I once heard that there are more books written about getting babies to sleep than have been written on any other topic, and I can believe it.

It is well known that sleep is important for both physical and mental wellbeing. Without enough sleep one quickly turns into a shadow of one’s former self, and functioning for prolonged periods of time on an hour of sleep caught here or there can feel like torture.

Just as adults employ different techniques and create different conditions for perfect sleep, so babies require different approaches to the sacred shut-eye stuff.

It’s easy to become obsessed by the idea of ‘a routine’, and I don’t know about you, but simply lying me down in my bed at an arbitrary time and expecting me to drop off to sleep immediately and remain asleep for two or twelve hours would not do the trick, no matter how many times it was repeated, or I was patted, or sung to, or left to scream myself into an exhausted stupor.

So, how does one get a baby to sleep? With a great deal of trial, error, patience, cuddles and kisses I guess. Not useful, I know.

Though what is useful is a book, of night-time and nap-time strategies for the breastfeeding family, called Sweet Sleep that was recently published by La Leche League International.

Described as a how-to guide for making safe and sane decisions on how and where your family sleeps, a friend recently expanded on this from her own perspective, “Sweet Sleep was like someone giving me a huge pat on the back for having stuck by my instinct to resist sleep training. It is very positive and encouraging… and it reminds us that it is completely normal and natural for our babies to be waking several times when they are still so little.”

Comfortingly, the book says, “The baby is in his happiest place– on his mother’s body, or in her arms, or by her side.” that’s one thing any parent can master!