Here is a story from an Army wife and her success with Babywise.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I love Babywise because it helped me feel like I had a little control in my life during a time when I truly felt so many things were so much out of my control! I started following Babywise from day one with my daughter and really liked how it helped me to plan my day. As a Type A personality, the structure it provided helped me to feel more prepared and more confident as a first time mom. I felt like I actually had a plan that I could follow and could also be flexible when the need arose, such as a growth spurt or traveling, etc. Being a military spouse, I have to be extremely independent and flexible and I feel like Babywise has really lent itself well to our lifestyle. We moved two months after our daughter was born, and my husband left for six months of training three weeks after. I was on my own in a new city, with a new baby, and Babywise helped me through the death of my grandfather as well as postpartum depression. Through all that, I was able to stick to Babywise and troubleshoot the 45-minute intruder, middle of the night wakings, and dropping naps. It was HARD but I did it!
Because of my consistent devotion to Babywise, my “Independent/Strong-willed Child” started sleeping through the night at 10-11 weeks and started sleeping 12-13 hours a night at 5-6 months. A little later than an “Angel Baby” but I will take it! She will sleep pretty much anywhere (in any crib, any pack n play) as long as I can make it somewhat dark with a white noise machine to block outside/distracting noises. We have a very consistent bedtime routine consisting of a bath, book, and then I just sing her a song and lay her down and she puts herself to sleep. Once she learned to self-soothe around 5 months of age, it was like our whole world opened up and I felt like myself again! I see other moms with two year olds that sleep with them or nine month olds that wake up multiple times a night and just shake my head. Many of these kids don’t nap at all or nap very little. Some have to rock them for 30 minutes or feed them to sleep – even at 18 months. When people are amazed that my daughter sleeps twelve hours at night and takes a three hour nap during the day, I just tell them that she is a Babywise baby. Because of my success, I have successfully converted many friends who now swear by Babywise too!
When other people tell me, “Oh you are so lucky your daughter is a good sleeper!” I take it rather personally. I say something like this: “I am not lucky. I worked my butt off to train her to be a good sleeper and I am extremely proud of that!” Babywise is hard work but it is SO worth it in the end!
Stephanie Cleary
Proud Army Wife and Mom Who Loves Her Alone Time
🙂
I am the same way when people say "I'm so lucky" with my boy sleeping… not a chance! I worked dang hard!
So true! Babywise is hard work!!! And for those who don't do it, it really is "the luck of the draw!"
It's funny… then sometimes they are like, "what's Babywise?" and other times they just get this judgemental look on their face like "who is this chick?" And I laugh all the way to my nightly glass of wine and time to myself or with my hubby! 🙂
I totally agree. I get irritated when everyone says "you're so lucky." It's not luck people! It's a parenting style.
okay, i have never read the book, but i have read several things on the blog. I am a first time parent with a husband working full time 9-5, taking classes 4 nights a week until 10 pm and working part time on the weekends. (did i mention i work full time too) There was a very very clear choice when we began parenting, teach our child how to be independent. She is 20 m. sleeps beautifully,(bath 7:30, book 8:00, soothing herself 8:15, everynight) uses her manners, has slept in a twin size bed since 11 months. I think its high time i grab the book and see whatelse you guys believe in. I have a friend who "is afraid" to lay her child in the crib and leave the room… my thoughts… she is a little bit of a pushover and afraid to let the child do something for himself. Thanks for all you do/share.
You are welcome Jenny! And for your daughter's age, you will be jumping it at Toddlerwise with Preschoolwise coming in at age 3.