How Babies Sleep: A Factful Guide to the First 365 Days and Nights by Professor Helen Ball

If you've heard me speak at a baby show or event, you'll know this is the book I recommend every time. It's a paperback, the type of read you can pick up and revisit (and that you absolutely will!)

Helen Ball is Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Durham Infancy & Sleep Centre at Durham University. She published this book in 2025, and I've already read it three times.

The book explains what is really happening with your baby's sleep in the first 12 months. Frequent waking is normal. It is healthy. It is biology, not a problem to be fixed with a 3am online purchase.

That understanding changes everything. When you know what's normal, you feel more confident. And when you feel confident, you make better decisions for your baby.

I especially love the section on baby products. It's honest and no-nonsense. It's exactly the kind of advice I try to give the parents I meet every week.

I believe every new parent should read this book. I recommend it to every parent I meet.

Lisa Joyce, Co-Founder, Folk & Thread