Rating: 
Summary: Board certified physician's review
Review: As a board certified internist and new mother, I was very interested in getting my full term baby to sleep through the night. Like any book, you need to take away what is of value. I believe in the eat, wake, sleep cycle, but the 3-4 hour feeding cycles can be too short for breast fed babies. Breast milk is digested more quickly than formula and babies have very small stomaches which may not store enough nutrition to last for 3-4 hours. My baby ate every 2-2.5 hours and nursed for 1-1.5 hours at a time. On this schedule, he slept through the night beginning at 5 weeks. I had initially tried to lengthen his feedings out to 3 hours as recommended by Baby Wise, but soon realized that he was hungry before the 3 hour mark. Following the 3-4 hour cycle recommendation can be dangerous to some newborns. If your baby fits the 3-4 hours cycle, great. If not, follow your parenting instincts and feed your baby if you think he's hungry.
Rating: 
Summary: Wasted Time in Houston - Update
Review: On April 20, 2000, I submitted a review and thought an update was in order. Within a month after I discontinued using the Babywise method, my baby slept 10 hours at night without waking, and was taking consistent naps. Contrary to what the book said, he organized his days and nights when I just followed his lead. At night my baby goes to bed awake without rocking, nursing or a pacifier and puts himself to sleep. Sometimes he lies in his crib for thirty minutes, smiles and coos at his mobile and then does nothing more than whine for a few minutes before drifting off. This was all done without ignoring my baby and letting him cry for extended periods of time. All that was necessary initially was putting him in his crib just before he closed his eyes, so that he put himelf to sleep for the last few seconds. This gradually has extended to minutes. I urge parents to just use their instincts. Babies can sleep through the night relatively early without employing the Babywise method.
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Summary: Both Biblically and scientifically invalid
Review: This book advocates breastfeeding strategies that will work for some women, but will produce dehydrated or failure-to-thrive babies for others. Not every mother produces enough milk to go 3 hours between feedings and still satisfy the newborn's need for nutrition. Babywise can be dangerous to the health of your newborn.
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Summary: On ecoming Baby Wise
Review: I was absolutely appalled when I read this book. the authors promote, in my opinion, child abuse. The only way I could possibly recommend this book to any parent would be if they WANTED to raise a child conditioned to accept abuse from any authority figure during their lifetime. Denying a small infant food and comfort merely because an adult wants to sleep is highly irresponsible.
Rating:
Summary: Dangerous Nonsense
Review: I hope anyone thinking of buying this book will do someresearch first. The American Academy of Pediatrics, among many others,has come out with serious warnings about this so-called method...For those whose orientation to this method is religious, Christian pediatrician Dr. William Sears has also issued a strong warning... Please, please, please reconsider adopting this dangerous plan.
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Summary: Who could live with the strict schedule?
Review: What adult would want to live with such a strict schedule? Not me! My baby and I have a routine, but I couldn't see putting her on such a rigorous schedule. She eats and sleeps when she wants to, and is starting to sleep thru the night on her own at 3 1/2 months WITHOUT making her "cry it out", which I will NOT do. This may have worked for other Mom's...probably working Mom's who don't have the ability to nap during the day to make up for sleepless nights, but for stay at home Mom's like me this doesn't make sense. Let your baby tell you what it needs...forcing a schedule is unnatural. Try a book by Sammons, "The self-Calmed Baby". It is VERY insightful and useful without the strict schedule. But it does advocate the "cry it out" technique. For an author that does not advocate "cry it out", try Dr. William Sears.
Rating: 
Summary: Great success
Review: I started this from day one with my daughter. She is now 8 months old and sleeping 12 hours a night and napping well. She was exclusively breastfed until 4 months then solids added. We continue breastfeeding. She has gained weight steadily and healthily. She is a very happy and well loved child. Everyone can do this. She took a little longer to do the things the book said she would but we stuck with it and she is now doing great!
