On Becoming Baby Wise: The Classic Reference Guide Used by Over 1,000,000 Parents Worldwide

Rating:
Summary: Babywise vs Sears
Review: When I was pregnant with my first child I received many different books and advice. I read the Sears approach first and felt overwhelmed with what my future as a mother would be. I wondered what I had gotten myself into - was I up for it? Then a friend recommended Babywise. I began reading it and learned that my doctor recommended it. In fact, he often gave the book to new mothers as a gift. While still in the hospital after giving birth, the nurses taught me the same principles that are described in the book. I am now a mother of three and have used these principles with all three. I could not imagine what my life would be if I had not incorporated them into my life. The authors encourage you to be a thinking parent, and this is exactly what one must be. The book describes a system that is based on principles - it is not driven by schedule - hyper-scheduling, in fact, is addressed as being something to avoid. The authors recommend that you learn to read the baby's signs and listen to her cries to determine your course of action. If you are a new mother, and you are like me and need order in your life, then I believe you will find this book very helpful.

Rating:
Summary: Great book. . .why all the negativity??
Review: When I was pregnant with my first child, this book was recommended to me by two people. The first was a "babywise" person whose baby slept through the night starting at 6 weeks. The second was a person who was NOT "babywise" and whose child didn't sleep through the night until 1 year. The latter recommended this book because of the sleep problems their child had. (They stated that their friends who read this book had babies who slept all night at early ages.) I have found the book to be quite helpful!

I'm wondering if those of you who gave this book terrible reviews acutally read it? Yes, Ezzo recommends putting your baby on a schedule by feeding them initially every 3 hours. Did all you Ezzo bashers read the entire chapter about feeding?? He doesn't tell you to feed them every three hours regardless of the situation. He clearly tells you to work towards this, but if you think your child seems hungry he recommends feeding them regardless of the schedule. Am I the only person who read this part of the book? (And I'll add that my pediatrician also recommend that we feed our newborn every 3 hours.)

We took bits and pieces of advice from this book (along w/ The Happiest Baby on the Block) and our baby was sleeping through the night at 10 weeks. He's now 6 months old, can calm himself if he wakes at night, and goes to sleep without any problems. And yes, he's healthy, very happy, and did NOT starve to death as a newborn (as some other review writers will lead you to believe).

I would recommend this book to anyone. I guess before you buy this, you need to decide if you are going to be a parent who feeds on demand by your crying baby (using feeding to soothe regardless if they ate 30 minutes prior) or as a parent who feeds their children on a schedule and wants to "stabilize" their hunger patterns and therefore their nighttime sleep.

I'm not trying to bash other parenting techniques -- just want you new parents to know how well the "Babywise" techniques worked for us and the other people I know who have read this book.

Rating:
Summary: Would have lost my mind without it !
Review: Im a new mother of 4 month old twins.. I was given this book by my sister in law, at a time when I was loosing my mind with all he crying and sleepless nights.
I think we need to take and leave some of the advises in this book, but overall it's an amazing book. Do I agree with all the methods, NO! I would never let them cry for 1/2 hr as it's advised. My twins are living proof that the methods in this book do work. They cried for the first two nights (only a few minutes) and then never again. My babies are now very happy and sleeping straight through the night from 7 or 7:30 until 5 am. I would truly recommend this book with confidence. Im now ready for book II.


Rating:
Summary: Horrible: if you read this...
Review: do so only for shock value.

New parents, I highly encourage you to hit your back arrow now and leave this page. Babies have DIED from their parents using the Ezzo system.

I was given a copy of this book from my husband's well-meaning co-worker. The harshness of it astounded me. I'm supposed to let my infant lie alone in a playpen to "think"? It's okay to smack the hands of a baby? The answer to both is no, it is not. A baby has no business just lying in any confined space unless the parent needs him there for safety reasons. Otherwise, she should have freedom to explore. Likewise, a study showed that babies whose hands are smacked are much less likely to explore their environments and learn.

Those are just two small examples of the misinformation in this book; there are many others.

