Healthy Sleep Habits, a Happy Child. A step-by-step programme for a good night's sleep, by Dr Marc Weissbluth

I didn't find this book helpful. It was rather volumnous and didn't give me any practical steps. It either gave me the "let them cry it out" or co sleep. I went down the co sleep path...

You can think you will never leave your baby to cry, or you may have tried this. You may have followed Gina Ford, or Baby Whisperer's advice, or even tried the gently gently Pantley... If you have I hope it has worked for you! But if you still have a child with sleep issues then I suggest you put your assumptions and 'philosophies' aside and stop reading 'gurus'. Instead take this big, daunting, lengthy and repetitive tome and do try not to fall asleep whilst you're reading it. Why? Because here comes a person who funded a Sleep Disorders Centre at the Chicago's Children's Memorial Hospital, is a Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the Northwestern University School of Medicine and a pediatrician and sleep researcher with 30 years experience!
Anyway, the main gist of the book is this: sleeping problem in babies cause psychological problems in later life, don't go away on their own (so the 'it's all a phase' and 'she'll grow out it it' is dismissed as a myth), will inhibit learning and may cause all sorts of behavioural problems. There is plenty of evidence in the book to show it is true. And then there is the second part of the book: YOU MUST DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! And now he does recommend you choose your own way. He summarises everything there is out there, from leave-to-cry to the 'no-cry' solution, but does include a very serious point that I think all parents should consider honestly, and without prejudice in order to choose a method that truly suits them rather than what they think other parents, family, etc think is best for them. This point is this: if you choose the gentle solutions, you will probably struggle to be consistent, and you may also suffer setbacks when unexpected things such as holidays, illnesses etc happen- on the other hand if you choose a solution that you consider too harsh you may have difficulty sticking to it, but it is also more likely to work quicker so there will be less disruption and set backs. Whatever you choose do think of your baby first and the terrible damage the lack of sleeping may cause them! Anyhoo, unlike what so many people say he does not recommend leave-to-cry above all else without the 'only do it if you're sure' warning, but he does show research that says levels of stress hormones and various phycho-somatic and behavioural outcomes of babies who were left to cry after the age of 6 months are HIGHER than those babies who were not left to cry, but do not sleep well! (Why Love Matters quotes this as a main reason not to leave to cry, but the research in that book is done on babies below 6 months and monkeys, also I think of younger age).
To summarise it is an overly long and not so easy to read, repetitive book on the one hand, and a total bible of sleep, based on research and medical knowledge by an ultimate expert on the other. I think it is worth a shot, especially if your baby has real issues with sleep! o, make that a must-read for parents of sleep deprived children! Hence I am giving it a 10 despite the shortcomings...