Rating: 
Summary: Don't waste money on this book
Review: I bought this book and tried in vain to follow Ezzo's methods with my first baby. He was high-need and simply could not fit into a 3-hour schedule and sleep through the night as an infant. I left him to cry several times, which went totally against my natural mothering instincts, and it never worked anyway--it only left us both crying and sleep-deprived, and made for one very guilty mom. By the time my next baby came along I had heard about Dr. William Sears and he convinced me that following my instincts is the right thing to do. We now practice co-sleeping and I breastfeed my daughter to sleep whenever she needs it. What in the world is wrong with that??? I now get my sleep and my baby daughter is happy and secure. Ezzo makes parenthood sound like an unpleasant chore that you find yourself stuck with. By contrast, parenting a child is a great responsibility that takes lots of time, commitment, and love. If you want a helpful parenting book written by someone who obviously cares about children, buy THE BABY BOOK by Dr. Sears--don't waste your money on this one.
Rating: 
Summary: It takes consistency, and it will pay off - EVENTUALLY.
Review: I was a lot like the woman who rated the book with 1 star; I was ready to throw it away at 6 weeks also! But I hung in there and now, at 8 weeks, my son is showing tremendous signs of hope! Last night was his first time to sleep 7 hours. I never thought it to be possible.I had a lot of difficulty with the sleeptime. My son didn't want to sleep for several weeks. I doubted my instincts as a mother because of what the book said he should be doing. Then I realized that I needed to utilize my instincts along with the principles of Babywise to develop my son's schedule. I was consistent with a 3 hour schedule from the very beginning and even though he is just now showing signs of sleeping through the night, the predictability of his eating and sleeping has been the greatest benefit for me. It has enabled me to accomplish so much more with my day. It didn't happen overnight, though. You must be consistent and it will pay off eventually. Every child is a little different. My son is very stubborn and I had to show him that naptime is naptime. Sometimes it takes a time or two of me encouraging him to sleep before he does, but each time is easier. There are only two subjects I think Babywise neglect to address. First is the issue of gassy babies. My son has had a tremendous amount of gas, waking him from his naps and from sleep in the night. It was difficult to deal with and fit into the "schedule." I guess every baby will have their unique traits that are difficult to address in this book. The other subject is growth spurts. This along with the gas made certain exceptions to the 3 hour schedule. My son has gone through 2 growth spurts in the last 2 months of his life where he needed to feed earlier than 3 hours. Maybe if it was mentioned in the book I would have felt more comfortable deviating from the plan. The book is wonderful overall. All the principles must be adapted to each childs situation and the parent must use their instinct in many cases to determine what is best for their situation.
Rating: 
Summary: This book is a blessing!!!
Review: Having majored in Child Development, I found this book to be the key to what has been missing from so many relationships between parents and babies. A girlfriend of mine, mother of twins (that were both breastfed) recommended the book to me when I was expecting. I knew what wonders it worked in her own life and was eager to read it. I loved everything it had to say! It showed how to really pay attention to what your child's needs are. My baby is 7-months old and is so content and happy! Everywhere we go, we always hear about what a wonderful baby we have and how we are so lucky. Well, it wasn't all luck. A lot of it was following the program outlined in Baby Wise and making it work for both my husband and myself as well as our daughter. I cannot begin to express what a joy this book is. If you are pregnant, read it, give it a try!
Rating:
Summary: This book saved our lives!
Review: With three graduate degrees between us, my husband and I thought we'd figure out new parenthood the same way we figured out everything -- advice of the experts combined with instinct. As we entered month three of parenting with our baby not sleeping ONE HOUR at night (up EVERY night from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m.) and us rotating sleep on three-hour shifts, we were absolutely despondent. We frantically searched all of our books -- by pediatricians, lactation nurses, etc. -- and I can't tell you how many times we read "baby knows best." So, we dutifully fed on demand (breast feeding 17 times a day at one point) and let the baby set the schedule -- meaning, there wasn't one. Enter the Baby Wise book -- within three days on the Ezzo's schedule, our daughter was sleeping through the night, and we were beginning to feel human again! Even though we were happier, much more importanly our daughter was a new person -- it was if she needed a schedule even more than we did. We customized the schedule to fit our needs, but having guidelines to follow really did save our lives. I subsequently bought 50 copies of the book, and I hand them out to every parent I meet who mentions that they are incoherent from sleep deprivation. An ob/gyn friend also bought dozens of copies to hand out to new mothers -- some of whom were coming in wanting Prozac prescriptions when it turned out more sleep and a baby schedule was all they needed. Let's face it -- no one can function well on two hours of sleep a night for 60 consecutive nights. I've had friends whose two and three-year-olds weren't sleeping through the night, another who hired a night-time sitter because her baby (now 2!) has never slept through the night (likes to get up and play between 2 and 4 a.m.). The Ezzos have the guts to say what current child experts don't -- namely, that the boundaries set or not set by the parents determine how life with your child will be. I give this book an A+++++++++++++++++++
Rating:
Summary: Babywise really works!!
