestational age and some followed actual age. Their peak fussy period seemed to be from about 8-10 weeks (actual age), while for a full-term newborn, peak fussiness is supposedly at 6 weeks. But in other ways (all the milestones after about 3 months) they have been on track for actual age.

Anyway, play around with it -- I hope it works for you!

 

Hi..

I have 4 month old twin girls. They were 2 months early so adjusted age is around 2 months. I swear by this book. I got it when my older daughter was around 5-6 months and started using it and it was a godsend...especially for naps as she wouldn't take them. I have now started trying to implement a schedule for the babies. Althought they are only 2 months adjusted age today - they are already sleeping great and it has made a huge difference in sleep and sanity for us! The other night they actually slept 9 hours in a row. They are exclusively breastfed and usually eat every three hours. This doesn't happen on a regular basis yet but even when they don't sleep all the way through the night, they are very good about eating and going right back to sleep.

I would say the key is the early bedtime and putting them down after 1-2 hours of awake time. Right now my girls seem to do the best if they are soothed and put down after just one hour of awake time. This eventually lengthens. If you catch them when they first start to get tired, they are much easier to put to sleep.

This book is the sleep bible at our house. I've decided it will be part of my future baby shower presents to new moms as well....it's that good! Before I found this book I read several other sleep books that were recommended to me. This one has been the only one that I've returned to consistently and rely on for answers to all my kids sleep issues. Since we started using this when my 2 1/2 year old was 5 months old, she has learned to sleep 11-12 hours consistently every single night and still takes a 2 hour nap in the afternoon. When we first started, she was in bed by 6:30 pm every night. It seemed early and everyone else thought we were being a little rediculous (we were very insistent upon this routine) but it works.

I think I've been reading posts on this site since I became pregnant and this is probably the first time I've posted..I can't emphasize enought that this is a fabulous book!

 

I followed the book with my DD and she had a bedtime of 6:30-7 p.m., sleeping 9-12 hours, starting at 9 weeks old. It worked like a charm with her.

The boys haven't quite been as easy, but I've started implementing the techniques for the past 3 weeks or so, with pretty good success.