It's here!! It's here!!

It's here! It's finally arrived!! No, not spring (but that, too!)

No no, we are crowing today about the arrival of the latest book by my favourite parenting author and blogger extraordinaire, Ann Douglas: The Mother of All Sleep Solutions for Your Baby, Toddler and Preschooler. Hooray for Ann!

I'm quite excited about this new arrival for several reasons. First, because I love Ann and her books, and I think this one will become as much of a classic as the other Mother of All books. Second, because we really need some advice on explaining to the boys the difference between "now is a good time to get out of bed and face the day, smiling" and "oh for the love of all things holy, are you KIDDING ME" o'clock in the morning. Third, and least (well, not really) because this book features the sage advice and carefully chosen words of a veteran of the sleep deprivation game - Marla! Oh, and me. Me! And a few other bloggers I know.

Are you impressed? It's "my" first book. Look, here's a passage that features me:



It says,

"I used to make a big production about how tired I was - I should have been nominated for an Oscar - in an effort to get my husband to come in and volunteer to take over, especially in the middle of the night," says Dani [that's me!], the mother of two boys, ages three and one. "It was quite silly now that I think about it. I don't know why I didn't just ask for help."

What a great way to be immortalized, eh? Whining and sleep deprived - my first years of parenting perfectly encapsulated and preserved for posterity! And Ann was nice enough to take other stuff I said and make it sound almost coherent, too. I'm so very proud!

I love Ann's parenting books because they offer concrete ideas and solutions, 100% free of guilt and judgement. I won't point any fingers, because this is a nice post celebrating the fruits of Ann's (and my!) labours, but there are more than a few sleep books (rhymes with Trouserley) out there that make a girl feel like a toad for toying with sleep training. You can read my CIO Diaries for my personal views on that subject.

Ann's books offer a wonderful combination of practical solutions (more than one - so if one thing doesn't work, you don't have to start over from scratch!), plus the big ideas around whatever subject she's presenting, and gentle humour. It's like getting parenting advice from your best friend, if your best friend weren't as befuddled and overwhelmed about the whole parenting thing as you are.

So thank you, Ann, and congratulations. I'm naming myself an honourary Auntie of this wonderful book - hope you don't mind!