May 16, 2008
Book Review: The 90-Minute Baby Sleep Program
This is the book that changed my life. Ok, maybe that’s a little dramatic. But as a sleep-deprived new mom, it sure felt like it at the time.
The book to which I am referring is The 90-Minute Baby Sleep Program by Dr. Polly Moore. I linked to this book in an earlier post, in which I expressed my amazement at the results of my trial run of the program after simply hearing about it and before even reading the book. It went so well I decided to buy the book to find out more.
I was surprised that this book is spiral-bound. I thought that seemed a little cheap. But I soon realized that it’s ingenious! If you’re buying this book, you’re probably also trying to hold a wriggly, and probably fussy, baby. Being spiral-bound makes it easy to read with one hand. I read it while I nursed my baby, finishing in just a couple of days’ worth of nursing sessions. And Dr. Moore shares her expertise with us in a light, easy-to-read style without using a bunch of scientific jargon, making the reading level just right for someone who is trying to function on a couple of hours of sleep per night.
In the introduction, Dr. Moore shares her own story as a new mom, recalling that sometimes her daughter “seemed to want to nurse for astoundingly long and frequent periods; other times she seemed to want a pacifier; sometimes she wanted to be held for hours on end; sometimes she wailed inconsolably and I simply couldn’t figure out how to help her.” Wow, that sounded familiar.
Dr. Moore begins by discussing the importance of sleep for all humans, but particularly for infants and young children. Contrary to popular belief, babies do not get the sleep they need by catnapping whenever and wherever. They need help getting adequate sleep, and it is a parent’s job to provide this. Our culture is working against us in this, making us believe that it is important for our children’s cognitive development to bombard them with numerous educational opportunities as well as toys that whirl, flash, beep, move, and whistle Dixie. Rather than more stimulation, what babies really need is more sleep for their cognitive development.
Once readers are convinced that a baby’s sleep is of utmost importance, Dr. Moore explains the basis behind the 90-minute cycle and how to implement her “N.A.P.S.” plan at various stages in an infant’s life, from two weeks to one year. It is important to note that following this plan does not mean forcing a schedule on your baby; on the contrary, it teaches parents how to work with their babies’ own natural rhythms to help them sleep at the right times and for the appropriate duration. Dr. Moore provides practical suggestions for soothing young babies to sleep as well as strategies for helping older babies learn to fall asleep on their own. She ends the book by addressing several common sleep problems.
I have one criticism of the book—I wish she had discussed in further detail how to integrate the sleeping schedule and the feeding schedule. She does include some advice on feeding, but I was still left with a few questions unanswered, such as: What if my baby is due to eat only half an hour after she is due to go down for a nap—should she just take a really short nap, or should I try to feed her early? It all works out for us with some trial-and-error and a little flexibility, but I would have appreciated some clarification from the author on this and similar issues.
I only wish I had had this book before my daughter was born! But I’m glad I got started on the plan so early. It has made a huge difference. The day I started the N.A.P.S. plan, at 3 1/2 weeks, she started taking 1- to 2- hour naps (rather than 15 minutes) and sleeping 3- to 4-hour stretches at night, only needing to be fed once during the night. I’d say that’s pretty good! She’s almost 8 weeks old now, and it’s still going well. It doesn’t always work out perfectly, she still fusses sometimes of course, and I’m still a tired new mommy, but we’re all so much happier than we were.
Comments(8)
Yay!!!! Congratulations! That book sounds like a lifesaver! I liked “The Baby Whisperer”. It had the same type of premise. Go with the baby’s natural rhythms and stick to a routine. Not necessarily a schedule.
Anyway, enough educanto talk. I’m glad you’re sleeping and feeling better!
Isn’t it such a blessing when they take more than 15 minutes for napping? I remember being annoyed when people said “Sleep when the baby sleeps” as if I could fall asleep the moment my baby fell asleep. I’m glad it’s working out for you and hope it continues to! Haven’t read the book but my 3rd one is still doing the 90 minute program at almost 9 months – just a little encouragement for the long run. And my two cents worth on the 30 minutes before she needs to nap – I would nurse my little guy to sleep in hopes that little bit of milk would let him sleep a bit longer and if it’s a short nap then it’s a short nap – better than none, I say.
We’ve been trying this out with Piper and it’s been great!!! I still need to read the entire book though but so far it’s been very helpful!
Jenny–that’s great! I was hoping y’all would get a little relief.
Diana–yeah, “sleep when the baby sleeps” is easier said than done! I so wish I could just fall asleep at will, but it takes me a little while to wind down. It’s so frustrating when I’m just drifting off at the moment Anna decides to wake up! Oh, and when are you going to get a blog, by the way? I want to see what’s up with those adorable boys!
E-mail and facebook is enough computer time for me! I’ll just enjoy yours for now!
Yes,
I haven’t read this book, but from what I’ve gathered from what you blogged, this certainly sounds right.
The first book I read about how to deal with those first few days and months gave direction about babies getting enough sleep, but it was very schedule-oriented. I came across an article about routine. It was short, but gave me the idea.
Since (after 4 children) I’ve been convinced of the importance of sleep. Even now, Jace sleeps all night, is happy when he wakes, he has a bottle, plays and then goes down for a nap, with very little fussing. He likes sleeping. We do this all day and I usually know why he’s crying now.
I’m glad you’ve found this book so helpful.
hi there!
i know you wrote this review years ago, but i’m hoping you can dig deep into the past and give a little follow-up on how the book worked out for you. my LO is 4 1/2 months, and i know she’s due to increase her wake times. did you find that your little one’s awake times increased in sudden 90 minute increments like the book suggests, or was it a gradual increase, like 5 or 10 minutes at a time? i’ve read a lot of conflicting info on this. thanks sooo much!
Hi Kristin,
I looked at your blog and I love the pictures of your adorable baby (and her beautiful mama!). SO MANY of the things you wrote about remind me of those first few months with my first little girl! The swaddling, how the heck did she get out of that swaddle blanket again, wondering what’s up with those short naps when she’s supposed to sleep at least an hour and a half, longing for some type of predictability, trying a schedule, trying NO schedule, taking pictures and doing a blog post on every month birthday… love it!
So to answer your question, no, my girls didn’t increase suddenly to a 3-hour wake time like the book suggests. In fact, with both of them, it seemed to be 2 hours and 15 minutes, or adding another 45 minutes to their wake time. Now according to the book, they should be at peak alertness at this point, so this doesn’t make any sense. But it’s what seemed to work. I would try to keep them up for 3 hours, but they were totally falling apart long before then! The yawning and eye-rubbing were the telltale signs for us that it was time for a nap.
Now that child #2 is almost 8 months old, I’m really not paying as much attention to how long her wake times are anymore. She tends to go down for 3 fairly predictable naps each day. And I try to get her afternoon nap to coincide with our 3-year-old’s so I can get a break, so there’s a little flexibility there.
Good luck!