If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time you know that I take sleep very seriously. I think sleep is as important to a child health and happiness as being well fed. Yes. I take it that seriously. And, if you’ve ever read this before, you know that I lucked into getting my daughter to sleep through the night pretty easily but naps? Not so much.
So, when I got an email from TLC Book Tours asking me to be a part of the book tour for The Good Night, Sleep Tight Workbook, I happily accepted. Hell, if someone told me to mix ketchup with formula and C would nap, I’d probably try that too. I was anxious for an expert to tell me what to do to make naptime more peaceful.
I found Kim West’s workbook really reassuring in a few ways. First, she makes a point to say that even if the child doesn’t go to sleep the same way for naps that she does at night, it’ll be OK. I worry a lot about the inconsistency of napping at home on weekends and at her grandmother’s house during the week. And I know that asking my mother-in-law to toss her only grandchild into a pack and play and let her cry isn’t fair. Ms. West says that it’s OK and won’t send our night time progress backwards.
Also? I love the way the book is written. It’s a quick, easy read. To the point, but with a tone of another mother who has been in the sleep war trenches. She makes great points that seem so obvious but that I just didn’t think of before.
Actually, the only thing I was unsure about was her “Sleep Lady Shuffle”. Ms. West suggests laying the baby down awake and staying in the room, in a chair, until she falls asleep. For me? I just couldn’t do this. I don’t think I could sit in the room with my child who was crying and not pick her up and comfort her. That being said, I’d remind you that I lucked into a child who slept through the night. If she wasn’t, I probably would be much more willing to try this method and I would definitely recommend the book to a new mom that was struggling with getting a baby to sleep.
For us and for naps, we’ll just keep trying to get her down awake and for longer than 30 minutes at a time and keep in mind some of the other suggestions and considerations.
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