Here is another story from a mom of a toddler.
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I started using Babywise since the day I brought my son home from the hospital. I don’t know how much of our great sleeper we can attribute to Babywise and how much we can attribute to our good luck because we were blessed with a naturally very good sleeper. We never had an all nighter with Avery. Not even once.
I know that I need my sleep in order to not be crabby and impatient the following day so I REALLY appreciate the fact that we were able to get on a routine easily and quickly. I think it really helped me to be a much better mom. Especially when it comes to the toddler years where patience is much more needed!
I think my main favorite thing about Babywise is that it taught me to tune into my baby’s cues instead of just feeding him every time he cried. I breastfed until he was 17 months old (about two months after I got pregnant) and I never had a supply issue. In fact, I donated ovwer 100 ounces to a breast milk bank because I had so much! Anyway, it was super comforting to me to know that my baby was always well fed because I took the time to ensure a full feeding at each meal. So if he cried or fussed shortly after that I used my motherly instincts and knowledge of my child to figure out what was wrong. That gave me great confidence as a mom. My mother in law has complimented me many times on the fact that I take the time to pay attention to my child and really get to know him.
Now that my son is almost two and acts like it on some days I still use that skill. There are times when I can tell that he is acting out because he is tired or hungry and there are times when I can see that he is just testing me and I need to really be on my A game. It helps me in the way I deal with him and it helps him to have a less stressed out, confused mom.
One of my favorite things about my son is that he is independent at times and wants to play with me or his daddy at other times. He is equally happy doing either. He can entertain himself, either in his crib or around the house, for a while and that gives me some time to get my own stuff done or to just rest. Then when he wants to play with me I have more energy to sit down and play what he wants to play.
We get so many compliments at the child care at church about how happy my son is. They say that he’s always smiling. I love hearing compliments like that about my son. I know that it’s not entirely true though….he is almost two after all and he’s not ALWAYS smiling. But for people that work in the child care with lots of kids must just see something in him that is happier than some of the other children.
I don’t know if Avery ever went through separation anxiety or not. If he did it was very mild and I didn’t even notice. We don’t leave him with other people often but when we do he is happy to play with whoever. The other day we left him with an older lady at her house and he had so much fun he didn’t want to come home!
All in all, I think that the Babywise series has given my family the confidence to know our child so we can deal with him and know him. It has also given our whole family good rest so we can operate at our best every day. My husband and I get a good couple hours after our son goes to bed to relax with each other and be with each other before we go to bed to get a full night’s sleep. Our son has waken us op in the middle of the night once since he was 10 weeks old. He had a high fever and was wimpering in his crib so we tended to him. Other than that, even through teething, he has slept all night every night.
Thank you Ezzos!
Christine