On Becoming Baby Wise: The Classic Sleep Reference Guide Used by Over 1,000,000 Parents Worldwide

a MUST read for ALL parents!
We were given this book as a gift from some doctor friends of ours before our daughter was born. We read the book and followed the philosophy closely, learned the different cries of our daughter and by week 7 she was sleeping soundly through the night. Now at 5 months she sleeps religiously for 9 hours EVERY NIGHT. This book is not for everyone as you will see by the other reviewers. But for us it was a God send...our daughter is a very smiley, happy little girl that sleeps through the night, not once or twice a week but every night...

We did not run into ANY of the issues that other reviewers mentioned....

This book needs to be recalled
This book is extremely dangerous, and in my opinion outright child abuse. People seem willing to brush off the overwhelming number of babies diagnosed with Failure to Thrive as a direct result of this, with the claim that those parents must have been doing it wrong.

I'd like to point out that there has been a massive recall on cribs with a drop-rail. These cribs, if put together properly, were still safe. But they were easy to do incorrectly, which resulted in children's deaths. And those cribs were recalled. Why is this book somehow different? It needs to be recalled and taken off of the shelves. If someone I knew were using this book, I would immediately make a call to CPS.

Loved this book!
I have 2 children. I was given Babywise when I was pregant with my 2nd child. I followed the book, not extremely, but pretty close & could not have had a better baby. My children are now 13 & 11. My 11 year old, who I used this book with, slept through the night at 7 weeks, nursed the entire first year, could put herself to sleep & when she woke up, was a happy, pleasant baby & mostly woke up talking & cooing rather than crying. She was as close to a perfect, well rounded baby as I could want. My 13 year old, had to be rocked to sleep, even after the 2nd one was born, continued to wake up through out the night for many months, didn't nurse except for the 1st month & "needed" me a lot. Looking at them now, my oldest still is more insecure & needs that extra attention, whereas, my 2nd child is carefree, easily adaptable to most situations & very secure in herself. Don't get me wrong, my oldest excels socially, athletically, etc but to really know them, you can see quite a difference in their personalities. You can say it had nothing to do with the book, it's just the children were different. However, if you read the book, it really does make sense to assume that differenc in rearing & caring of the 2 at such a young age, played a role in their outcome. I don't push any book or follow exactly what a book says but using this book & of course, your own judgment & loving parenting, it is an excellent gift for an expectant mom!

9 weeks old sleeping through the night! Thank you Baby Wise!
You know that saying "if mom ain't happy, ain't nobody happy"? Well, then this is the book for you. You have just spent 10 months being pregnant and huge and now you are sleep deprived and still huge and you have this baby who cries and cries and you are desperate and depressed and have tried everything? Well that was me, and then I got this book. My daughter then started sleeping through the night just like that and so did I. Yes, she was formula fed because I had an infected c-section and was so pumped with antibiotics I couldn't breast feed so she could last easily on a schedule, and being on a feeding schedule is a big part of this book. It is just a book, so give it a try. My sanity returned and the bags under my eyes are gone! If only I could get rid of the million pounds I gained on 10 months of bed rest, too bad there isn't a magic book for that!

Babywise Offers a Tough Love Philosophy That Is Difficult to Put into Practice

The book can be summarized as thus: Babies sense parental conflict, even in the tacit sense. An intact relationship is the foundation. Stressed-out parents infect the child with anxieties. Also child-centered parenting is a mistake.

To keep marriage on focus, the authors recommend parent-directed feeding (PDF). Don't make the mistake of child-led feeding. Consistent time must be between feedings. Always avoid erratic feedings.

After a feeding, there must be waketime before naptime (46). Various waketime activities (119) include rocking, singing, crib activities, errands, walks, car rides, playing. While not discussed in this book, I've read elsewhere that waketime includes feeding and should be about 30 minutes. I've also read eye contact is a great form of waketime. Eye contact is a great waking stimulant.

The authors recommend NO WAKETIME activities after night feedings; just put babies to bed.

Naps should not exceed 2.5 hours.

Regarding sleep (in the most important Chapter 3), there are misguided ways of inducing sleepiness. Here are the 3: Nursing your baby to sleep; Rocking your baby to sleep; sleeping with your baby.

Put your baby down BEFORE he falls to sleep.

Perhaps the most controversial topic, crying, is addressed in Chapter 8: When Your Baby Cries

Do you let your baby cry until he or she is exhausted? Do you coddle the baby? The authors argue that you should NOT BLOCK your baby's cry (139).

Normal cry periods which should not be followed with coddling and feeding are the following: crying before feeding; crying when the baby is put down for nap; crying in the early afternoon and early evening.

You can let a baby cry for up to fifteen minutes before nap or bedtime as long as the crying isn't for pain, diaper change, or hunger (148).

Now the bad news for parents of multiples, like my wife and I: Taking care of them without outside help is considered almost impossible. The authors state you should hire help if you can or summon the generosity of family.

The authors reiterate that you should feed your babies every 3 hours during the day to help them sleep more at night. There should be no transition from waking to sleeping. Let the babies learn to self-comfort.

What's Most Helpful

Insist on waketime. You can do this and it helps increase the night sleeptime.

What's Most Difficult

Letting the babies "cry it out" and self-comfort. Women have chemicals that compel them to aid a crying baby. Men detach and get high blood pressure (me). If your wife cannot detach, as is prescribed, Babywise won't work for you.