Review: Our Baby was sleeping 6 hours at night by four weeks old. By 8 weeks she was sleeping 9 hours at night. Babywise was mentioned in an article about sleep habits in our local Plain Dealer newspaper. I was eight months pregnant at the time and thought I'd read it ahead of time-what a smart decision. We started Babywise right away and obviously it works. Friends of ours with babies the same age (3 months)or older can't believe our baby sleeps thru the night. They're still getting up during the night. Not in our home, our baby goes to sleep on her own and wakes up smiling at us. We're smiling too! Now I'm going to order Babywise II!!
Rating:
Summary: Baby Wise may be UnWise
Review: After six weeks of applying Baby Wise principles to my first-born son, I threw this book away. The principles seem logical, and I expect some babies adapt very well to schedules, but Baby Wise can be very UNwise. Baby Wise made me distrust my own instincts. I was so insecure as a new mother that I was sure the Ezzo's knew better than me--so if the two and a half hours hadn't passed and my baby was acting hungry I made him wait because the authors tell you the baby can be made to wait. This tore me apart because all my instincts told me to feed him. He was getting adequate food (according to the Ezzo's indicators: wet, poopy diapers, etc.), but he was hungry. After six weeks of torment I began feeding my baby on demand. At first he ate every hour,but eventually he established his own schedule and I learned how to read his signals and trust myself as a mother. We were both much happier. If you decide to try this book, here are some suggestions: 1. If you are insecure about your ability to sense your baby's needs (i.e. you don't yet trust your intuition), don't put your baby on the Ezzo schedule until you learn your baby's signals. I'd suggest demand feeding until you get to know your baby, then, if you still want to try the schedule thing, go ahead. 2. If you're pretty rigid and inflexible--a "by the book" type of person, don't buy this book. You may wind up (as I did) trusting the schedule more than your baby or yourself. 3. Most babies establish their own schedule by five or six weeks anyway (though not all of them will sleep through the night). But is sleeping through the night the ultimate objective of parenting? One last comment. The Ezzo's characterization of demand-fed babies and their parents is facile, stereotypical, and overly negative. They assert that parents who demand feed simply offer the breast rather than investigating the needs of the child. In fact, their characterization implies that parents who demand feed are extremely unintelligent and allow their babies to take over their lives, resulting in a "baby as center of the universe" scenario. Creating unrealistic stereotypes like this is a poor method of argumentation and suggests that the Ezzo's are less than scientific in their presentation.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Parenting Advice!!! Highly Recommended!!!
Review: As a Child Development professional (I'm a parent of two children, ages 4 mos and 2.5 years), my wife and I found the original Baby Wise to be a terrific source of parenting advice. The principles require diligence on the part of parents (diligence is requirement for any successful parent). If you love your child (and I'm sure you do!), you owe it to them to be a loving leader in your home. This book shows you how to be that loving leader from day one of your baby's life. As a Christian, it's interesting to note that the authors have a series entitled Growing Children God's Way which explains the biblical principles underlying the secularized Baby Wise book. My wife and I used the original edition of Baby Wise, and the areas we found confusing or thin were, happily enough, the very areas the authors revised in the current edition. My firstborn son took four months to sleep through the nights, but my daughter only 7 weeks! Oh, and BTW, if you don't like my credentials as a Child Development professional, my wife's credentials are better: she's a licensed clinical social worker with an MSW in the State of Florida.
Rating:
Summary: Clear cut directions
Review: I was given this book by a nurse friend who swore by it. I used it, with some modifications. I was very nervous at the idea of taking care of a baby and had no idea what to do. All the other books that I read talked about demand feeding, and no sleep, letting the baby run the show, really. This book gives clear-cut directions, provides schedules for nap time, playtime, feeding. I put my son on a 3 hour feeding schedule (as they had him on at the hospital where I delivered) and it worked fine - at four months he was 25" long and 20 lbs. I have heard many criticisms of this book,mainly regarding babies who were not getting enough to eat based on the 3 hour schedule. That can certainly happen, though with all the charts the book provides for monitoring poop, etc. it seems like you would catch on to a problem pretty quick. I think you have to take it like anything else - I used their guidelines, but I modified it to suit my family. My son started sleeping through the night at ten weeks. I plan on purchasing Babywise II, now that I've started him on solids and again, cannot find clear directions on how much to feed and when.
Rating:
Summary: harmful to children
Review: As a Child Development professional, I was frightened by this book. It can only lead to disaster. Placing the young infant on an unnatural feeding and sleeping schedule damages the breastfeeding relationship, and it doesn't teach the child to be a better, more disciplined person. It teaches them that the world is a cold hard place where the people he depends on most during these helpless times will not respond to his needs. If new and soon to be parents need a resource let them look up Dr. Sears or Brazelton
Rating:
Summary: A lifesaver!
Review: I have a 2 1/2 month old baby who started sleeping through the night at 4 weeks and was sleeping every night for 8-10 hours by week 7! I had many friends tell me about the Baby Wise principles and they are so logical and my baby picked up on a 3 hour routine by the second day. It's a must for new parents. Start early!
| 
