Cat Cubie - Sleep Better, Baby: The Essential Stress-Free Guide to Sleep for You and Your Baby

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First published by Thorsons 2022

FIRST EDITION

Cat Cubie and Sarah Carpenter 2022

Illustrations by Liane Payne HarperCollinsPublishers 2022

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Source ISBN: 9780008555153

Ebook Edition August 2022 ISBN: 9780008555160

Version 2022-08-02

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Indy, Roar and Ever this book couldnt have

been written without you (and at times it

was pretty hard to write it with you!).

Love you always. CC

Harry, Alfie and Emily, I couldnt have done it

without your support and understanding

that mummys job isnt 95. Now we can go back

to bedtime stories. Love you. SC x

Babies dont come with a manual.

As Cat and Sarah say, this is a joke that is often cracked but isnt funny. It never helps frazzled parents who are struggling to understand the language of their new baby, loving their baby with every piece of themselves, yet longing for a nights sleep.

So, thank goodness for Cat and Sarah, aka The Sleep Mums. They have not written a manual. They understand that each baby is unique, that one size will not fit all and that parents need safe, sensible advice delivered in a non-judgmental way.

The Sleep Mums have done SO much more than write a manual. They have constructed a very simple framework around which parents can build their own schedule, to find a routine that works for them and their families.

In the dark days of the Covid-19 pandemic, when new parents were literally all alone in isolation, their chirpy voices streamed out from their award-winning podcast. This podcast was kind in tone, broad-ranging and groundbreaking. The Sleep Mums brought solace and wisdom to countless parents in the silence of lockdown. Their podcast could not be equalled.

Until now.

Quietly, in the background, Cat and Sarah were bringing their huge, combined experience to bear on a book. Cat has a degree in psychology, so she understands people on a whole different level. Sarah started her career as a Norland Nanny and went on to develop her own sleep-consultancy practice, which she has run for 20 years. Between them, they have six young children, so not only do they have the smarts, they have also done the hard graft.

And so, this book was born. I have read it, cover to cover. And despite being a paediatrician with over 20 years experience, I learned a few new tricks myself!

In this book, you will learn about how babies sleep changes over time, that sleeping like a baby is not what one might think, about how simple things like full tummies and swaddling can be game changers, and how freeing a routine can actually be.

This book is not about sleep training. Instead, it is about empowering parents to understand their babies sleep patterns. Its power lies in its simplicity. If you are that parent who is getting ready for baby and reading in advance, you will feel well informed about sleep ahead of babys arrival. If you are an exhausted parent of a 6-month-old, you can pick it up and read the parts that apply to your babys developmental stage. If you have read a whole chapter but are too tired to remember it (or you are too tired to read a whole chapter), there are crib notes! If you simply cannot believe that these straightforward tips will work in real life, there are real-life examples. If you cannot find your way around a problem, there are troubleshooting tips.

Many parents feel alone. They feel alone with their new baby, alone in the middle of the night, and alone with their new sleepless baby in the middle of the night! Cat and Sarah will make you feel less alone. They will jolly you along. They will help you realise that all those people who had perfect babies that slept through from two weeks were either fibbing or forgetting. They will have your back, from sunup to sundown, and the dark hours in between. And they will help you to get through the first year and beyond with less worry and trepidation. Because most of the time, when you ask yourself Is this normal? they will quietly reassure you that it is.

The Sleep Mums understand that in order to figure out how to parents need to be empowered with the why. Why does my baby wake up so often? Why cant my baby settle? Why is my baby crying?

When parents know why, how follows more easily. Cat and Sarah dispense their wisdom with kindness and compassion. They have seen it all when it comes to baby sleep. They know the whys. They will guide you, but they will not judge you.

And that is what this book is. A guide. A North Star for parents to glance up at in the dark of night. A compass to steer them through tricky developmental shifts. A sleep map. A gift.

Enjoy it. Enjoy your baby. And sweet dreams!

Dr Niamh Lynch, Consultant Paediatrician

IG @dr_niamh_lynch

twitter @niamh_dr

Tik Tok @tiktokkiddydoc

We are The Sleep Mums, Cat and Sarah. We are experts, and we know a lot about baby sleep. Were also parents, so we know how you feel. Exhausted.

We launched our award-winning parenting podcast to support parents with zero-judgement, practical baby sleep advice advice you can use to help your baby sleep better