52 Books – Book Two

2nd book

The No-Cry Sleep Solution:

 

OK, so this is a bit of a copout,but its still a book that I had to finish reading almost immediately as it reached highest priority on my reading list overnight.

Generally, Eijaz has so far been a real well mannered boy and does not fuss much on anything; doesn’t asked to be picked up much, eats almost everything (although he is allergic to cow milk protein and we suspect beef too, more on that in another post) and is very playful. But there’s one cardinal rule about him is DO NOT INTERRUPT his bedtime ritual unless you want to hear him cry his lungs out. For this, I give him the title of His Royal Sleepyhead.

His bedtime is generally from 8 pm to 6 am, give or take half an hour or so, and The Wife will be responsible for putting him to sleep (I have not the patience nor courage). It will be some feeding, some patting, some song singing and he’ll fall asleep within 20 mins or so depending on how tired he is on that day. However, he does wakes up for more feeding throughout the night and lately its happening at a higher frequency rate than normal i.e every hour or so. Probably cause he’s growing or wanting more comfort etc.

Theoratically, there’s two methods to go about this: letting him cry it out or tend to his whims. Seeing him cry his heart out is too much for both of us and we can’t be expected to be attending to him everytime he cries. So referring to Dr Google, this book came out as a suggestion and the rapid acquisition of the book may lead some of you to question how I got it so fast but thats not the topic discussed here today.

So the book is kinda of a middle ground, in saying that babies do not have to cry it out but still need attention but just attention that is managed and within our own terms. so we’re currently on a ten day program, give or take, few days of incorporating some good habits and leaving the bad ones, keeping logsheets and monitoring their progress. So far, alhamdullilah, its been working and he’s been sleeping at longer stretches on average.

I tend to babble too much, but in general, its a good book to read as it reinforces simple concepts that we already know but don’t practice. I dedicate this book to a good night sleep for all parents out there, where ever you may be.

52 Books in a Year – Book One

Decided to take up this challenge to read one book a week and write a short spiel on it after completion. Very ambitious but nailed down the first book this week.

Never Let Me Go – Kazuo Ishiguro

I always thought Japanese names writting in English adds a different, exotic dimension to it, i.e. different dominant cultures, not using primary language, what if the translator got it wrong. I read some Murakami but thats as far as it goes. I had no idea what this book was about but was attracted to the forlorness of the title, so decided to give it a try. Also, they were making a movie out of it with Keira Knightly and the thought of never letting her go, was inviting in itself.

I tend to like first person narration in books and I loved the fluidity, lightness and breezy nature of the narration. Reading it was really effortless and when the main plotlines came along, it was disguised well and not expected. When I first read few chapters, I thought this was gonna be a boarding school, coming of age book akin to The Virgin Suicides meets Mallory Towers (loved Enid Blyton!) kinda feel, but boy was I wrong. Not gonna give anything away but its dark. Never underestimate the will for man to continue living.

Almost teared up at the end. Despite what your managers told you, leadership books just don’t do that to you. Is this how you do book reviews? I’m so out of my depth.

Rating: 4.5/5