Rating: 
Summary: Wasted Time in Houston
Review: When I was pregnant, several of my friends recommended this book. They said their children responded beautifully to it and were sleeping through the night relatively early. Naturally, I was intrigued. I bought the book - the whole series actually - and read it carefully. Twice. The concept sounded great. Too bad not all babies are alike.When my baby was about five weeks old, I decided it was time that he learn to sleep in his crib during the day. He had always slept there at night, but took naps all day long on visiting family members that wanted to spend time with him. Babywise indicated that babies on a 2 1/2 to 3 hour schedule, which my baby was on (not because I planned it that way, but because that is when he was hungry) ought to take naps of about 1 1/2 hours. So, after I fed him, I would keep him up a bit and then put him in his crib, awake, for his nap. I expected some crying, but according to the book, I should notice a pattern to the cries and they were not supposed to last too long. Additionally, after three to five days, the baby was supposed to be trained and go down for naps without much fuss. It never worked. There was never a pattern to his cries. I stuck to the plan religiously for three days. There were days that my baby cried through his entire naptime. When it came time to eat, he was too exhausted to finish his meal and fell asleep while I was nursing him. Within about fifteen minutes of falling asleep, he was start crying again. As instructed in the book, I let him cry. I listened for a pattern in the cry, but there never was one. My baby was ready to eat in time intervals less than what he was eating before because he did not have enough energy to finish his meal. My content and alert baby became cranky and lethargic. His constant crying contributed to the build-up of intestinal gas, which was what was causing him to wake up in the middle of his naps. Of course I did not realize this until I watched him sleep on the day I abandoned the program. He woke up grunting, breathing heavily and screaming. Occasionally, he would pass gas and the cries would subside. The thought that I let my baby cry endlessly when he was in pain breaks my heart because it represents wasted time I could have been spending with my baby conforting him. He was also waking up more times during the night because he was hungry more frequently. Since I abandoned the program, my baby is more content, sleeps better, is able to finish his entire meal, an is alert for some time after it. For me, Babywise backfired. It was supposed to contribute to babies who ate at regular times and who were more content. Instead, my baby became cranky because he was not getting enough sleep, and ate irreguarly because he was too tired to get a full feeding. There is a time and place for "crying it out". I recently read Ferber's book, but he recommends that the system be used for older babies about five to six months old. The point of sleep training is trying to get a baby to go to sleep on his own, not to see how long a baby can cry. A much gentler approach is putting a baby down in his crib while his eyes are droopy but he is still awake, so for the last few seconds or minutes, he puts himself to sleep. That has worked wonders for my baby and he is no longer scared of being in his crib. If he continues to wake through the night as he gets older, then we will probably try the Ferber method to break him of that habit. But for now, he is learning to go to sleep on his own, without crying for hours. I would urge parents who are interested in this method to watch their babies. I believe there would have been significant health consequences for my baby had I not abandoned the program. For example, he had been having regular bowel movements, but during the time period I employed the Babywise plan, he stopped having regular bowel movements. Once I abandoned it, he was back to normal. It probably had something to do with the fact that he was not eating well. If parents are willing to try this plan, then I wish them luck, but not to the detriment of their babies health.
Rating: 
Summary: A Mom in Texas
Review: I purchased this book after reading all of the posted reviews. My son was five weeks old and I was tired and needed some guidence. We followed the basic guidlines laid out in the book and my son slept through the night by the time he was nine weeks old. We never just let him cry as some of these other reviews seem to suggest. Additionally, the book advises parents to use their best judgement. This is a book that allows you to put your child on an easy schedule that benifits the child and the family.
Rating: 
Summary: Best Kept Secret!
Review: This book is a God send! I wish I had known about it with my first child. I have a 2 1/2 year old and a 9 week old. A friend loaned me this book, she's not getting it back, when my 9 week old was 6 weeks. After I read the book I immediately started the routine. My baby responded positively to it right away. The second night she dropped her middle of the night feeding, permanently. She is a very happy and content baby, smiling and cooing constanly. After demand feeding my first child, never knowing why she was crying, and being very stressed out, I feel the weight of the world has been lifted from my shoulders. The advice in this book is so enlightening. Especially after only hearing the cliches "You can't hold your baby to much" and "You can't love your baby too much." With my first child I read lots of parenting magazines and parenting books that all eluded to the same cliches. I was searching for another way because I was a basket case, just ask my husband. Different people I know kept telling me to just let my baby cry a little but they offered no good reasoning, and that was not good enough for me. I wanted to "do it right" and the only advice I could find was the current thinking. This book has given the history of where these current beliefs and cliches have come from and why. These authors have given sound and common sense reasoning behind their advice. I could identify with almost everything in their book regarding child centered parenting because I lived it with my first child. There is a better way! My whole family is happier and much more stable because of the advice in this book. I call this a best kept secret because I never would have found it on my own.
