"Scientists can put a man on the moon, but they can not answer the most basic question of early parenting: how to have a happy and contented baby who sleeps continually through the night like the rest of the family and a mother who is not in a perpetual state of exhaustion."
I constantly have teachers, other moms, business partners, and friends ask me "how do you get your kids to sleep 12 hours a night??" Here i was thinking this was the norm when I had my first child, who is now 3. and come to find out, it's not!!! Some people told me "you're just lucky to have a sleeper" with my first. But then when we did it with my 2nd, I knew it was a product of good training! Why is it that we go to business school to learn business, go to more business school to get an MBA but to open our minds about parenting or to pick up a book about how to teach your baby to sleep is appalling to many people!!! I'm saying this b/c i'm one of those moms that read and "did" Babywise. it's a book by Gary Ezzo called "On Becoming Babywise: teaching your children the gift of great sleep." and its a very controversial book. But it's funny...the parents that do it have the "best" kids! B/c they are getting tons of sleep and eating great which therefore leads to a happy disposition and a baby that barely ever cries. I'm serious! when my kids cried, i knew there was something wrong. It wasn't just that "normal thing that all babies do." it either meant they were hungry, tired, teething, or getting sick. I knew how to better assess the situation and how to fulfill their needs.
And because of this book, I'm able to do so many more things because i have a schedule. I have to thank my dear friend Vanessa Seavall who told me about this book. she does not have children yet but she had many friends that did and who all did Babywise. So on a quick trip to Austin one weekend when i was pregnant with Grace we ran to Half price books and picked up Babywise for a mere $4.97. My how that $5 has gone a long long way!!! So you can imagine that I thought this was the way that every parent did it! But when I encountered comments like "she sleeps so good, she's always happy, she's such a good eater, she never cries...." I began to wonder, Is this NOT what every parent is doing and Why!!!! After getting on the internet, I discovered the answer to my questions. so many parents were taking the book as regulation, managing, militant schedule, only feeding 3 hours and never before or after, crying it out to the extreme or they never even read the book. They just skimmed it or heard about it from a friend!! and i even did this too for a bit with Grace. I was a little too "by the book" But Ive read this book so many times and referenced it so much, the front cover has come off! And it says " its a guide. let your schedule serve you. growing spurts you feed more often, a schedule is to help you learn how to assess their needs, teach them how to fall asleep on their own, give your child the GIFT of good sleep? I"m not going to go into how the book works or what it says. You can read that for yourself or visit the site i go to quite often in the early months of birth Babywise Mom
this site is amazing and answers every question you have. I was on this site constantly after my 2nd.
But its a book worth reading if you have babies and you can even start late. I once heard someone say "If I buy your opinion, I buy your lifestyle." I want the lifestyle of all babywise moms, which is why I don't by the opinion of the "babywise haters."
And this book has a whole series: Toddlerwise, PreK wise, TeenWise...etc. it's really the only parenting book I've ever read not b/c of favor or ignorance. It's just worked for me and I'm very happy with the results and the great lifestyle we live. I've been blessed with amazing kids, but I'd like to think I had a little something to do with it too! wink....in fact, we all have the ability to have amazing, disciplined, obedient, happy kids b/c how we choose to raise them is up to us.
But I haven't hit the Teen years yet! That's a whole 'nother monster i here. i'll enjoy the young ages while i can and save Teenwise on my bookshelf until further needed....
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