Baby Wise

ChelseaC630 · August 2009

Has anyone heard of this book? I picked it up at Barnes and Noble yesterday. It looks like it has some good ideas on how to create routine for your newborn. Just thought I'd see if any of you 2nd time moms have tried it.

JulieandBen · August 2009

I have not tried it. I have it but haven't opened it. The teachers of our baby classes told us that all of the nurses from all of the surrounding hospitals had asked them to tell every parent NOT to buy this book. It's dangerous and cruel. Google it. It started out from a religious freak. There are some points in the book that aren't dangerous but overall it can be taken to the extreme and is very dangerous. Newborns should not be on any schedule other than the one they set. This book actually suggests feeding a newborn on a schedule rather than when they are hungry. It also suggests keeping a newborn awake for a certain amount of time after they eat. Most newborns eat and then fall asleep. It's natural and comfortable for them. The only time you shouldn't let a newborn fall straight asleep is if they have reflux and need to be vertical for a certain amount of time after they eat.

I bought the book because a friend of mine, who didn't even have a child at the time??????, told me she gives the book to all of her friends who have babies and each and every baby has slept through the night by six weeks. While sleeping through the night is great, there are healthier and kinder ways to help get you and your baby on a schedule that works for you.

The bottom line is let your newborn be a newborn. Worry about schedules and routines after they hit the six week mark. Your baby will tell you what they need. You may find, as I did, that your child sets a perfectly suitable schedule for eating and sleeping so you won't need to worry about it. If you have problems with scheduling then you might look at books like the Healthy Baby Healthy Sleep Habits or the Healthy Sleep No Cry Solution.

There's also a great schedule from one of those books that a lot of my friends have used. It's the two hour rule. Never let your baby (starting at about six weeks) go longer than two hours without sleep. You'll learn their signs for needing sleep. It's something like first yawn or sleep sign head to their room and feed, second yawn or sleep sign swaddle or snuggle or read books whatever it might be, and in bed before the third sleep sign.

MrsGhappilyeverafter · August 2009

I don't know much about it. My SIL recently told me that she's heard a lot of negative things about it because the strict routines are too hard on the baby. She even went as far as to say it can make the baby feel neglected. I don't take her too seriously though since she doesn't really know anything about babies and is awful at keeping her 2 month old on a routine of any kind. It's probably a good read. You might just want to look into what other people think of it.

leenie426 · August 2009

You might want to ask some opinions of the book on 0-6 or 6-12, but I laugh at schedules for newborns. In my experience - impossible.

Also, don't be so hard on your SIL with her 2 month old. I did not have a routine with mine really at 2 months. They are still so little and it took us like 6 or 7 weeks to really get down bf-ing. I think at that point you are still just getting it all down.

bbowie · August 2009

Return it. The AAP warns against it and my hospital gave us a pamphlet to avoid it. It has caused failure to thrive in newborns. And they warn against the current and previous versions (Ezzo's previous version was a lot more harsh). Ezzo also has a secular version of this book that is 1,000 worse - blanket training??

Google Ezzo and Babywise.

We never followed a book's advice regarding sleep and somehow DS is a great sleeper and turned out fine. I'm not a fan of parenting books in general, but The Baby Book by Dr. Sears has good advice (what to do in case of an emergency) and Your Baby Week by Week for fun milestone stuff. Don't take any book's parenting advice too seriously. I should also mention those that I know that have had success with Babywise used it loosely - they took bits and pieces and adapted it to their baby but used common sense - fed baby when hungry, etc. So if you keep it, keep that in mind - use what makes sense but don't make your newborn wait an hour to eat b/c a book said so. GL! This is a highly controversial book as you can tell. =D

bob&bobbijo · August 2009

horrible, horrible idea. listen to what your baby needs, not what you want it to do. they will eventually put themselves on a schedule, but until then, it is your job to feed the baby when it is hungry and let it sleep when it wants to...