Babywise book - does it work?

[whimsytwins]

Just finished reading the Babywise book and I am wondering if anyone has had any success with this method. I have been trying it for two weeks with my four week old twins but not sure if it is worth keep trying or if there is a better method to train them to sleep longer at night.
Thanks Jess

[pritchettzoo]

The American Academy of Pediatrics has warned against Babywise and its author Ezzo (who is NOT a physician). 4 week old infants are too young to be sleep-trained. Most pediatricians do not recommend CIO or any form of sleep-training until at least 6 months of age.

Here's a recent thread with lots of information: http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=37&topic_id=199191&mode=full

If you're following Babywise or Ezzo for religious reasons, here is a Christian site with alternatives: http://www.gentlechristianmothers.com/mb/index.php#3

Good luck with your twins. You must be exhausted.

Anna
Mama to Gracie (Sept '03)
and a BOY! (coming July '05)

[whimsytwins]

Wow! I had no idea this book was so controversial or that it had a religious slant. The book was recommended to my MIL and she bought it for me. It is the only one I have read. Thank you so much for the links!! I guess I am just dreaming that DH and I will get more than three hours sleep at a time ;).
Thanks again! Jess

[kristine_elen]

Looks like Anna gave you good info, but here's another link for good measure.

http://www.ezzo.info/Articles/tyler.htm

[pritchettzoo]

Beware MIL's bearing gifts! ;) (You can always chuck the book and just not tell her if it's not working for your family.)

You will get more than 3 hours sleep soon. I promise. When my DD (and I only had ONE) was 4 weeks old, I remember thinking I would never ever sleep again until she was 18 and away at college.

Anna
Mama to Gracie (Sept '03)
and a BOY! (coming July '05)

[newmama4]

Have you tried swaddling, swinging, shushing and sucking (look at Karp's book if you havn't) - it helped me - especially before all this teething.

Can't imagine twins - my heart goes out to you - good luck!

Elise
Hannah Meira's Eema (11/16/04)

[alkagift]

Things so will get better, Jess, honestly. Sleeping for babies is a very individual thing--individual for them and individual in terms of what parents think is right. So, lots of opinions and lots of ideas out there. Only you will be able to say what is right for your kiddos and you. Right now, though, you're basically going to have to go with what your baby tells you, it's way too early to try to "get" them to sleep longer. Heck, you can't "get" them to do much that they don't want to do! ;)

My own mother (who honestly should know better) was telling me to feed my one month old baby cereal so he would sleep through the night, no matter what the Academy of Pediatrics said. I nodded, and ignored her. I read Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child and got a lot out of it in terms of sleep patterns, research, etc. I was able to modify the recommendations of the pediatrician-author to suit DH and I.

Hang in there! I feel for you, twins must be hard! If it's any consolation to you, I know a woman who has twins who said that based on her experience, her twins were easier as they got older. So, sunny days ahead for you!

Allison
Mommy to Matthew Clayton, 5/19/03

[ellies mom]

Even if you aren't following Babywise for religious reasons, Gentle Christian Mothers is a treasure trove of amazingly insightful information. I highly recommend checking it out.

[HannaAddict]

Beware Babywise. Our pediatrician actually has a sheet they give out to new parents saying the book (even revised edition) is dangerous. Newborns (including 4 week olds) wake-up every few hours and should wake-up. We even set an alarm for about every 3.5 hours to make sure he did wake-up to nurse. Never had to actually rely on it, he woke up on his own. Sleep deprivation is no fun and I can't imagine how exhausting twins are, but it will pass. And infants that young shouldn't be sleep trained. Even advocates of CIO (I am not one) do not suggest trying "sleep training" until six months or so. I hope your little ones will be naturally good sleepers, but there is just no getting around the infant around the clock feeding and being exhausted phase. Please be careful of Babywise. Congratulations on your twins.

Kimberly
DS 3/18/04

[AngelaS]

We followed a lot of the Babywise ideas---feed them when they wake so they learn to fall asleep w/out being fed, fed every 3 hours during the day and so forth and our girls became great sleepers.

But I didn't strive for a good routine until 3 months. :D At one month, three hours is the best you're going to get no matter what 'system' you follow! :D

[HGraceMom]

We also loosely followed the book - definitely not the rigid timing, but absolutely the feed, play, sleep routine & it worked really well for our daughter. We never tried to force her to sleep / CIO, but all on her own she was sleeping through the night (6-7 hours at least) at 11 weeks.

Interestingly, the first night she slept through the night was the first night she had a supplemental bottle of formula late in the evening... so I'll never really know what the true reason was for the "through the night" event... most likely a combination of lots of things...

[cmo]

We also got some benefit from using the feed, play, sleep routine. Other than that, though, I do think that it is too rigid and potentially harmful. Don't worry mama, you will sleep well again someday!

[amazz]

I think the Baby Whisperer also uses these techniques and is not a rigid schedule, just more like a routine. But I don't know if you have time to read or not! :)

Good luck with everything!!
Angela
Mama to Kami Allyse (10/10/04)http://instagiber.net/smiliesdotcom/otn/love/luvlove.gif[/IMG]
A baby is God's opinion that the world should go on. ~Carl Sandburg
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/candle.gif

[lmariana]

We read Babywise and used *most* of it with our son, however, we didn't start the sleep training part of it until 8 weeks-ish, and then only with nap time to start.

If you've read it, and agree with it, then I'd recommend keeping up with wake-feed-play-sleep part of it, but don't expect longer sleep miracles any time soon. I personally feel that 4 weeks is to young for sleep training or crying it out...at this age, they're not crying to get you...they just need something.

It's so hard during those first couple months with the lack of sleep, late nights, and I can't even begin to imagine two babies going through that at the same time!! Just give yourself a break and go with the flow for a while. It takes a couple months for most newborns to sleep more than 3-4 hours straight at night.

I'd also keep in mind that babies go through "growth spurts" every couple weeks where they just need to eat more often and are more needy. An extra feeding here and there isn't going to spoil them for life, and may just be what they need at the time.

Just listen to your babies and trust your instincts above all else. Look for the feeding cues and don't cling to any book too tightly. You'll make it!

Mariana
Owner of HappyDayBaby
Mom to Gabe, 8/03
www.heinzandmariana.com

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[HHCs Mom]

We also very loosely followed the eat/play/sleep routine to get DS into a daytime napping routine. I was *desperate* to get DS in a napping routine, but he was about 3 months at the time and could get into a routine by then. For feedings, I just fed whenever he was hungry. I think the strict feeding schedule is what has gotten the author into so much trouble. Newborns need to be fed when they are hungry, not when the clock dictates. So, we used it for a daytime/napping routine and that was it.


Kim
~ mama to a chunky monkey named Harrison ~ 4.6.04