In case you are new to my blog, I just want to let you know that I am very very passionate about anything related to breastfeeding. As a mother of 2 kids, I am still breastfeeding my 42 months old boy and 1 year old girl. So, of course I'm all for anything related to breastfeeding! Here goes my review for the "Gentle Goodnight" book:
Title: Gentle Goodnight
Author: Lyssa Armenta
Publisher: Lyssa Armenta
ISBN: 9780578089621
Paperback: 61 pages
Description from the product page:
"Feeling like you have no control of your baby or toddler’s wake or sleep schedule? Gentle Goodnight will get it back for you in a beneficial way for you and your baby. Gentle Goodnight will guide you through a step-by-step sleep method that will have your baby or toddler to sleep in less than 25 min. You will have control over nap and bedtime at home or on the go; keeping you on the schedule you choose throughout the day; giving you the time you need for yourself day or night. Dancing your baby or toddler gently to sleep has many important benefits including getting the baby weight off quickly. Throughout Gentle Goodnight you will find tools that will help you bond and gain the trust of your baby. Conscious parenting starts here to nurture a child who knows they are safe and loved. Because the way we raise our children shapes their future, start them off with a Gentle Goodnight!"
The book is so cute and appealing, its size is small and easy to carry and I love that it is not thick at all, so it makes a light reading!
This book is broken down into 13 chapters, starting from the sleep options, moving on to the introduction of the dancing method and its benefits, all the way to the preparation required to execute this method. I also like that the author provides alternative options in the event our baby wakes when we put them down or baby is not ready to sleep or wakes up easily and so on.
I totally love the note from the author! I immediately felt the connection when I read that this book is written with the nursing mother (checked!) who is co-sleeping (checked!) with her baby (checked!) or toddler (checked!) in mind. I mean, it's great to read a book where the author practises what you are doing, at least you really know for sure they know what they are talking about!
Now back to my personal experience on how I get my children ready for their nap and bedtime. What I normally do is I will close our room curtains, turn on some light music (my favorite is the "God Bless My Boy" album, prepare my bottle of water, get ready the pillows and blankets for my children and make sure the room is not too cold or stuffy.
For my 1 year old girl, I will usually nurse her either sleeping sideways on our bed (few minutes if she is very sleepy or tired, though there are a couple of times she refuses to sleep when she hears her elder brother's voice in the room) or I'll be sitting on my chair and nurse her till she's asleep (less than 10 minutes)
As for my 3 years old boy, I will usually wait till my girl is asleep before I sleep next to him (we all co-sleep), tell him stories and pat his back, sometimes when he asked for his feed, I will nurse him for a few minutes (yes, I still breastfeed my 42 months old boy!) If my girl is still awake, I will get my hubby or mother in law to take care of her while I get my son to sleep. It can take up to half hour for him to go to sleep sometimes but if he's really tired or I tell him what to expect (for example our family swimming outing) when he wakes up, it may take him just 10 minutes or so to go to sleep.
What I find myself doing which is similar to the Dancing Method in this book is whenever one of my child wakes up in the middle of their sleep, I will try to soothe them back but if they still stirs or cries, I will pick them up, carry them out of bed and danced. Just carry them and move around the room, humming songs and patting their back. My hubby and I will do this (usually just me but there are times we both had to dance when both our kids cried at the same time!) and just danced around slowly in our bedroom.
So, yes I can attest to this method that it works. Although we only applies the Dancing Method in the middle of our childrens' sleep (and not before) I do agree that this method is calming, gentle and beneficial as well.
You can get this book from the author's website at http://www.gentlegoodnight.com/
You can also read a sample chapter here.
I am so excited to be able to hold this giveaway for my lucky blog followers and readers! TWO of you lucky people are going to win a copy of this awesome book! Now, let's read below for the giveaway terms and conditions OK?
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I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with a copy of the book in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine. And if you'd like to read my previous book reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My Book Reviews"
