Save Our Sleep: Helping your baby to sleep through the night, from birth to two years by Tizzie Hall (2010-04-01) Paperback – 1 Jan. 1750

We are vehemently opposed to cry it out methods. However, our nearly 9 month old has never slept through the night - because she couldn't self-settle - needing the boob to get back to sleep. And recently, co-slept much of the time with us, regularly waking at 5.30am to start the day. Being unable to sleep without me also included all her naps. If I didn't lie with her/have her in my arms - naps were a maximum of 45 minutes. She is incredibly active and curious and this just isn't enough for her. She was perpetually tired and grumpy - as were we. We accept that babies cry, particularly,when you are trying to get them to do things they don't want! but we didn't want to leave her crying in a cot for blocks of time, on her own, feeling abandoned. So, we used the age-appropriate scheduling (with the exception that we are still breastfeeding on demand - though may move to a little more structured breastfeeding according to her schedules in the next month or so), and combined this with her techniques for getting a baby to sleep in the cot/self-settle in the cot, particularly when they can stand up in said cot and protest! Yes, she cried - but we knew that this was for the best as she needed to learn this skill and we had so far been unable to teach her, and we were with her for all her crying, and yes - while she was still in the cot, we had bodily contact with her at all times until she learned to fall asleep on her own (and we are now practising gradual retreat). We re-assured her and stayed with her and did not and do not leave her for any time while she is unhappy/crying. Result (despite a short derailment due to illness/teething)- in less than 2 weeks our baby has gone to (most nights) sleeping 7-7 (or at least till around 6.30ish - a far more palatable time!), and having 2 decent naps, on her own, in her cot. Prior to this we had tried everything in terms of books, techniques, advice etc. and were very sceptical about this book, particularly given the controversy/mixed reviews her techniques have received. However, we stayed sensitive to the needs of our baby and tailored the guidelines to our perceived needs and so far they seem to be working. We are amazed but very happy. I am sure there will still be days where things don't go according to plan but I feel that these will be the exception rather than the norm. Who knows - this could all be a big coincidence (I doubt it!) but even so this book has still, and I believe will continue to, prove helpful. It's a measure of how much I have been impressed with this book that I have written a review. Something I NEVER do.

I give it 5 stars for two basic things that Tizzie Hall explains in her book and worked well with my baby and I: the 7 o'clock routine and the self settling method.Someone mentioned the author uses the controlled crying method but no, the author is in fact against it. One of the things I never did was to let my 7 month-old settle using the controlled crying method. Like TH says, it's cruel and confuses the baby. I can't agree enough. However, she talks about protest cry vs emotional cry and when I trained my baby to self settle, I followed the recommendations on both and it was very successful.I used to be skeptical about putting a baby into a routine and preferred doing things on demand and naturally. In addition, I got my baby used to fall sleep whilst breastfeeding. I thought she was going to sleep through the night when she started weaning but that didn't happen. I was getting to a point where I was so stressed and started even suffering from insomnia because I was so anxious about when baby was going to wake up during the night. She was often tired during the day, irritable in the evening... I thought it was normal. But as I was nearly having a breakdown, I rushed to my library to see if I could find a book that could help me. And I borrowed Save Our Sleep. And I am not exaggerating if I say it actually saved my life as well. I couldn't believe how quick my baby got used to the routine. She now sleeps 12 hours a night, has 2 naps a day (she'd never nap 2 times a day!!), is eating better and is clearly a lot happier than before. Not to mention I am also a lot happier and relaxed so I can look after my baby in a more positive way.I am definitely going to buy this book as I can always consult it when necessary.Unlike many might believe, the routine is not something that turns mechanical. It allows baby to eat, play and rest properly. I am also the flexible type of person so if we need to get out of the routine for a day or so, I'll do it confidently knowing everything will be back to normal afterwards.Don't use any book as a Bible, just pick whatever information suits you and your baby and also be guided by your heart.

Excellent book. On first glance I thought it was very similar to Gina Ford's contented baby which I have been using since my LO was two weeks old. She's now 8 months. However this book really suits my baby. The Gina Ford routines are excellent except for the feeding parts. They might suit a consistantly good feeder but they never worked for my LO as she has a small appetite and feeding too soon after a bottle meant that she hasn't been taking enough solids since weaning. As soon as I switched to Tizzy Hall's feeding routines(two weeks ago) she started eating and drinking much better and now sleeps through the night without feeding. Plus feeding is now simple and quick and I no longer fret about whether she'll eat or not. Also the piece on babies rolling onto their tummies was inspired and really saved our sleep. Highly recommended.