Sweet Dreams : A Pediatrician's Secrets for Baby's Good Night's Sleep

by Frederick M. Hodges

Most new parents quickly and sadly discover the difficulty of getting a child first to go to sleep, and then to sleep throughout the night. Dr. Fleiss, a noted family pediatrician for more than 30 years, shares his secrets for discovering a child's natural sleep patterns, developing positive bedtime rituals, nutritional and lifestyle aids to sleep, and how co-sleeping affects normal growth and development.

Genres: Parenting

160 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2000

Reviews

[Mary Grace Martinez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely some good food for thought and some good tips and ideas. Not all practical in the broader picture of having a family. I do believe the ideal is to give each child all one's full attention which is basically the approach this doctor recommends, however this is not possible, especially when you have multiple children.

One other issue I have is that it does sound very clinical in the sense that it does not treat children as individuals and it does not consider family dynamics. It basically says based on research this is the one right way. But in my experience with my own children and from speaking with other parents, different things work for different children and different families.

For instance my first was a wonderful co-sleeper. My second co-slept well for a time, but hit a point where she needed to sleep independently because she woke too often while co-sleeping and no one in our house was getting good sleep.

As a stay at home mom, my ability to care for my children during the day is impacted by how much sleep I get. Similarly working moms need to get good sleep to do well at their jobs. This doctor says lack of sleep is just a sacrifice parents must make in order to make sure their children get good sleep. While there are certainly stages where sleep is sacrificed, I don't agree with this as a day to day way to live.

To summarize, this book is very one sided and while I am a believer in co-sleeping, I am also a believer in treating children as individuals and that parents have lots of tools in their toolbelt. There is rarely a one size fits all approach to anything in parenting.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Fleiss is pro-breast, anti-circumcision and pro-cosleeping. Yes, these are his opinions on the subjects...but he is a doctor and his views are based on research and study, which he details extensively in the book. If you already have your mind made up and disagree with Dr. Fleiss on these issues, you probably will not like this book and will not find it useful.

But, if you are undecided and/or open-minded, this is an excellent book. I read it when I was pregnant with my 1st son. At the time, I was planning to breastfeed and to not circumcise. But I was against cosleeping. However, the more I read, the more I understood the history and benefits of cosleeping. Breastfeeding and cosleeping fit perfectly and naturally together. The section discussing how circumcision disrupts mood and sleep patterns was especially informative.

I am very glad I read this book. It turned out to be one of the best 'parent-advice' books I've read so far.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book seems a bit outdated, even though the copyright is 2000. He also seems very much set on what the right way is (like have to wear pajamas to bed, have to keep room clean, etc). The worst part is that he tends to quote research saying things like he has read "all" the relevant research, and it's usually not good to be absolute. He also goes into great detail about the different stages of sleep, but in very different terms than I've read elsewhere, and the book doesn't seem very well organized.

I think he provides some useful info, but nothing dramatic, and nothing that you can't get elsewhere and better.

[Ronni · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boo. Contains NO secrets! Leonardo DiCaprio's endorsement was the best part! Time after time, the author draws faulty conclusions based on his own opinions, not evidence, when citing studies. I really wanted this pro-co-sleeping book to help me out, but, no go.

[Kimberly · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was crap. I didn't even finish it. Don't bother.

[Stephanie Pugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another book I highly recommend to new parents. It will help you have more realistic expectations for your baby's sleep patterns.