Rating:
Summary: Use some common sense and this book will be a lifesaver!
Review: I was skeptical when a friend first recommended this book to me and my husband because there were so many parenting books out there, how was I to know which one to use? I have to admit, though, it has been an absolute blessing. Our six month old has been sleeping through the night since she was 8 weeks old (even though we didn't start using Ezzo's method until she was 4 weeks old), and she now takes two 2-hour naps per day and sleeps 9-10 hours at night. She is in the 75th percentile for length and weight and we are told all the time what a content and pleasant baby she is.

Unlike some of the negative reviews suggest, Ezzo does not direct parents to follow a rigid feeding and napping schedule. Although maintaining a routine is key to your baby's comfort and happiness, he advocates breaking the schedule and being flexible when you need to - when you travel, if your baby is sick, etc. He also does not advocate letting your baby go hungry or letting them scream until they are hysterical, as some reviews claim. He specifically writes that a hungry baby should be fed, even if it is not time to feed him per his schedule, but that the parent should examine why the baby is becoming hungry before his feeding time and make steps to correct the problem. Additionally, he tells parents to put their babies down for naps while they are awake and advocates letting them learn to cry themselves to sleep, but does not tell parents to ignore their babies or let them cry themselves into hysteria.

Like any parenting book, parents need to use common sense and judgment when reading Babywise. There are some great guidelines in this book, but you need to read the whole book and exercise patience and judgment when applying it your your own child. Given that caveat, I highly recommend it to any new parent as a great way to get your child on a manageable schedule, one that will set the foundation for years to come.

Rating:
Summary: Would have been lost without it!
Review: Despite the not-so-positive reviews I am reading on this site about Baby Wise, I must tell you I would have been LOST without this knowledge as a first time mother at age 39. As with ANY book on ANY subject, pray for discernment about what you are reading because BALANCE is the key. I did not interpret Ezzo's point to be "rigid scheduling" as mentioned by other reviewers. Ezzo stresses "flexibility" in scheduling. In fact, he speaks strongly AGAINST "hyperscheduling". The key is that YOU, as the parent, are the one in control. Not the child. And, if you don't get THIS concept down from the beginning, your children will be running your family rather than being members of a family where PARENTS are in charge. Don't we ALL know families where the kids seem to be in control? It's not pretty. Ezzo's point is, you can HELP your child learn feed, wake, sleep cycles by following a routine. Feeding "on demand" (whenever a baby cries and you assume they are hungry) can foster many problems including "snacking vs full feedings" and "catnaps vs restorative sleep naps" of an hour or more. This is not only Ezzo's view point, but also that of the neonatal unit nurses I worked with. They feed newborns on a 3 hour schedule. Just as Ezzo recomends. That is because this is when babies NEED to be fed. I'm quite sure they don't let their babies become malnurished or dehydrated in the NICU! That is not so say that sometimes you need to feed sooner than that depending on the situation....that's where the flexibility that Ezzo stresses comes in. Bottom line, read the book. Even if you decide to discount some of his points, you will certainly find something helpful here. My baby was sleeping through the night by 9 weeks and feeding on a regular interval. I was then able to maintain breastfeeding for six months because I wasn't burnt out. I also followed his advice on when to introduce a bottle and was able to nurse AND use a bottle beautifully. This comes in handy for babysitters and grandparents so that my husband and I could maintain OUR relationship. My son is now 2+ yrs old and has sleept through the night continuously. He also has maintained a very healthy nap schedule. He has also NEVER slept in OUR bed which a real blessing! He plays in our bed with us sometimes but when it's time to go to sleep, he goes to HIS room. He LOVES "his" bed! Praise God! At 27 months(now), he naps from 1:00pm - 3:30 or 4:00pm and he sleeps from 8:00pm - 7:30am. You just can't get any better than this. I have friends who say "my child just won't nap". I honestly don't know how they survive a day! Lasly, I would like to say that my son does not exhibit the extreme behavior of most two year olds. I believe this is atributable to two things. One, he gets enough sleep (becuase he was helped establishing his sleep cycle early on). Two, he learned to communicate at an early age so he knows he doesn't have to whine, cry or fuss to get what he needs. Per Ezzo, we taught him sign language (this is in Baby Wise book 2 for 5-15 months). At 10 months, he could sign.. milk, eat, apple, more, please, thank you. He talks up a storm now but he still loves to sign! On this subject, I also recommend video from www.signingtime.com Thanks for listening.

