The No Cry Nap Solution by Elizabeth Pantley

This book does not disappoint. I am a fan of Elizabeth Pantley. Her writing makes sense to me on many levels, so I can easily recommend this book for anyone struggling with naptimes. This book offers so many suggestions and outlines many different solutions to naptime problems. As any parent knows, children come with their own personalities, so a book with only one way of doing things wouldn’t suffice.

I trust Elizabeth Pantley’s advice. This is because it has worked well for my family, and it respects my inability to allow my child to cry without being comforted. There were many things I like about this book. There is great explanation in this book about sleep cycles of babies. Parents don’t automatically know exactly what to expect in terms of sleep with their babies at first, so understanding how a baby’s sleep cycles differ from adults can often be important. There is information in the book with various guidelines of how much sleep a baby should be getting at each stage of development. Infant sleep cycles are explained in easy to understand detail, which assists in understanding how to help babies nap better.

One part of the book that I particularly enjoyed was understanding the benefits of sleep for a baby and why naps are so important. The timing of naps is also critical according to the book. Pantley describes “the Volcano Effect” which is used to describe what happens when child’s naps are missed. The best piece of advice in the book that I personally related to was the idea of “a baby’s second wind.” It is stressed in the book to put baby to sleep as soon as tired signs are noticed. If naptime is delayed even 15 minutes after tired signs are noticed, a baby can get a second wind and actually not be tired. It is harder to put a baby to sleep when they are overtired or have gotten a second wind. There is also information on recognizing your baby’s tired signs. One other aspect that I could also relate to was five to fifteen minute catnaps babies tend to take during car rides. We used to try and keep my son awake in the car at all costs or he would not nap for us. It was interesting to learn why from this book and also how to help prevent short cat naps from preventing real naps.

There is really advice for every kind of nap problem contained in this book. If you’re having trouble with your baby not napping long enough, only napping in your arms, has colic or special needs, will only fall asleep with a bottle, breast, or pacifier, and these things are not working for you, then this book will help you make changes necessary to make naps work for you and your baby. I love how sensitive the author seems to be in regards to individual family needs. You’ll also find advice on creating pre-nap routines, how night sleep and nap sleep affect one another, and a whole host of other information.

Be aware though that this book isn’t just a read straight through, never look at again, book. Read it and then use it to analyze what might be happening in your situation so that changes can actually be made. It has great advice, but isn’t necessarily a quick fix. These things take time if they are to be done sensitively because babies often have minds of their own.

There are not quite as many charts and things to use in this book than there was in some of the other Pantley No Cry books. Some people like charts, some don’t. I also must admit that I liked Elizabeth Pantley’s No Cry Sleep Solution a little better than this book. I felt it offered a little more advice and suggestions than this book, so that remains my top pick. This book, however, is addressed specifically to naps, so I believe many parents will still find its information useful.

If you’re having nap trouble, this is the book to get. I highly recommend it!