Rating: 
Summary: Good book used with common sense
Review: I have used this books principles from the beginning and it has worked great. My 6-month old sleeps through the night, takes naps great and is a happy healthy baby. She started sleeping 5-6 hours by 8-9 weeks. As with all advice style books, you just have to use common sense. A rigid schedule is not good for anyone, but a flexible schedule can save your sanity! I recommend this book to all my friends who are having kids.
Rating:
Summary: Think for yourself
Review: I am shocked and dismayed as I read the negative reveiws of this book. It is every parents responsibility to take in information, observe their child and decide what is best for their child. This philosophy of parenting is not designed to be militaristic, but it is designed to be structured. If you are not a structured person, then do not use this method. If you are and you value sleep, then give it a try. If your child doesn't take to it, then stop! The authors are very clear to outline the danger signs of a baby who is either dehydrated or not growing properly. You should be observant and make sure that your child is not suffering from those symptoms. The authors also make it very clear that this is a process and if your child is clearly hungry (even if it is early) then FEED HIM. I think any lawsuits that have been brought against the authors can be classified as frivolous. Ultimately parents are responsible for their children's well being not the author of a parenting advice book. If you are interested in scheduling your child's feedings, then read the book and decide for yourself. Gary Ezzo is not God, nor does he claim to be. Use good sense, observe your child closely and make the best decision for your family. I have a six month old and it worked for a charm for us. She was sleeping through the night at 4 weeks. However, we never deprived her of food if she was hungry, but with a schedule it was easier to deduce what the problem was when she cried. It worked for her, we will try it again, if it doesn't work for our next child, then we won't use it. Please, take responsibility for your own family. This book is merely advice, and I think the majority of it is good advice.
Rating: 
Summary: Long term results
Review: While still pregnant with my first, I was given much advice and several "how to" books. I am the type that likes to research and then come to my own conclusion. There are many useful tips in this book, however I could never recommend to someone "this is how to". The strict, militaristic style, is not our way of parenting. I guess I'm just a softee, but love, physical contact and responsiveness worked well for us. Our baby was sleeping 6 hrs at night by day 8 and through the night at three weeks. My message: many things work; think for yourself. In laws of ours have raised three children strictly following the methodologies in this book. Yes, their children quickly slept through the night and were predictable with feedings. I have witnessed these children at five, three and one years old. All three are very inflexible. Family activites revolve around their nap times and meals. No all day trips to the park, holidays are scheduled around them and moving to a new home has been a nightmare for this family. These children relied on a predictable schedule and now "freak out" at deviations. What was a convenience for their parents in the early days, has become a temendous burden now. Unfortunatley the world does not stop for our beloved children (even if we think it should!) Part of a parent's job is to help a child become confident in their own abilities, handle change, adapt and grow; not just mold them to what we want them to be. When you are sleep deprived, you will try anything, but don't make "Baby Wise" a way of life.
Rating: 
Summary: It Worked for Us!
Review: I found the recommendations in Baby Wise to be quite helpful. However, my 2 breastfed children responded differently. I learned about the book when my first baby was 5 weeks old. She was a pretty good night sleeper (6 hours) but had difficulty with naps. At 7 weeks I tried it and it took 3 DAYS for her to establish the eat-wake-sleep routine. What a difference that made in our days! Now, at 18 months she naps twice for about 90 minutes each during the day and sleeps 12 hours at night. With that success, I decided to try it with my son right from the start. He was a different baby, of course, and I was very unsuccessful at the beginning. So I gave up temporarily. When he was 5 weeks old I tried the routine again. It took him about 10 days to really get the hang of the eat-wake-sleep but when he did it was wonderful. He slept through the night at 8 weeks and now at 17 weeks takes 3 2-hour naps during the day and sleeps 11 hours at night. I can work my activities around their naps so that their waketime is filled with fun and love and my undivided attention! I read the negative reviews and do not agree with most of them. This worked for us! Good Luck!
