Why 58 Moms Put Effort Into Babywise

Why do people love Babywise? The best things about the Babywise method. Reasons to do Babywise with your baby.

I love the community that we have on Facebook. I love to read your perspectives and takes on life. Last month I posed the question, why do you put effort into Babywise? Wow the responses! But you can’t refer to those things easily in years to come, so I wanted to preserve them here.

I asked: Why do you put the effort you do into Babywise? It isn’t necessarily easy to do. It takes effort, planning, and thought. What drives you to stick with it and keep trying? Here are the responses.

Sarah said: It makes for the happiest, well-rested and best sleeping babies!!
Vicki said: I’m on baby #3 and have used Babywise on all of them. I invest in it because it works for our family with the predictability of a schedule and it pays off. My older boys are 5 and 3 and are excellent sleepers.
Cassie said: It makes for a happy happy baby! I’ve done it 4 times now and all my babies are great sleepers at an early age and are so content. I love having a routine and know what my day will look like every day. I can run errands and know they will be happy if it’s not feeding time. I love the predictability and the consistency.
Sarah said: I provide food for my children, I educate them, I provide shelter and clothing… why wouldn’t I also provide healthy, age appropriate sleep? I put the effort in because I feel like it’s the responsible thing to do. It’s not for me, though it IS nice to have young kids who will nap anywhere on time. lol It’s for their well-being. Kids who sleep grow better, learn better and have better mental health. That’s the only reason I need.
Danielle said: Because my kids are amazing flexible sleepers. I’m as rested as I choose to be and now that my kids are 2-8 I can sit back and reap the rewards of kiddos who don’t wake at night and aren’t grumpy because they receive adequate sleep 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼. The “hard work” in the beginning is totally worth it. I started late with my first baby and it was so hard. I started basic principles from birth with the next 3 and there was no real training, they naturally picked up on it.
April said: Begin as you mean to go on. Eventually I want our whole family to share time and predictability is a great way to do that. Plus dad and I were a family before kids and I want to always make sure to nurture that relationship. I can’t see how I would do that without Babywise!
Carrie said: Because I’m a terrible sleeper, and I can’t function at my mom job or my teacher job if I’m not well rested. Plus, my kids are great sleepers, but, more importantly, they’re great kids when they’re awake because they’ve gotten the sleep they need.
Ali said: Because I don’t want a second grader still coming to my bed. I have a family member who followed a different style and she still has problems with bed wetting, and kids in her bed and they are all in school.
But the biggest reason as stated in the beginning of the book, it really shows how the family works, for us that’s God first, husband and wife second, kiddos third. And they baby fits into that, not the other way around. It really helps center the family in what is important!
Sophia said: I knew I was going to do babywise before even got pregnant. One of my friends children are very well behaved and happy, my husband and I knew we had to do whatever she was doing. After reading the book it just made sense to me, now I can’t imagine doing it any other way. My 14 month old daughter has friends her age that a just now starting to sleep through the night. 😬
Katie said: I appreciated how Babywise allowed me to anticipate my baby’s needs without the guess work of “is he hungry? Is he tired?”
Stephanie said: Because the first part of the book is what sold me. I want my child to function well as part of the family. I do not want to alter my family and my marriage for a baby. Maybe that sounds harsh. But I enjoy sharing a bed with my husband. I enjoy our time. And when you fight to teach you baby to sleep and self soothe those things can stay. And I feel like we can all enjoy each other more. Yes it’s hard and I am looked at for CIO and for doing things like that but then I am also told how come your baby sleeps for 12 hours in their own room. And well the truth is because I fought like hell to teach them how.
Lauren said: Sanity! It isn’t easy but the reward of stable kids who know when they need a break, downtime, a nap, a snack is so so worth it. Plus a predictable schedule is so beneficial for everyone.
Sara said: I’m type A. I like a schedule, routine and knowing what to expect. I also love sleep lol I know the hard work now will pay off later.
Nikole said: I love all of the above answers. Not much more to add haha. Sleep is crucial to development and positive function through the day. I know the tantrums I deal with are NOT from being overtired. And if they are, I do the necessary troubleshooting. BabyWise helps me know the cues and issues and takes out so much of the guess work. I have 3 kids and I recommend BW to all my friends and family. The work in the beginning is SO worth the flexibility when they get older. PLUS, I love routine and structure, and I know children do too. It’s my job as parent to provide that. Thank you BabyWise!!
Jess said: I’ll never forget how I was introduced to Babywise… Babysitting for a friends young kids so they could go on a date night and I was dreading bedtime. Even other family I’d ever babysat for it was always a nightmare. But not them. We did their bedtime routine and *gasp* they went to bed! They didn’t cry or fight me on it! I knew then that whatever these friends were doing, I needed to know for when I had kids (I wasn’t even married at the time). That’s what I love the most because it incorporates so much else – that if my husband and I want to go out, I’m not worrying (too much) about the kids and bedtime. And people don’t mind babysitting because it’s easy!
