Use
poster board or very heavy paper. Your book should be large
— 8 ½" X 11" or bigger. Tape the pages
together with heavy tape.
Title
your book All About [insert baby's name]. It will depict the
story of your baby's life, with the focus on sleeping -- and/or
weaning, if you want to use this idea to help wean baby from
the breast or bottle. You can also use this idea to wean baby
from the pacifier, or for that matter, to help baby adjust
to any major change in her life, such as introducing a new
pregnancy, or dealing with divorce.
Gather
pictures of your baby right from the time of birth. Start
with a shot of her as a newborn, and progress through her
life, finishing up with those that feature actions and items
in your bedtime routine. Pictures of baby breastfeeding, taking
a bottle, using a pacifier, wearing pajamas, reading a book,
lying in bed, and sleeping, are the most helpful. If possible,
get a new roll of film and take photos of your baby during
every step of your current bedtime routine — including
several of him sleeping soundly. In one of the sleeping photos,
have Mommy or Daddy in the background smiling and looking
at baby.
Don’t
make the book so long that your little one will lose interest,
since the ending is, after all, the real goal of the book.
You know your own baby and how long of a book she enjoys.
The last section of the book will be your bedtime
and sleep (and/or weaning) goals, outlined very clearly and
specifically.
Read
this book every night. (Your baby may like it so much that
she wants to read it during the day, too — and that’s
perfectly fine!) Talk about what you read. Help your little
one do the things you talk about in the book.
As
you use this homemade book, also put into action a complete
sleep plan for your baby. Step-by-step, and night-by-night
your baby will move closer to sleeping all night long.
Excerpted
with permission by McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Publishing from
The
No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep
Through the Night
by Elizabeth Pantley, copyright 2002
