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January 2011 Moms
Babywise?
I went to breastfeeding class last night and one of the other moms-to-be was raving about the book Babywise. She said that we HAD to get it, that all of her friends had used it and it was the best book out there. Does anyone know anything about this book? Have you read it?
And... as far as the breastfeeding class, it was a great class and I'm really glad that I went. There is DEFINITELY a lot more to "it" than I realized. I'm a little nervous about breastfeeding now. I'm definitely going to do it and hope it works!! 
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Re: Babywise?
I have read Baby Wise and liked some of the things in it. I agreed with the idea that baby's learn from their parents and it is up to the parents to help get them on a routine that will work for them and the family in the long run, but some of his ideas seemed a little bit extreme to me.
I really related and agreed with Secrets of the Baby Whisperer better. I know it sounds a little out there, but her approach was much less strict than Baby Wise. I'm on her second book "The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems" now and its been a great book too. I would advise reading a few summaries of Baby Wise to see if it sounds like something you're interested in. If it does definitely give it a read. The worst thing that can happen is that you know one particular approach. From there you can decide whether that is the approach for you or if you want to keep looking.
It is going to be like any other book, some people will swear by it, some people will hate it.
FWIW, the author is by no means medically qualified. Just try googling him and his wife....yikes. Don't think I'd trust it.
This. I know some parents that say that they never would have gotten through infancy without it and some that say its totally unsafe and would never even allow it in the house.
Personally, I didn't get "unsafe" when I read it. It was just a little too structured for me. But then again I'm not planning on being an attachment parent, so what seems a little too structured for me might seem dangerous to someone who really likes the ideas of AP.
Someone was just telling me about this last night...she said if you get it, throw it out the window. lol...she did say some people have great results with it and their babies thrive, but some people's babies end up being diagnosed with failure to thrive. This is all word of mouth, so I don't know where she got her information. But from a Christian perspective, she also said that the author really misuses Scripture, takes it out of context, etc...and she said that he's not medically qualified, but pretty much gives medical advice.
Again, this is just what someone told me, but I trust her. (-: I've heard some better things about Secrets of the Baby Whisperer too, if you want to try the scheduling/routine thing.
i loved the book,
it will empower you to make good choices once your little one is here.
even if you dont read it for bfing... the sleep cycles, learning how to fit the baby into your life (and not the other way around) is refreshing and encouraging.
totally endorse and rec. the book, good luck!
ps- husband found it on amazon for 2 bucks!
The reason it's considered dangerous is because of the structure. It has nothing to do with wanting to be/not wanting to be AP. Putting your newborn on a feeding schedule is setting yourself up for: low milk supply, dehydrated baby, failure to thrive, etc. The AAP has a warning out about the book because of this.
The author is a pastor who is estranged from his children. He isn't even in the medical field, much less a 'medical expert'. And a baby shouldn't be sleeping through the night by 6-8 weeks. They are doing so much growing that they need to eat in the night.
The book may have some good info, but I would be careful how much you adhere to the advice. There are so many other good parenting/sleeping books out there that I would personally not waste my time with this one.
This book was mentioned in a "Bedtime for Babies" class DH and I went to last night. One of the other couples asked about it, and here's what the instructor had to say. First off, as other people have said, the author has no medical knowledge. Second, when the book first came out, the enforced feeding schedules actually resulted in a "failure to thrive" and sometimes even death in newborns because the babies were not getting fed often enough, were losing weight, and were basically being starved. So everyone got up in arms about the book. In order to resolve this problem, the author revised the book. The current edition does not recommend enforcing the feeding schedules until the baby is at least 3 months old (I THINK this was the time frame). This change seems to have resolved many of the original issues because at an older age, babies' stomachs are big enough to better manage going longer without food.
Our instructor did not recommend the book and said that the hospital also did not recommend the book. However, she said that many parents swear by it. Personally, the history of this book is enough to scare me into steering clear from any advice given by this author. Besides that, I'm a firm believer in the idea that we instinctively know what's right for our babies -- after all, women have been successfully raising children without advice books for millions of years. To me, the idea of just letting my baby cry in order to make her conform to my schedule goes completely against the grain. Unless a medical professional can provide enough research to convince me to go against my gut, I will NOT be using the "Babywise" methods.
I have read the book and have had friends who have had a lot of success with it. I've also heard the "horror stories" from a "friend of a friend's cousin's niece" who tried it and whose baby had failure-to-thrive.
As with any book out there about parenting, you should read to educate yourself about options, and always listen to your gut, in addition to consulting your pediatrician and other moms around you.
We will be using some of the techniques from the book (specifically the eat, wake, sleep scheduling advice), but I will be listening to my baby to see what she needs in addition to trusting my own instincts.
I also wanted to add - I know a lot of people say babies shouldn't be sleeping through the night. First of all - the AAP defines sleeping through the night as sleeping 5-6 hours straight (which could mean a feeding at midnight and waking up by 5am for another feeding) and recently released a study saying most babies are capable of sleeping through the night between 1-4 months old. https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/peds.2010-0976v1
Bottom line - whatever books you decide to read, make sure you read an equal amount about other philosophies to educate yourself and decide what works for your family.
This. I actually checked out the 2006 version out of the library just to see for myself, and sure enough, what little I've gotten through proves it's pretty crappy. I don't know what he revised, but the attitude of the book is that his way is superior to all others and leads to some kind of 'balance' where supposedly, you aren't overly 'child centered' in your family.
It basically says that feeding 'on demand' is harmful, and it does still claim babies can sleep many hours a night by extremely early-6-8 weeks. That alone is a pretty ridiculous claim to me.
And in addition to all that, he does pretty much demonize AP ideas as bad/clingy/ridiculous, claiming people are into that style because they believe in 'birth trauma, which is just dumb. I am not sure I would even fit in the AP style but his assumptions were pretty offensive. He basically insinuates if you breastfeed on demand and wear a sling, your kid will end up having all kinds of problems (including unsubstantiated claims, like they'll have colic!) So, IMO, it's garbage.
I agree with all of the above, especially what I bolded.
The whole thought that babies shouldn't STTN (5+ hrs) at 2 weeks or more is ridiculous to me. I had a great sleeper of a baby and many of my friends did too, and not because they followed this book or failed to feed their babies, it just sorta happened.
I didn't follow it word for word or take it as gospel of course.
No, it's not. You were lucky. Did you and your friends have big babies? Did you FF? You shouldn't expect a baby to STTN (5 hrs) until they are at least 11lbs. It's almost physiologically impossible for that to happen before that weight. And it's known that FF babies sleep longer at night because the formula takes longer to digest than BM. I was lucky to have a great sleeper, too, but she was (and is) a big girl. I'm trying to have no expectations about the sleep habits of this infant, becuase I do feel I was lucky last time.