Mommies and Daddies, get some rest!

I see so many exhausted parents every day. At the library, shopping, the park, church, anywhere families might be. When I hear about their sleepless nights and hopeless declarations like, “I don’t think I’m ever going to get more than 3 hours of sleep again,” I can hardly contain myself. I remember that exhaustion. I remember yelling out to my husband at 2 am “You better come take this baby for her own safety!” I also remember the glorious day I discovered “The Secrets of the Baby Whisperer.” I was so glad to find advice that was practical and doable. The author, Tracy Hogg, doesn’t advocate anything extreme. She won’t tell you to sleep with your baby or suggest that you leave a crying baby all alone.

It took a few months and several readings (really – you need to read it several times before you’ll really “get it”) but I trusted Tracy and dutifully followed her method until my 2 month old began sleeping through the night. I remember the first time she slept from 10 pm – 5 am and I rushed to the gym in exhilaration – I felt ready to run a marathon! I continued to follow her method until Isabel was sleeping 12 hours a night and taking 3-4 hours of naps every day. At 2 years old, she is still a fabulous sleeper. I know every child is different and no one is going to get the exact same results but I truly believe in the principles Tracy Hogg teaches. She covers just about every area of childcare and I used most of it. I especially like her approach to personality and her charts that decode every facial expression, body movement and sound that a baby might make.

This is the book I recommend most often. I wouldn’t read it without the companion book, “The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems.” The author wrote it on her deathbed (she died from cancer in 2004), hoping to answer all the follow up questions parents had or ever would have. It contains some essential information that’s not in the first book. I also liked “Secrets of The Baby Whisperer for Toddlers.” It helped me recognize and work with my daughters emerging personality.

Consult the Baby Whisperer like I did and get some rest!

There's a name for people like me?

My husband has always teased me about my need to help everyone, everywhere. We'll be at a party with other couples and someone will mention how exhausted they are from getting up at night with their 9-month-old baby and I'll jump in with a monologue on sleep training. After a couple minutes I will notice his amused smile and realize I'm doing it again! Even though I know most people aren't looking for a solution to their problem - they are just venting - if I've got one, I feel compelled to share it.

I've also been known to drive my friends nuts with questions. I remember being in England with a dear friend who I love to learn from. After spending several days together touring the country, my litany of questions almost sent her into a nervous breakdown. I didn't realize I was driving her nuts - I just wanted to know everything about everything. She remains a patient and faithful friend of mine, who I continue to learn from.

It wasn't until I read Malcolm Gladwell's book "The Tipping Point" that I realized I was a Maven. He described one Maven he knew as "pathologically helpful." He said that we Mavens have an emotional need to solve other people's problems and that "To be a Maven is to be a teacher. But it is also, even more emphatically, to be a student. Mavens are really information brokers, sharing and trading what they know." How happy I was to discover I'm not the only one. This blog is my attempt to share and trade information without being quite so annoying. I'm sure you'll let me know if I've succeeded.

And by the way, I highly recommend The Tipping Point:How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. By Malcolm Gladwell.