Every kid is different. Our first, we tried everything to help with sleep. Karp’s Methods, etc. In the end, “Healthy Sleep Habits” was the most important book for us.

With our second, she slept, er, like a baby from day one. At eighteen months she’d say, “night night”, and walk to her bedroom.

There’s a lot of learning on the job, which surely played into our first child’s sleep issues. Having an extended family nearby seems like it could help immensely.

Biggest things for us were learning to anticipate when the baby would be getting tired and wind down before she became overtired. That and a much earlier bedtime than most people seem to do (4:30 - 6:30 depending on naps and wake up time).