Babywise Reviews: Real Mom Success Stories

Wondering if Babywise actually works and if it is right for you or not? Read about the Babywise success these real moms have had! 9 different stories.

Despite thousands of families around the world loving On Becoming Babywise, there is a fair amount of controversy that hovers around the Babywise method.

If you are considering using Babywise with your own baby, you may be wondering, “Does Babywise work?” and what the pros and cons of Babywise are.

It is always wise to do some research, and so I am glad you are hear to get more info from real moms who have used Babywise!

Once you decide to get started, be sure to check out my post on How to Successfully Do “On Becoming Babywise.”

Babywise Success Stories

Gunilaa said: I wrote for your blog 3 years ago. Still so happy I found you! Babywise changed my motherhood and life.

Ashley said: Read BW when baby was 2 days old and the schedule worked and I gained confidence.

Leah said: Used Babywise method with my kids. First born slept through the night at 9 weeks!

Stacie H. said: I had my first baby in March 2017 and had absolutely no pain when it came to sleep training. I was so focused on getting through my pregnancy (I was diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidium) that I was not prepared for what was to come after childbirth. When my son was two months old, a friend of mine who had twins handed me Babywise and referenced your blog! Within three days my son was sleeping through the night! It was amazing!! Every question or concern that I had was easily addressed when I referenced your blog. It has helped me immensely.

Before Babywise, I couldn’t imagine getting pregnant again for fear of never sleeping and being able to deal with another difficult pregnancy/morning sickness. After Babywise, I was ready to get pregnant again within a few months and had my daughter (second baby) in July 2018, sixteen months after I had my son (first baby). That pregnancy was also incredibly difficult, but I was able to manage with the many breaks a Babywise schedule gave me (independent playtime, naps, etc.) My daughter followed Babywise right away and was sleeping through the night at 8 weeks old.

With another success, my husband and I were much more optimistic about having the large family we originally dreamed & hoped for. So in October 2019, fifteen months after the birth of my daughter, I gave birth to another son. We continued to use Babywise while moving with a 6 week old who could not nurse properly and I needed to exclusively pump. I wrote in my pumping schedule on top of his feeding schedule and he was sleeping through the night at 10 weeks old! He is nine months old now and doing well. Again, wouldn’t have survived without Babywise.

I am currently 10 weeks pregnant with our fourth baby (in four years! Oh my!) and incredibly thankful for the routine Babywise has provided for my family as I cope with another difficult first trimester.

I was able to pass along my Babywise book to an expecting mom that I knew and have heard that she has had great success with it as well.

All of my kids LOVE sleep, eat very well, and are generally very happy because of Babywise. It really does work!

Elizabeth Hall said: I work from home (even before the pandemic) as a digital marketing specialist for a few clients. I normally work in the mornings before my husband goes to work, but my clients like to talk to me in the afternoons! I was able to plan calls in the afternoon when necessary because I knew my baby’s schedule and he was so consistent with Babywise!

I took 9 weeks of maternity leave and he started STTN right before I got back to work, so I never had to go through that EXHAUSTED working mom stage either. Overall, it has been so helpful and such an amazing community of parents to be a part of!

M. Smith said: Babywise was the perfect resource for this first time mom. I had no idea what I was doing! Babywise answered questions like how often should my baby eat, how much sleep do they need, what different cries mean, and so much more.  Babywise allows you to be flexible within the suggested routine.  So many people have been shocked that my baby slept through the night at 4 months old.  Babywise made all the difference!

Lisa said: Our first baby, Sally, was a bit of a challenge in the first 6 weeks of her life.  She had latching issues, I had to feed her with a nipple shield and she often nursed for an hour at each feeding (she wasn’t efficiently getting milk) She was an ok sleeper, I thought, but I didn’t really know any better! I had a hard time with PPD/PPA, but never got help (big mistake! If you’re reading this and think you may have PPD/PPA, get help! Now!).

The lack of sleep was making matters worse for me mentally. I reached out to my sister and sister in law who both used Babywise with their children. I got an older copy of the book and dove in.

I started with just eat, play, sleep. I didn’t try to get a schedule right away. Eat, play, sleep was working! Sally was nursing faster (probably because she was actually hungry!), she was now going 5-8hrs at night at about 12 weeks old. Her night sleeps got longer and longer. By about 15 weeks, she was sleeping a 10hr night.

We kept up with Babywise through regressions, teething, sickness, any and all setbacks. To this day, Sally takes either a nap or quiet time willingly (almost 4yrs old).

She loves going to bed and thrives on the routine we’ve created for her. She listens well, and shows respect to her parents (and other caregivers).

Babywise was a bit of a challenge for daycare to follow (full time working mom, here!). I left notes and guidelines and schedules for daycare.  They didn’t always follow, but we instilled the Babywise principles enough at home, that the stray from our normal wasn’t effecting Sally much.