Rating:
Summary: Our kids sleep so well and are such a joy
Review: This book is the BEST one on sleep and eating cycles. It stresses that PARENTS know what is best for their babies. While other moms are still getting up 2 and 3 times a night at 6 or 8 months, with the help of this book both my children were sleeping 8-10 hours at night by 6 weeks old. Both were on breast milk and because of the 3 hour schedule my supply was strong. When I was listening to the La Leche League women my supply was diminishing because of the too frequent feedings. With Babywise, that all went away. We have happy, healthy, well rested children, and you can too. Please give this book a try.
Rating:
Summary: More than sleeping through the night
Review: When I was pregnant, we focused so much on the pregnancy, that it didn't occur to us to decide what kind of parenting philosophy to adpot. This book helped us to define and refine the kind of parents we wanted to be. ONE of the beneifts of this book is sleeping through the night (for you AND baby), but it is much more than that. This book helps you keep a clear head about parenting and what is really best for your child. It will even help you in the first stages of discipline. If you like this book, look for the follow-up books for older children. I now give this as a "pregnancy gift" to all my girlfriends.
Rating:
Summary: Great Guidelines
Review: This book has really great guidelines for new mothers who have no idea what their child is suppose to be doing. Once I read this book I had peace when dealing with my baby because I knew what I was doing. I wasn't totally strict with my baby's schedule, but most of the time it naturally lined up with what this book is talking about. It is definitely worth the purchase!
Rating:
Summary: Very helpful
Review: This book was a great help to my husband and I. The most useful information in it was that babies enter light sleep first, then deep sleep. This explained why my 3 week old was exhausted; he was capnapping all day - light sleep only - because I was carrying him around with me everywhere. Within a day of beginning Babywise his fussing was cut in half. No wonder; he was rested. While I wouldn't say we've followed everything in the book to the letter, it does work. I fail to understand the controversy surrounding the advice given in this book. I think most of the people complaining of these methods have never tried them; they are envisioning a screaming baby alone in a crib. My 9 week old son does occasionaly fuss when I put him in his crib to sleep. Usually, it's because he's had an especially active and stimulating "up time", and is a little overtired from it. I would never dream of letting him lie in his crib screaming himself to sleep. That's not what the book recommends. Instead, he may wail a few times, and then go to sleep on his own. Finally, a note to the reviewer who mentioned that several parents have sued the authors, as proof that the book is an example of thinly disguised child abuse. I'm a lawyer, and believe me, that means NOTHING. Do you really think that the fact a lawsuit is filed means that the complaint is based in reality? Take a good look at the world around you - only a plaintiff's attorney would have you believe that is the case.
Rating:
Summary: Can give you sleep, your baby security, used w/ common sense
Review: I went on line to order BabyWise II because my husband and I were so pleased with the first book and I was shocked to see that some people feel this method is cruel! When the author's guidelines are used sensibly, nothing could be further from the truth. The first two months of my son's life, I fed my son at the slightest whimper, without stopping to evaluate whether he was hungry, tired, lonely, bored etc. I rocked him to sleep for 2 hours every night and was up at least twice to feed him, and we were all generally exhausted and miserable. Babywise helped us develop a FLEXIBLE routine that brought order to our lives and insured that our son had regular, good feedings, had "playtime" when he got non-feeding attention, and insured that we all got enough rest. The book advocates evaluating and monitoring your child's need and in no way advocates neglect! Did we follow every single recommendation of the book to the letter? Of course not, we used our own good judgment and common sense and adapted the method for our child's needs. While this method may not be for everyone, the book's principles can help give you and your child the security and predictability of a routine, and I would recommend reading it and trying it out for yourself. I agree with another reader who said "the proof is in the pudding" - we have a happy, thriving, 9 month old who is off the growth charts, sleeps all night, naps twice a day and is a joy to be around.
Rating:
Summary: On Becoming Babywise
Review: This book is a must for any parent that has a coliky baby. I was at my wits end before I got the book and the doctors were no help in giving me suggestions on what to do for my daugher's colic. As soon as I received the book, I started reading it and following the authors' advice. The book states "If you baby does suffer from colic, the best thing you can do is to keep that child on a routine. This allows his or her stomach to rest between feedings." That was the key to making my daughter happier.
Rating:
Summary: Medically safe, practical guide for parents
Review: I am a registered nurse, certified childbirth educator, certified lactation consultant and most importantly a MOTHER. I have used this book and recommend it to many parents. I give it as a baby shower gift. The principle of scheduled feedings every 2-4 hours depending on infants age and needs regulates and stabilizes blood sugars, thereby decreasing irritability and fussiness in infants. Regular scheduled feedings insure against dehydration and malnutrition as opposed to irregularity of demand feeding. All babies in the NICU are placed on strict feeding schedules, how can this be good for them if it is supposedly dangerous for a healthy full-term newborn? The AAP for hundreds of years recommended feeding schedules for infants and now they want you to think its dangerous. There is nothing rigid or strict in a feeding schedule unless you make it that way. This book teaches parents to nurture and love their children and to respond to their needs/cries appropriately instead of giving the bottle/breast or pacifier immediately. It teaches parents to be more in tune with their babies individual needs. It teaches new parents to trust themselves , that they do know what is best for their child. This type of parenting is not for everyone. Some people can not fit schedules into their busy lifestyles, that's ok. Many will find this parenting style a great blessing.
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