Nighttime for many new parents in the United States is fraught with the intense challenges of learning to breastfeed and helping their babies sleep so they can get rest themselves. Through careful ethnographic study of the dilemmas raised by nighttime breastfeeding, and their examination in the context of anthropological, historical, and feminist studies, this volume unravels the cultural tensions that underlie these difficulties. As parents negotiate these dilemmas, they not only confront conflicting medical guidelines about breastfeeding and solitary infant sleep, but also larger questions about cultural and moral expectations for children and parents, and their relationship with one another.
Sweet Sleep is the first and most complete book on nights and naps for breastfeeding families. It’s mother-wisdom, reassurance, and a how-to guide for making sane and safe decisions on how and where your family sleeps, backed by the latest research. It’s 4 A.M. You’ve nursed your baby five times throughout the night. You’re beyond exhausted. But where can you breastfeed safely when you might fall asleep? You’ve heard that your bed is dangerous for babies. Or is it? Is there a way to reduce the risk? Does life really have to be this hard? No, it doesn’t. Sweet Sleep is within reach. This invaluable resource will help you • sleep better tonight in under ten minutes with the Quick Start guide—and sleep safer every night with the Safe Sleep Seven checklist • sort out the facts and fictions of bedsharing and SIDS • learn about normal sleep at every age and stage, from newborn to new parent • direct your baby toward longer sleep when he’s ready • tailor your approach to your baby’s temperament • uncover the hidden costs of sleep training and “cry it out” techniques • navigate naps at home and daycare • handle concerns from family, friends, and physicians • enjoy stories and tips from mothers like you • make the soundest sleep decisions for your family and your life Advance praise for Sweet Sleep “Chock-full of advice and information . . . The editors smartly break the information into digestible bits organized by topics and age ranges. And for any parent desperate for an uninterrupted few hours of sleep, the advice is worth the read. Sweet Sleep includes extensive information on creating a safe sleep space, helping children learn to sleep on their own and defusing criticism of your family’s choices. . . . This book is nothing but supportive of whatever your choices are about nursing and sleeping.”—BookPage “An essential guide for parents . . . detailed, practical advice on bed sharing and breast-feeding, with basic guidelines for safe bed sharing outlined in seven steps.”—Publishers Weekly
The Model Chapter on Infant and Young Child Feeding is intended for use in basic training of health professionals. It describes essential knowledge and basic skills that every health professional who works with mothers and young children should master. The Model Chapter can be used by teachers and students as a complement to textbooks or as a concise reference manual.
Part memoir, part sharing of women's stories, part research, part boobin'. In this boobin' book, Meg includes, - Why breastfed children wake frequently and why it is so important to answer their cries. - How to get more sleep and feel more rested without doing cry-it-out or sleep training techniques. - The results from her survey on night-waking in breastfed children and the percentage of women who continue to wake to breastfeed. - How to combine routines or rituals with breastfeeding on demand. - Why it is not a bad habit to breastfeed your little one to sleep. - How to find your inner marsupial and have a happier, more content baby. - What to do when you are feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. - Safe co-sleeping and bedsharing guidelines, along with different sleeping arrangements you can try for your family. - How to bedshare or co-sleep while tandem feeding (breastfeeding two children at the same time). - What to do when your breastfed child hates to sleep! - The secrets to getting your baby to take longer naps...without being attached to the boob. - Gentle night-weaning tips and suggestions. - What gut health has to do with breastfeeding and night-waking.Most babies just want a cuddle and a boob. This book is for those looking for gentle suggestions, an understanding of what is normal in breastfed babies and toddlers, and what to do when everyone says your way of mothering through breastfeeding especially at night) is not best... when you know in your heart that it is.
Developed and refined by two successful pediatricians, the "Jassey Way" boasts more than a 90% success rate of getting children to sleep through the night in their first 4 weeks of life. A safe and proven technique, the Jassey Way uses a feeding schedule that allows newborns (and their parents) a full night's sleep at a younger age than other sleep training techniques.
Breastfeeding and child feeding at the center of nurturing practices, yet the work of nurture has escaped the scrutiny of medical and social scientists. Anthropology offers a powerful biocultural approach that examines how custom and culture interact to support nurturing practices. Our framework shows how the unique constitutions of mothers and infants regulate each other. The Dance of Nurture integrates ethnography, biology and the political economy of infant feeding into a holistic framework guided by the metaphor of dance. It includes a critique of efforts to improve infant feeding practices globally by UN agencies and advocacy groups concerned with solving global nutrition and health problems.
From the author of Expecting Better, The Family Firm, and The Unexpected an economist's guide to the early years of parenting. “Both refreshing and useful. With so many parenting theories driving us all a bit batty, this is the type of book that we need to help calm things down.” —LA Times “The book is jampacked with information, but it’s also a delightful read because Oster is such a good writer.” —NPR With Expecting Better, award-winning economist Emily Oster spotted a need in the pregnancy market for advice that gave women the information they needed to make the best decision for their own pregnancies. By digging into the data, Oster found that much of the conventional pregnancy wisdom was wrong. In Cribsheet, she now tackles an even greater challenge: decision-making in the early years of parenting. As any new parent knows, there is an abundance of often-conflicting advice hurled at you from doctors, family, friends, and strangers on the internet. From the earliest days, parents get the message that they must make certain choices around feeding, sleep, and schedule or all will be lost. There's a rule—or three—for everything. But the benefits of these choices can be overstated, and the trade-offs can be profound. How do you make your own best decision? Armed with the data, Oster finds that the conventional wisdom doesn't always hold up. She debunks myths around breastfeeding (not a panacea), sleep training (not so bad!), potty training (wait until they're ready or possibly bribe with M&Ms), language acquisition (early talkers aren't necessarily geniuses), and many other topics. She also shows parents how to think through freighted questions like if and how to go back to work, how to think about toddler discipline, and how to have a relationship and parent at the same time. Economics is the science of decision-making, and Cribsheet is a thinking parent's guide to the chaos and frequent misinformation of the early years. Emily Oster is a trained expert—and mom of two—who can empower us to make better, less fraught decisions—and stay sane in the years before preschool.
Everything you need to know about getting your baby or toddler to sleep -- from America's foremost baby and childcare experts. Babies don't automatically know how to sleep through the night; they need to be taught. The Sears family has learned from decades of pediatric practice, bolstered by their own parenting experiences, that different babies have different nighttime temperaments -- and, of course, different families have different lifestyles. Instead of espousing the kind of "one method fits all" approach advocated in other baby sleep guides, the Sears family explains how you can create a sleep plan that suits the needs of your entire family. With a sharp focus on the practical tools and techniques, The Baby Sleep Book covers such topics as: The facts of infant sleep vs. adult sleep Figuring out where, when, and how your child sleeps best Fail-safe methods for soothing a crying infant How to make night nursing easier, and how to stop Nighttime fathering tips Whether co-sleeping makes sense for you Nap-time strategies that work Medical and physical causes of night waking Sleep habits in special situations such as traveling, teething, and illness
