Need help with "babywise" concept!

Claudia - posted on 09/27/2009

Like any resource, you have to take what works for you and your family and use common sense mom-knowledge. You know your baby better than anyone!! I read the book and liked the concept of the eat, play, sleep schedule... so at a young age, yes it makes sense to feed on demand because they need it, but you can try to keep them on a eat, play, sleep schedule so that they are not getting used to falling a sleep on a feeding rather learning to fall asleep on their own, however I would be careful at such a young age. I used my mom-sense to direct me. My son was about 5 months old when he was sleeping through the night and had a routine for his eat/sleep schedule. I wouldn't try to force it too soon! Remember, the late night feedings and waking are part of being a mom!! =) enjoy it

Sam - posted on 09/26/2009

I have a friend who fostered 50+ babies and helped so many of them and their parents by getting their babies on a schedule. I used it with one of my foster children who at 5 months would only drink an ounce of formula every half hour. I multiplied the schedule by two (dividing the portions) then stuck to it. After two weeks I went down to the schedule in the book. The part about sleeping through the night I would only use when a baby is drinking 4-6 ounces. Maybe 4 months old? Deffinately do-able with a baby who is eating cereal.



But the best advice from the book is that we are mommies and wives too. Maybe even mommies to more children. I believe in ch. 1 when it says, "don't let the newest member take such center stage that your husband (or other children) become neglected. The biggest challenge that moms have is finding that balance.

Jamie - posted on 09/25/2009

I used it and ditched it. After doing some research, I couldn't feel good about it any more. Here are some reasons why:

http://www.ezzo.info/babywise.htm
http://www.nospank.net/granju2.htm
http://www.llli.org/ba/May99.html
http://www.gentlechristianmothers.com/ar...
http://www.ezzo.info/Aney/gfiaapcompchar...
http://parentingfreedom.com/cry-it-out/
http://www.naturalchild.org/guest/pinky_...

Jennifer - posted on 09/24/2009

I don't believe you are ever going to read any one book/method (other then the Bible :-)) and find it works for you and every single child in it's entirety. Kuddos for continueing your learning and feel good about taking what you take from it that does work for you, your family, and this paticlar child. What worked for me was to study and research sleep and then when I understood how sleep works to keep our entire bodies/mind healthy and functioning correctly I could then pull from resources what works for each of my children (as a foster parent I have had a range of children, all unique!). Sleep is VERY important to health and development but just keep "studying" and using what works!

Rachel - posted on 09/24/2009

Thank you Rebekah. I'm new at this so it is helpful to bounce things off other moms.

Rebekah - posted on 09/24/2009

Quoting Rachel:

So my baby is 4 wks on Saturday and the thing I have down is the two 1/2 to three hour schedule. The thing I don't have quite down is an exact daily routine yet and the feed wake sleep. My daughter's longest sleep time at night is about 3 hours. Is this normal or am I doing something wrong with the babywise stuff so she isn't sleeping longer?

Every baby is different when it comes to sleeping.  But yes, at 4 weeks, very normal for a baby to sleep only 3 hours at a time, especially when training your baby to do a 2-3 hour feeding schedule.

When my son was only 4 weeks old, I made sure I was feeding every 2 hours because I was having problems with the amount of milk I was producing.  If you can do every 3, go for it, that's awesome - it will get longer in between as your baby gets older.  I didn't worry about the feedings upon wake up until my son was 3 months old.  When my son hit 3 months of age, then he did 3-4 hours between feedings, I only fed upon wake up not to go to sleep for naps/bedtime.  By the time my son was 12 weeks old, he was sleeping 6-8 hours through the night.

Rebekah - posted on 09/24/2009

Quoting Rachel:

So my baby is 4 wks on Saturday and the thing I have down is the two 1/2 to three hour schedule. The thing I don't have quite down is an exact daily routine yet and the feed wake sleep. My daughter's longest sleep time at night is about 3 hours. Is this normal or am I doing something wrong with the babywise stuff so she isn't sleeping longer?

Every baby is different when it comes to sleeping.  But yes, at 4 weeks, very normal for a baby to sleep only 3 hours at a time, especially when training your baby to do a 2-3 hour feeding schedule.

When my son was only 4 weeks old, I made sure I was feeding every 2 hours because I was having problems with the amount of milk I was producing.  If you can do every 3, go for it, that's awesome - it will get longer in between as your baby gets older.  I didn't worry about the feedings upon wake up until my son was 3 months old.  When my son hit 3 months of age, then he did 3-4 hours between feedings, I only fed upon wake up not to go to sleep for naps/bedtime.  By the time my son was 12 weeks old, he was sleeping 6-8 hours through the night.

Rachel - posted on 09/24/2009

So my baby is 4 wks on Saturday and the thing I have down is the two 1/2 to three hour schedule. The thing I don't have quite down is an exact daily routine yet and the feed wake sleep. My daughter's longest sleep time at night is about 3 hours. Is this normal or am I doing something wrong with the babywise stuff so she isn't sleeping longer?

Debby - posted on 09/24/2009

We used Babywise with our second child and it worked wonderfully. I do want to give a word of warning that anything put out by the Ezzos does not work well with special needs kids -- well at least not with mine. We really love what they teach and we've done well with it with child #2, but our autistic child (#1) did not respond well at all to any of their teaching. Try it, it will likely work wonderfully for you. If it doesn't work, don't force it!

Vicki - posted on 09/23/2009

I have used the basic concenpts. My baby is 6 wks old. She sleeps 5 to 6 hours a night and I have to wake her up for some feedings including some morning feedings. For the most part I keep her on a two to three hour feeding schedule. I like that there is less guess work on when she is hungry due to the schedule. I try and feed her a full feeding most of the time and interact with her and thne let her go back to sleep when she is ready. Again I don't follow the concepts to the T.

Rebekah - posted on 09/23/2009

I used most of the techniques and modified based on our family. Otherwise it worked great for us. My son is 1 and sleeps great and we have an awesome routine!

Leonie - posted on 09/23/2009

We used it, especially for our first daughter. We still use the basics, however there are somethings that just don't fit in with our family. The most helpful thing was establishing a routine. My advice is try things out and if you find they are not working then put them aside to either try later or disregard.