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Summary: A Breastfeeding Disaster
Review: I knew long before I had children that I wanted to nurse them. The Babywise plan was recommended to me by a number of people. The outcome was a desirable one, but it seemed to recommend that women do the exact opposite of what lactation consultants advise. Could it work with breastfeeding? By some miracle, some women do succeed at breastfeeding and scheduling their baby's feeds. But they are the lucky ones. I read a study on how a woman's body makes milk, and I read that women produce more milk during the in between periods than previously thought, but women differ in how much milk they can store in their bodies by as much as 300%. Every woman can produce enough milk to nourish her baby, the study concluded, but some women must nurse more often than others to produce the same amount. Another analysis of the Babywise method I read said that it was most likely to work in babies who were at least 8 lbs. at birth. I also read somewhere that a newborn has a stomach the size of a walnut. Also, breastmilk is digested more quickly by babies than formula is, so these babies naturally need to nurse more often. One must also consider that this child faces the task of tripling his body weight in the next year. It wasn't the idea that this was cruel to babies that most turned me off of the Babywise plan (although I do think it is cruel to use a baby's nourishment to try to "teach" it patience when the baby is developmentally not ready to understand the concept). It was the scientific facts that spoke loudly against the use of this plan for breastfed babies. If you want to use this plan and intend to (or are) formula feed your babies, go for it, as long as the baby's health is not jeopardized. But if you plan to nurse and want to succeed, don't do it. Or realize that using this plan may possibly keep you from successfully nursing. You've got to decide what is more important to you, the best nourishment for your child or a peaceful night's sleep. My vote was the best nourishment of my child, and I'll never regret it.
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Summary: Excellent tool but parental discretion is advised
Review: This book is an excellent tool. The advice offered is not thebe all and end all in infant feeding, but it is basically sound. Asnew parents, we were introduced to this book by our Pediatrician who was a devotee. We had heard it had a Christian agenda, but we bought it in spite of that to make our own decision about the advice as to its practicality. After reading it, it seemed sensible so we went with the plan starting with our son's very first feeding. We continued with the plan and with ADAPTATIONS AND MODIFICATIONS it worked well. Our son was above birthweight after 2 days. He slept through the night in 7 weeks and maintained above the 50th percentile in weight throughout infancy. He napped readily with little fuss in most cases. He is two now and he is well behaved, sleeps like a log at night and naps without any problems. That being said I want to go back to ADAPTATIONS AND MODIFICATIONS. Any success plan requires situation specific adjustments. You need to look at this book as a guideline, not a gospel. In almost every horror story I've read about this plan I have found a statement like, "I followed the plan to the letter." Therein lies the problem. Anyone who sits there and listens to her baby cry for an hour because she is following some plan out of a book needs a mental exam. My spouse and I have noticed among our friends that on-demand feeding tends to produce on-demand parents and unruly children. I believe that babies (as well as children and adults) need structure, but it needs to be FLEXIBLE STRUCTURE. It needs to be situation specific, child specific and even mood specific. You need to set your boundaries with bungee cord, not with barbed wire. Stay on the feeding schedule as much as possible, but for heaven's sake be alert to what your baby is telling you. You may have to deviate for a few feedings or even days and then ease the baby back into the schedule. Flex, then bounce back. If you apply the advice in the book in this way and give your baby lots of love, hugs and affection, you will probably find that the plan has a lot of benefits.
Rating:
Summary: Loved it!
Review: When my wife and I had our first child the nurses, doctors, and baby books all had different advice on how to take care of our newborn. Baby Wise had been highly recommended to us. I am so grateful to Ezzo for giving us a guide to follow. Those of you who don't think this book is great did not read it all the way. It is not something you strictly follow but a guide to help you make decisions to soothe your baby and help them develop healthy sleep patterns. By the way, most people go 6 or 7 hours without food -WHEN THEY SLEEP! Our baby sleeps through the night and wakes up with a smile on his face. Those of you who want to spoil your children by stuffing food down their mouths everytime they cry - get a life! Baby Wise does not tell you to let your child cry for any longer than 15 minutes. It also says if they do go comfort them. That maybe all they need is some time in Mommy's arms. I love my baby and I am convinced that this guide has helped me know what to expect and how to handle situations in a manner that helps my baby learn disapline and be a happy healthy child.
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