Rating:
Summary: Mothers instinct ignores
Review: I thought this book plays on a young mothers insecurities, encouraging tiny babies to 'learn' when they are hungry? I wonder what mothers did for the 1,000's of years before books? Oh no! they trusted there instincts! they picked up a crying baby! they fed it when it was hungry!
And as far as being christian..can you see mary with baby jesus crying and her with a watch telling her when to feed him? hmmmmmm
NEVER RECOMMEND BOOK.

Rating:
Summary: This was a life saver
Review: I was recommended this book by a close friend and have to say that being a staunch breast feeding advocate I was dubious to say the least. But...I am pleased to report that not only was my boy sleeping through the night by 8 weeks, he was gaining weight at a great rate and has met all of the milestones to date at 8 months.
I believe this book allowed me to breast feed longer (fully to 7 months and partially now that I have returned to work). Demand feeding had left me drained both physically and emotionally. Ensuring Angus got full feeds and didn't just snack on foremilk by following this book allowed me to feel as though I was directing my child's behaviour and made me an active parent rather than passively giving in to my child's demands.
There are other ways of comforting a child rather than feeding - take them for a walk, put them in a front pack while you do your chores or turn the radio up and let them have a cry - I can gaurantee that the first time you do this and the baby falls asleep you gain a real sense of achievement for having out-smarted that little bundle of joy. You feel satisfied when they have a full sleep and wake up happy to see you and ready for another good feed. Just like the book says, I had comments from other parents and strangers in supermarkets and shopping centres about how contented my baby was and how well-behaved he was. I took great pride in knowing that I had helped to shape this behaviour.
I have since recommended this book to several of my friends with a success rate of 100% - I think that you all would agree that this is hgiher than by chance for a total of 9 babies.

Breast-feeding is what is best for your child but don't allow people to make you think this book is anti-breast. If anything it is pure and simple common sense that gives you the control in the parent-child relationship.

(...)

Rating:
Summary: A Dangerous method that sabotages successful breastfeeding..
Review: This book is written to appeal to well meaning, caring and sincere parents... it tells the parent everything they want to hear. It promises a baby who sleeps well, eats well, and brings frequent compliments to the parents on how well behaved their baby is. What parent does not want these kinds of things?

What it fails to tell you is that this program is based on nothing more than the author's uneducated opinions about child-rearing. Gary Ezzo has NO credentials in child care or development, he bases his teachings on his own questionable religious beliefs. (including the idea that you should not attend to an infant's cries because God did not respond when Christ cried out on the cross!!!) This ignores the fact that the kind of extended crying that Ezzo promotes has been shown to cause brain trauma due to the release of stress-related chemicals that can actually cause lesions in the brain tissue. (Ezzo has actually described his own grandchild screaming for 45 minutes during a "sleep training" session) This is just one example of his gross lack of information about normal infant behavior and the appropriate care of infants.

For those who plan to breastfeed, the "Parent-directed feeding" schedule can be a recipe for disaster. A mother's milk storage capacity can vary up to 300%, meaning that many mothers will have to nurse much more than the "maximum" feeds allowed by Ezzo's schedule in order for their child to get enough to eat, and for them to continue to produce a sufficient supply of milk. There have been MANY recorded instances of women having milk supply issues and losing their milk entirely at around 4 months directly related to following this schedule. This problem stems from Ezzo's idea that babies should eat as infrequently as possible, encouraging "full feeds" and discouraging "snacking"... totally disregarding the supply and demand system of nursing. FREQUENT stimulation by nursing is required to keep an adequate supply,especially in the early weeks, yet the book encourages parents to cut out even nighttime feeds as early as possible. (so the baby will sleep through the night... ignoring the fact that this is also a risk factor for SIDS) These problems clearly illustrate Ezzo's lack of understanding of even the basics of breastfeeding.

I would strongly urge anyone considering using this book to look into the dangers associated with it. There is detailed information about all aspects of Babywise at www.ezzo.info.