The Happiest Baby Guide to Great Sleep: Simple Solutions for Kids from Birth to 5 Years

I was thrilled to receive a copy of Dr. Harvey Karp’s newest book “The Happiest Baby Guide to Great Sleep: Simple Solutions for Kids from Birth to 5 Years.”  I was excited for two reasons.  Expecting our third born in the coming weeks and having had 13 months of less then perfect sleep with Aiden and Chris, I was excited to learn anything new that we might be put to use immediately.  I was also excited that the book covered sleep up to age 5.  As I’ve mentioned previously, I have one frequent night visitor who could use some four year old sleep training {although things have been MUCH better in the last few weeks with both moods and sleep for Mr. A. and I am ohhhh soooo thankful!}

If you know me, you know that I am not much of a reader so when book arrived in the mail, I knew I had to get started ASAP if I wanted to stand a chance at reading any of it.  While the book is easy to read, having read Dr. Karp’s Happiest Baby on the Block book, I did find much of the material repetitive.  I love a quick read that gets right to the point and felt that this book was a bit too scientific with all of the research included and seemed to have a bit too much “fluff.”  I think all parents try to be efficient with their time and after being a few chapters in, I found the information to be a bit repetitive and monotonous.

A good portion of the book is dedicated to helping babies settle down and sleep using the 5S method, which is already extensively covered in "Happiest Baby." The 5S method is efficient but if you're looking for new ideas, keep looking. I found the same to be true for the toddler portion. You are already familiar with the techniques if you read "Happiest Toddler."

While I didn’t find this book to be what I was looking for personally, it is a great book with great ideas. First time parents would gain some valuable information and could read this one book in place of the Happiest Baby/Toddler books.  There are some invaluable tips on how to help your newborn, infant or toddler get the rest they need while understanding how and why.

The book went on sale March 19, 2013 and list price is $15.99 and can be found online on Amazon.com.  Check it out for yourself or someone you know who might be expecting: http://bit.ly/ZUyHra. 

It’s available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Happiest-Baby-Guide-Great-Sleep/dp/0062113321/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Happy reading and Happy sleep!