Sleeping Through the Night

I had the opportunity to see Jodi Mindell, author of Sleeping Through the Night and Sleep Deprived No More, when I was at Johnson's Camp Baby. Even though I was not a rookie mom, my second child was 11 months at the time, I still had questions about sleep.

I asked Dr. Mindell after the talk if it was okay to nurse or give a bottle right before bedtime or should I try to stop it. We had been going back and forth on who put the baby to bed and if it was me, the baby wanted to nurse. She asked if he was sleeping through the night and settling himself down (self-soothing) if he awoke in the night. I answered yes.

And the great thing? She told me that if it isn't broken, don't fix it. She was reassuring. The funny thing is that since my husband took care of the children the three days I was in NJ, that the baby no longer needed me at bedtime. Problem resolved.

Dr. Mindell gave such a great presentation. She has years of research on the sleep habits of babies and children. She showed video of a baby that could only fall asleep while bathing (don't try that at home, folks!) and warned of some of the things not to do.

How about you? Are you sleeping through the night? I don't think I've sleep soundly since I got pregnant with my first child nearly five years ago. Dr. Mindell has suggestions for bleary-eyed parents too.

If you are a new parent, even if it's not your first because as we all know, every child is different, I would recommend reading the books Sleeping Through the Night and Sleep Deprived No More.

Sleeping Through the Night and Sleep Deprived No More are available on Amazon.com and in bookstores nationwide.

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This was written by Leeanthro who can be read at Soy is the New Black where she dishes about family, food, foraging, and frivolity. While many of the products she discusses are sold only through boutique or specialty stores, some are widely available at national stores and online.