One more piece to add…
Family members were not supportive on my husband’s side. They would rock her to sleep, not follow the schedule, and tell me I was “too strict” when we’d leave family parties early for bedtime (we still do this!). I knew our system worked for us, so I ignored their comments. They attributed her good sleep to luck. Luck!? My hard work had no effect?!

Well, guess what? Baby #2, Joseph,  followed Babywise from the beginning… is an amazing sleeper! We battled reflux and had some really tough regressions, but we powered through. Joseph is even more flexible than Sally ever was (second kid kinda has no choice, huh?).

Luck is the reason for not one, but two amazing sleepers and all-around great babies!

Mallory said: I have a 2.5 year old and 9 month old. We followed babywise from birth with both, and it is hands down the best “early” parenting decision we made. Better than birthing classes, better than learning how to nurse, better than even infant development is learning about baby sleep. By the time my second baby came around, I understood babywise well enough that I was NEVER up in the night with my baby for any other reason than to nurse. He would go back to sleep immediately after eating ON HIS OWN. I was only up in the night more than once in the hospital. I wasn’t tired as the mom of a newborn and toddler because of babywise. It made me a better mom and my baby an easier baby. He started sleeping through the night at 8 weeks old, and we haven’t looked back. Although I understand there are varying opinions about babywise, I really wish everyone would give it a shot. I can not recommend it enough. I also wish people understood that it’s not just letting your baby scream till they sleep. 

Speaking of… my baby didn’t cry for bedtime for naptime until one random night as a 3 month old! And even then, he was asleep in less than 10 minutes. Well rested moms and babies is a beautiful thing. ️

Monica Hunt said: I have 4 kids. They are 9, 7, 5, & 18mo. I have used babywise with all 4 and all of my kids have slept 11-12 hours a night by 12 weeks old! It gave my family a sense of normalcy and routine we needed! Specifically your blog has helped me tremendously in trouble shooting all the different hiccups that can occur!

Babywise was a life saver for us! My kids alll still sleep great and took great naps until almost 5 years old!

Amy M. said: I am so thankful that I found Babywise before having children. I knew once I read it that we were going to use that with our family. 

It was worth every bit of work we put in those first few months, because from then on, our children have been able to fall asleep and stay asleep on their own. 

And it is work! Raising children well is never easy. But preventing problems and being proactive is a million times easier than trying to put out all the fires later! 

It is nice to have someone tell you that teaching your baby to sleep IS possible, and then give you the tools to be successful in doing that. Put in the work now and reap the rewards later! 

It took around 3 months for my oldest to sleep all night, and nearly 4 for my second who had severe reflux. It felt like an eternity at the time, but was so fast compared to other sleep programs. My children are 5 and 7 now and still sleep better than any other kids I know!  

My sister-in-law, who did not use Babywise, has four children who still deal with sleep issues. Theirs are 14, 12, 9, and 7. We get together 2-3 times a year at my parents’ house. The difference could not be more stark. Our kids go to bed when they are asked, and put themselves to sleep. Their cousins move around to various beds all night, cannot fall asleep without an adult in the room, stay up too late, and wake up overtired, with stressed-out parents. It’s a sad situation. Sleep deprivation is so harmful to people at any age.   

Several years ago, we talked about sleep and she read Babywise. She thought it was terrible because she said it made her feel like it was all her fault that her kids didn’t sleep. She rejected it then, and still does. I see it as a plan that empowers parents to guide their children in how to successfully sleep through the night. We do have some control to teach our children. What an opportunity!

The entire -Wise series has been a blessing to our lives.  It has helped us “keep the bar high.” Reading that it IS reasonable to expect your children to respond with “Yes, ma’am,” or “Yes, Mom,” is so encouraging. To know that it’s okay, and even good, to house-proof your baby instead of baby-proofing your house. Wow – what a counter-cultural message today! 

I’m so glad they are not afraid to stand firm in practices that teach our children that the world does not revolve around them. That’s a lesson that will prove helpful for the rest of their lives. 

One example that comes to mind was how we taught the “blanket time” concept to both of our children, starting at around 6-9 months. When our children were 3 and 4.5, we sold our house and moved. We were able to put them on a blanket at our 2+ hour house closing. They were content and quiet the entire time, shocking the real estate agent and buyers beyond belief!  While we had never had them sit on a blanket for anywhere close to 2 hours at home, it was no problem that day because our children understood what boundaries were and knew they were expected to stay in them. Babywise works!

Conclusion

I love hearing Babywise success stories, and have been publishing them every July for the last decade! You can find many success stories from many moms on this blog.

If you still have questions, be sure to check out Babywise FAQs here. If you are ready to jump in, be sure to read my how to post. You can also find tons of Babywise Schedules starting here! I have samples used by real Babywise babies for every week of the first year and even beyond that!

Related Babywise Posts

• An Honest Babywise Book Review
• 10 Inspiring Babywise Success Stories
• Babywise Success Stories Week Index