Kayla said: My kids are easy for someone else to care, they are happy kids because they are well rested and their routine allows them to know what to expect… my husband and I aren’t arguing every night over who’s going to try to get kids to sleep and I am well rested!
Kelly said: Because babies are new to this world and they seem to do best when they have patterns… they are less unsure.
We all do best when well rested.
Our marriage has benefited because we have down time each night after kids are in bed.
Kids learn delayed gratification
Family hierarchy
Helped me be more confident as a mom as I’m not a “natural” so having schedules and routine helped me, too!
Soooo many reasons. 😉
Chelsea said: Because it helps me to be the mom I want and need to be. My kids are 5, 4, 3, 2 and 8 weeks and I could never do it (and have a husband in the Army) without SLEEP. People constantly remark to me that hey don’t know how I do it or I must be so tired and I always just smile. Because the truth is, unless I have a newborn, I’m not tired! Babywise has allowed me to not only have all these kids, but be rested, happy, have a good marriage, have alone time EVERY DAY, and be sane!!
Taylor said: Because it works! Every “Babywise child” I knew before we had kids was always such a delight to be around. It really works! Now years and years later we have 2 wonderful children who were raised using Babywise and they are great sleepers, smart, engaging and delights to be with!
Lindsey said: I feel like babywise is the key to having a well balanced family-rested, (loosely) structured, predictable. Kids thrive in routine and predictability. They’re happier! Currently hangin out in a dark hotel room with my three napping kids- 6,3, 11 months. When their heads hit their pillows and the room went dark, they knew it was sleep time. #babywisewinning #fallbreaktravels
Macie said: Mary is the first person to introduce me to Babywise! Nannying for her kids was a dream, so I knew before I even got married/had children that I would be following suit 🙌🏼
Amanda said: All of these previous answers got me started. Now I have 3 kid ages 5, 3.5, and 2 with baby #4 due in January. I also have a husband who travels about 25% of the time and often works late. We move a lot and have no family close by. People ask me how I do it and my 1 word answer is babywise. We still have rough days, but I can’t imagine life without babywise (or the rest of the books in the series. Please don’t stop at sleep training in babywise).
Anita said: I’m not sure about it being harder? I think it makes everything so much easier! The predictability of your day, of your baby’s needs… The blessing of sleep! BW makes my life soooo much easier
Rachel said: Reminds me of Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover- live like no one else so later you can live like no one else!!! Love having my child sleeping 12 hours a night in her own room and a great and she’s always excited for bed time.
Tiffany said: I was diagnosed with postpartum depression with my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th child. My first child was severely colicky and rarely slept for nearly 7 months. Babywise was how I regained control of my life and our family after a chiropractor fixed her colic, and I implemented it ASAP with my other 3 children because finding control and getting sleep were key to helping keep my PPD at bay. Also, breastfeeding (understandably) didn’t go very well with my colicky firstborn, and she struggled to gain weight. Babywise helped me feel at peace with my other babies’ growth and they were deliciously fat! I even had a doctor recommend I nurse a baby more frequently at the beginning when her weight gain wasn’t ideal. I ignored the doctor because I knew that snacking was not going to do it. She ended up being my chunkiest baby!
Alena said: Because it works!
Autumn said: Because I need MY sleep!
Roxanne said: For me it’s being a Capricorn and my A rated personality. 😆
April said: Because flexibility! Just blew a tire and my husband spent 45 minutes fixing it and LO slept through the whole ordeal!
Evie said: I was so happy to find a way to structure my day with my baby. Before I had my baby, I anticipated having no control over my life. I pictured all of life’s responsibilities and having to drop them the moment my baby cried, whenever that may be. Babywise gave us order to our day. I could give my baby my full attention when it was time, knowing that a nap was coming. I could plan when we would be going grocery shopping and I was able to help an eldery neighbor with rides several times a week because of that schedule. Life is still that way for us at 3 years old. I know that bed time and nap time is when I will focus on other things, so I can give my all to her during the day. We are older parents and we knew we couldn’t handle any more sleep deprivation than those first few weeks at the beginning!
Bethany said: What I like to point out the most (because of so many misconceptions about it being for selfish reasons) is that I find sleep sooooo important for physical and mental health! I wanted to give my baby a good foundation and healthy sleep habits so that she can thrive in development and other areas of her life! Also the first chapter of the book- I fell in love. My husband and I find our marriage to be a priority above anything else that happens in our home, so it was a great way to start the book too!
Sherry said: I suffer with depression and anxiety and lack of sleep is just a no go for me! I like the predictability of the scheduling I can even leave my baby with dad and say “he needs to go down at this time” and “up to eat, at this time” there is no guessing for him. Since I started working from home I’ll plan working and working out during his nap times I’d be crazy without Babywise
Brittany said: I was exposed to Babywise prior to having kids and got to see the results in real life and in real time as many of my friends had babies around the same time. About half followed Babywise and the other half didn’t, and the differences in their families were remarkable! I was already convinced in Babywise in theory, but seeing it work for a variety of families in real life sold me! It was still a few years until we had our kids, but I tell everyone about Babywise now! It has saved my life as a mom and my marriage!
