Sleep is something that moms with babies dream about. We all want to follow our babies’ cues and do what’s best for them. We also want our babies to sleep more at night, so we all can feel well-rested and better in the morning. It can be confusing and difficult to know what to do to help baby sleep better, especially if this is your first baby, so if you’re not sure what to do or where to turn to when it comes to baby’s sleep, these baby sleep books will help. These books cover baby’s sleep rhythms, good bedtime routines to follow during the first year, and some tricks that can help you along the way.

1. Secrets of The Baby Whisperer by Tracy Hogg and Melinda Blau

This book is a go-to resource for a lot of families. Tracy Hogg, the author, shares her more than twenty years of experience and gives parents tips to help them conquer each parenting battle—especially sleep. In her book, she shares simple, accessible programs in which you will learn:

• E.A.S.Y.– how to get baby to eat, play, and sleep on a schedule that will make every member of the household’s life easier and happier.
• S.L.O.W.– how to interpret what your baby is trying to tell you (so you don’t try to feed him when he really wants a nap).
• How to identify which type of baby yours is–Angel, Textbook, Touchy, Spirited, or Grumpy–and then learn the best way to interact with that type.
• Tracy’s Three Day Magic–how to change any and all bad habits (yours and the baby’s) in just three days.

2. Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth, MD

If you want a more in-depth look at a baby’s sleep and want to see the science behind it all, this book is for you. In Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, Weissbluth explains with authority and reassurance his step-by-step regime for instituting beneficial habits within the framework of your child’s natural sleep cycles. Parents swear by it!

3. The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night by Elizabeth Pantley

There are two schools of thought for encouraging babies to sleep through the night: the hotly debated Ferber technique of letting the baby “cry it out” or the grin-and-bear-it solution of getting up from dusk to dawn as often as necessary. If you don’t believe in letting your baby cry it out but desperately want to sleep, there is now a third option, presented in Elizabeth Pantley’s sanity-saving book The No-Cry Sleep Solution. Pantley’s successful solution has been tested and proven effective by scores of mothers and their babies across the United States, Canada, and Europe. Pantley’s guide provides effective strategies for overcoming naptime and nighttime problems based on her research. The No-Cry Sleep Solution offers clearly explained, step-by-step ideas that steer your little ones toward a good night’s sleep—all with no crying.

4. Moms on Call Basic Baby Care 0-6 Months by Jennifer Walker Hunter

This book shares advice from two pediatric nurse moms with over 20 years of experience. They go over everything modern parents need to know about caring for babies in the first 6 months, including step-by-step guidelines for getting babies on a routine hour-by-hour schedule at a glance; feeding instructions for breast, bottle, or both; what symptoms warrant a trip to the emergency room; how to get your baby to sleep all night so you can too; plus much more. This book on basic baby care and baby sleep is becoming more and more popular.

5. The Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp, MD

From regular moms and dads to Hollywood superstars, thousands of parents have come to baby expert Dr. Harvey Karp to learn his remarkable techniques for soothing babies and increasing sleep. Now his landmark book—fully revised and updated with the latest insights into infant sleep, bedsharing, breastfeeding, swaddling, and SIDS risk—can teach you too! Dr. Karp’s highly successful method is based on four revolutionary concepts:

1. The Fourth Trimester: Why babies still yearn for a womblike atmosphere . . . even after birth
2. The Calming Reflex: An “off switch” all babies are born with
3. The 5 S’s: Five easy steps to turn on your baby’s amazing calming reflex
4. The Cuddle Cure: How to combine the 5 S’s to calm even colicky babies

With Dr. Karp’s sensible advice, parents and grandparents, nurses and nannies, will be able to transform even the fussiest infant into the happiest baby on the block!

6. The Easy Sleep Solution by Jennifer Waldburger and Jill Spivack

Every new parent faces the same dilemma: “How do I get my child to sleep?” Psychotherapists and sleep specialists Jennifer and Jill have perfected their sleep technique that will get any child snoozing in no time―most often in fewer than three nights. The key to their method? It addresses the emotional needs of both the parent and child (yes, how to handle the crying!)―a critical component of why most other sleep methods fail.

In this much-needed, family-friendly guide, weary parents will learn to define their own individual sleep goals that work for their family’s schedule and style. They’ll create a customized “sleep planner” to ensure consistency with both parents and extended caregivers. (As a bonus, they’ll even improve the readers’ relationships with their spouses with the “marriage-saver” section.) With comprehensive sections devoted to each stage of Baby’s and Toddler’s development, plus solutions to special circumstances like traveling, daylight savings time, moving to a “big kid bed,” and multiples, The Sleepeasy Solution is a dream come true!

7. The Natural Baby Sleep Solution by Polly Moore, PhD

Based on the human rest and activity cycle that occurs every hour and a half, here’s a scientifically based program for parents to help babies get all the sleep they need, both through the night and during the day. The method is simple, foolproof, and yields long-lasting results: truly restful daytime naps (which also give an infant a head start on cognitive development and emotional intelligence) and consistent nighttime sleep—as beneficial for parents as it is for the baby. (For babies aged two weeks to one year.) Lessons in sleep independence and solutions to common problems include your baby waking up too early, getting a second wind before bedtime, confusing day and night, and more. This book includes a guided journal for recording your baby’s sleep signals and keeping track of naps and bedtimes.

8. The Baby Sleep Book by William Sears, M.D., Robert Sears, M.D., James Sears, M.D., Martha Sears, R.N.

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 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
• naptime strategies that work
• medical and physical causes of night waking
• sleep habits in special situations such as traveling, teething, and illness

What were some books that you read during your pregnancy—or even after baby—that you found helpful? What would you add to this list?

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