Rating:
Summary: How to be selfish and raise a distrustful child
Review: Babies are for loving, not training like military recruits! This book makes it "convenient" for the parent and hell for the child. How would you like to be denied food and water just because it wasn't "time" to eat yet? I don't believe any parent with empathy and true love for their baby could follow the guideline in this very scary book! Children learn love and trust though the way they are parented. Forcing them as infants to go without food and drink, to be abandoned, alone in their rooms without comfort, to be ignored and abused, that is what this book teaches. There are a number of lawsuits against Ezzo for children that have dehydrated and failed to grow properly because their parents followed this frightening agenda. A caring loving relationship with your baby cannot exist along with the ideas in this book.
Rating:
Summary: very helpful
Review: Before I got this book I read EVERYTHING about how to care for babies but nothing was specific enough. My husband knew even less than I did and he is a doctor. We put my son on a schedule as soon as we got home from the hospital and he started sleeping through the night at 4 weeks. He happened to be an active infant that fussed himself to sleep every nap and night for 11 months, this book saved us from going crazy about it and giving us ideas to help. It gives clear guidelines that helped us when we moved 6 time zones when the baby was 8 weeks old. The baby is now 18 months old and we are constantly told what a well behavied little boy we have. Other mothers I know that use this system have also had great success. My second baby is 4 days old and we are starting to put her on a schedule as well. Just the idea of knowing what to expect is invaluable; if she just ate 2 hours ago, then the crying indicates something other than hunger and I can investigate other possibilities for her discomfort. I have used the second book in this series and it is even more wonderful.
Rating:
Summary: Babies are not for training
Review: I read this book and it made me very sad. I believe it works. But how does it affect the baby to be trained to sleep from day one? That is the question I would ask myself before trying this method. Babies know when they need to sleep, when they need to eat and when they need to be awake, not some doctor and certainly not some Christian zealot.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't have done without it
Review: Yes, this book is controversial, but it works! As one reviewer said, her baby still loves her. My baby is now 17 months old, and has always been happy, content, and predictable. This book lays out the rationale for scheduled feeding and sleep times. I think the information given is well-researched and documented. If you read this, or try it out, and decide that the method is not for you, then that's okay, but I advise you to at least TRY IT!
Rating:
Summary: I GOT MY SLEEP
Review: I read Baby Wise three days after bringing my first child home from the Hospital....it saved me nights of unrest. My first two nights home I got very little sleep...After reading the book in one day..I started using a schedule and it worked....He is now three and has slept 8-12 hours since 6 monthes. I also have a 11 month old girl which I started on a schedule in the hospital..nursing every three hours..and more in growth spurts..at 4 weeks she slept 6 hours and at two months 8 hours at night..now 12 hours with 2 naps in the day....I give this book for baby shower gifts.....IT WORKS
Rating:
Summary: Babies are blessings!
Review: As a step mom to 3, birth mom to 3, foster mom to 50 and adoptive mom to 2, we as a family have benefitted from the principles outlined in Baby Wise. The greatest thing about this country is the freedom of speech, and thank God we have the ability to make parenting decisions instead of a gov't mandated plan. Baby Wise encourages parents to think for themselves, to consider where the baby is in their day, and respond accordingly. Feeding your baby and meeting his/her needs is encouraged. It's interesting that Dr. David Satcher, The U.S. Surgeon General just said on Oprah (1/27/00) that "In the last decade, obesity has doubled in children." Could there be any connection to the demand feed philosopy? When a baby is in the hospital nursery, do those nurses provide a basic routine, (i.e. schedule) or are they given a bottle anywhere from 2 and 1 /2 to 3 and 1/2 hours apart? This is the guidelines for PDF babies outlined in this book. By keeping regular appointments with your Pediatrician, and using the Healthy Growth charts, parents have a safety net. As foster parents, we have seen the effects of child abuse, and it is not a pretty sight. To make allegations of child abuse is very serious. In my nine years of foster parenting, primarily infants and toddlers, we have found the principles of Baby Wise to be very helpful. No where do I find support for child abuse, nor would I condone it. Honestly, we do support the material in Baby Wise, and believe that each of us have the right to make assessments on what we feel works for us. When we build one another up, not tearing down we will look more like the Giver of Life. Babies are blessings!
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