Ashley said: I stick with it because I see how well my boys function when they’re well rested. I see how I benefit by having predictable times to get stuff done or having time with my husband. My boys have learned to love sleep, and they’re learning the foundations of healthy boundaries (ie: first time obedience). Implementing Babywise principles aren’t easy, but I really do not want to see my boys without them ❤️
Jillian said: Being a parent involves a lot of work no matter how you parent. We prefer to be proactive, and babywise told us exactly what to do. I tell people it’s the instruction book every parent wishes came with their baby. Also, we love happy, well-rested children. 😃
Bethany said: It is hard work, but totally worth the outcome! I love that my toddler still sleeps 10-12 hours through the night. I love that I know WHY my infant cries when he does because I know where he is in his cycle. I love knowing how to plan my day based on when my infant’s next feeding will be. I love knowing my baby is truly well fed (thigh rolls, anyone?) because he eats when he is fully awake. I love that we have added a child to our family and aren’t now revolving our lives around the child. These reasons and so many more make the hard work worth it.
Yooli said: I had PPA/PPD both times and getting enough rest for me was crucial to my mental health. And my husband and I like having our bed to ourselves and our evenings to reconnect and get chores done. I like predictability and routine, as does my husband. Our kids sleep very well, heal very fast when they get sick, and we can quickly triage what’s wrong if they are acting out of sorts. My kids are happy, they are at a good weight, and they trust us. AND they like the predictability and they are wonderfully behaved in public and for other folks who may watch them. Our friends even know our schedule now that both my boys are on 1 nap and it’s easy to schedule social events. It is hard to do, but really it was only like 3-4 months until my kids were sleeping 12 hours a night and they have breezed through any regressions and wonder weeks because of the consistency of BW scheduling.
Natalie said: It may seem like extra work at first, but it pays off HUGE with well adjusted kids! I have done Babywise with both my kiddos and they are both so flexible and manageable. It’s still chaos sometimes, but it’s totally controlled chaos. It’s SO worth it!
Carrie said: I can’t help 2 babies get to sleep every time. They’ve got to learn to do it on their own but in a loving way that makes sure their needs are fully provided.
Things that take time, effort, and patience are usually worth it.
I like hearing how amazed people are when I tell others of their sleep habits.
Lacey said: The main reason I did it was for my sanity. I am a person who needs order and felt completely out of control after my first was born. After I started babywise everything got so much better. It wasn’t always easy but worth it. I’ve done it three times now and I’m a better mom when everyone is well rested and knows what’s going on.
Rebecca said: I like parenting with intentionality and with the big picture in mind. Yes, thanks to following babywise, I have a child that is a great sleeper and who is in a fab routine. But, I like that I am also training and developing self-control, obedience and other virtues as they grow up.
Team Cartwright said: Because it is about prioritizing. It helps me decide what is most important to my family and helps me make those things happen. Eating and sleeping enough are important to everybody, not just babies. It makes sense to focus on those physical needs first, then move on to other needs. That is what experts tell us about ourselves when it comes to dealing with stress and life. Eat right and rest enough. That should translate to our children too. Babywise gave me the flexibility to get out and get things done, even with three under three and twins as part of those three.
Emily said: I NEED my sleep. I am not a good mom without it. And because as an introvert – despite loving my children immensely – I need scheduled breaks from them and time to myself.
Elisha said: Sleep! Routine and my two sleeping 7-7 without wakes at 6 and 10 weeks! They thrive and because of that I thrive! That’s my motivation!
Julie said: I believe that sleep is important for EVERYONE. I believe almost all kids want & need a predictable routine. I believe the baby should join the existing family dynamic.
Jessica said: I want a well-rested, happy child that can fall asleep independently! And because I’m a first time mom and someone was kind enough to gift me the book when I was drowning just a couple weeks in with my overtired on-demand baby! She’s almost 12 weeks now and we are all reaping the benefits already!
I also love that it allows parents to be in control, not the child. They pick up on that from a very young age! We have a responsibility as parents to set an example of authority in the home…everything else stems from that!
Claudia said: Because you know the hard work and tough days pay off! When you have a newborn and they start waking only once a night, you feel rewarded. When they start sleeping through the night at a few months old (when the norm isn’t till 1) is a huge reward! This means you can function as a level headed parent (most days 😉) and be the best mum you can be for your family!
Valerie (that’s me) said: I don’t even know what more I can add! There are so many great answers. I love the hierarchy of the family set up as several people have mentioned. I love that my children are well rested. I love that I quickly recognize when something is really off–I can quickly spot sickness or pain because I know the sleep and hunger needs and patterns of my babies and children. I have done it long enough to see the work pays off. I would do this again and again. I did it four times, and would easily do it four more. It is hard at times. But it is worth it.

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