Baby Wise?
As I mentioned yesterday, I checked out On Becoming Baby Wise from the library. I’ve read over half the book.
The first half of the book explains the results of their plan. I started getting annoyed with them explaining how wonderful their schedule works and why you should use it, too; I just wanted to know how to do it!
Briefly, the basic principles include:
1. Feeding approx every three hours
2. Trying to keep your baby awake during feedings and a little afterward.
3. Putting your baby down to sleep before the next feeding
4. Keeping your baby on a eat-wake-sleep routine to help their hunger stabilize for faster nighttime sleeping.
5. Trying not to allow babies to become overdependent for sleep on any one prop (rocking, swings, slings, pacifiers, car rides, etc).
6. Generally helping the baby’s needs to fit into you and your family’s routine, rather than arranging you and your family’s needs completely around the baby’s routine (or having none at all).
I haven’t agreed with some things they’ve said, but I agree with most of it. At least, they rationalize well so it makes me agree with them, haha!
I like that they use the word flexible. I’m not, and never will be, a rigid schedule-based person.
Jack has been awake today more than ever! We’ve taken a walk, read Cinderella, listened to some music and practiced lifting up his head. His naps weren’t very long, so I didn’t get much done or a nap, but I love him being awake more! It makes me feel like I’m taking care and communicating with a real person, not just someone that sleeps all.the.time. and doesn’t even look at me.
All that to say, we’re trying the plan. For now.
Any thoughts from any moms out there?
I was so frustrated reading babywise at first too. They just kept saying how wonderful they were and horrible other programs were. I just wanted them to tell me what to do!!
I didn’t really “do” babywise 100%, but took a lot of the principles and they seemed to work. I’m not very scheduled either, but the idea of a routine worked well. He might not go down for naps at the same time everyday (or even the same place… stroller naps and naps at friends houses work too), but he has a similar routine everyday.
I recommend 2 other books about sleep as well…
Healthy Sleep, Happy Child by Mark W… (can’t remember his last name) – This guy is a doctor who has researched healthy sleep habits and the book explains his findings. I liked it because it was fact based, not just theory. It also breaks it down by age level, which is nice for easy reference in the future. I highly recommend this book to any parent… whether you are babywise or attachment parenting or anything in between. It is a good foundation for understanding childrens’ sleep habits.
Sleepeasy Solution (Can’t remember the author) – We used this book when we were tired of sleepless nights and short naps and knew Sam was old enough (6 months) to sleep longer/through the night. Their system seemed middle of the road… not the cry it out method, but also not the no cry methods. I think we started this at around 6 months (although I think they said you could do it earlier) and still weren’t real strict about it, but we developed some good habits as a result of our efforts.
Hope this helps.
I read that book too and I’ve talked to my pediatrician about it, but Emily has never been a “typical” newborn. She is awake for long periods of time, and then takes one long nap and one or two short naps. So during the day her feedings are sometimes 2 hours apart, sometimes as much as 4 or 5 hours apart. But what I’ve learned is that if I wake her during the day to feed her, she will get most (or all) of the milk that she needs, and she will sleep through the night (most nights). I have never, not once, tried to wake her up at night to feed her, and she has been sleeping for 5-8 hours straight at night since she was 3 weeks old.
One book that I really liked was “The Happiest Baby on the Block” by Dr. Harvey Karp. That book explains babies and their needs so well. He is really big on swaddling, and that has been what helps Emily to sleep for so long. As soon as I wrap her up, she knows that it is time to go to sleep, and she starts winding down. I don’t know if Jack is like Emily, but she likes to sleep with her arms up(I think I saw a picture of him doing that?), and once she moves them, she wakes herself up. So swaddling takes care of that problem since she can’t move her arms.
Check out the book “Good Night, Sleep Tight” by Kim west! Great book. I did baby wise, but with some modifications of my own. Also the book “The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems” is a great book. Used those two books along side babywise. I have started a blog on baby stuff check it out.
blogginaboutbabies.wordpress.com
also check out this woman’s blog about babywise, it is a great resource if you decide to do Babywise. Good Luck!
http://babywisemom.blogspot.com/
i have a friend who is a newborn care specialist and she swears by babywise–but she will also be the first person to tell you that every baby is different!
all the rich people who don’t have time to read books and figure this stuff out hire her as a nighttime nanny. unbelievable stories. haha!
nighttime nanny!? they have those?? i know what i want for mother’s day now!
Yeah…I read Babywise and HATED it! I thought I would be a super scheduled person and have Zoe that way, too. Well, it doesn’t work for our family at all. We let Zoe make up her own schedule, and she’s super flexible now. The book really didn’t work for us at all…but who knows…baby #2 might be totally different!
yes. nighttime nanny. and did i mention that she makes BANK?! crazy hours and crazy clients, but lord have mercy… there’s some good money up in there!