Cribsheet: A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool (The ParentData Book 2)

by Emily Oster

Finally, at one pediatrician visit, we explained our system to Dr. Li, who told us, nicely but firmly, that we should probably cut it out with the checks. When we did this, the sleep training finally took, and Penelope became (and remains) a good sleeper. I wanted to do a better job with sleep training the second time around. With Finn, we would have a plan—one we had written down, agreed upon, and would stick to. We used our family task-management software, Asana, for the planning. Jesse created a task—“Finn Sleep Training”—where we could discuss the details back and forth. (Why, you ask, do you not use email or—heaven forbid—discuss in person? We like to avoid emails for family tasks since they gunk up our work inboxes and it can be hard to find the thread later. And we, at least, have found that it is much more helpful to have discussions like this, especially when opinions abound and emotions run high, in writing rather than in person. It can be easier to fight it out in writing, so everyone gets to quietly think about what they are saying. Then we can save our in-person discussions for such exciting topics as departmental hiring priorities. Fun!)