- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
Attachment Parenting
GibsonGirl620
member
If you read Ferber, please come in (CP)
GibsonGirl620
member
I keep hearing people (even on this board) say that they read Ferber's book and found it helpful, even if they didn't use CIO. I'm not looking for a miraculous quick fix to my LO's sleep issues, but I want to do what I can to make sure he's getting enough good quality sleep. He's been waking more at night and his naps have always been catnaps. 
Of course, teething and other milestones have rocked the boat as well...
So my question is for those that *have* read his book...
Thanks!
[Poll]
This discussion has been closed.
Re: If you read Ferber, please come in (CP)
I found his book very helpful. I did side eye and disregard a few things, (like he believes that babies do not need to be fed overnight at all after a certain time and also gave me the feeling that it's "bad" to have "sleep associations") But I learned a lot about said sleep associations and my LO, and was able to change things so that it was not disturbing her sleep. In general, I think he believes that all children can sleep well by 6 months, and I tend to think that all children learn to sleep well at their own pace, much like learning to walk. My kiddo seemed ready to me around 19/20 months and now she is a great sleeper. I don't think I could have gotten her to sleep better earlier, and did try, but it just didn't feel right.
I also like "Sleepless in America" but it's more general and not focused on babies.
I used his night weaning method with huge success & less crying than other AP methods (Dr. Jay Gordon, Sears, etc.). I never left Ari to cry - there was minimal crying the 1st 2 nights while I held him & told him "no milk till morning."
I also used information in the sleep apnea chapter, the night terror vs. nightmare info, & the scheduling (a.k.a. too much in bed time) info. So a ton of stuff that in no way involved the gradual extinction method.
The CIO stuff is honestly a very small part of his book. As solidio stated, there's stuff that I don't agree with, but I disregarded that & used the stuff that was helpful.
I'm not normally on this board because I don't really identify with being AP.
However, I did do a lot of "AP" when Jake was in his first year. I ultimately ended up doing CIO for 4 days, but only after trying several other things. I found the book very helpful to understand sleep and particularly sleep associations.
As a first time mom, it never dawned on me that I had to "teach" my kid how to fall asleep on his own.
Like any parenting book, I disregarded the information that I didn't agree with and learned new information and things to try.
Thanks for all the responses!
Sooo... after yet another failed attempt at a nap this afternoon, we took a field trip to the book store today. I have the book and I'm actually really looking forward to reading it.
Oh, BTW, LO finally fell asleep in the car on the way home. At 3:15. He slept until 4:00, which made bedtime an absolute delight...
Ari went through a boo-shitty nap phase right @ 7 months too. It seems pretty common at this age. I think he dropped from 3 naps to 2 at that time, or shortened one of the naps - can't remember exactly.
We struggled with naps too. We actually only did Ferber to get Jake to fall asleep at night, it was taking him two hours to fall asleep and it was getting ridiculous.
There's a part in the book that he says that some kids nap better on the couch or something of the sort. And it was totally true for Jake. He didn't start napping in his crib until he was 15 months, before that it was on the couch, in his bouncy seat or wherever he would fall asleep.