by Carrie, mom to Laura Kate (7 years), Shepherd (4 years), Fischer ( 2, almost 3 years) and Archer (6 months).
After four Babywise babies, with four very different personalities, there are so many things I love about this system that I could share.
I think my favorite thing is this: after a bad day, or a bad week, you can always get up the next day and start again. There is always one more thing to try or one more idea to weigh. I am a person who loves a game plan and Babywise gives me that plan and it gives me options for what to do when you have a bad day.
On top of that, I have found a community of support in Babywise. Friends, some I know in person, and some through Babywise blog groups, who can help brainstorm things to try.
I remember when my oldest, Laura Kate, was 4 months old and I was trying so hard to move her to a three and half hour schedule. After four very frustrating days of a lot of crying (from both of us!) and weird, irregular naps and feelings, I called a sweet friend who was a Babywise mentor mom, and she helped calm me down. She told me to take a deep breath and remember that I had options. First, she may not be ready for the schedule change, or she may just need to move in smaller increments, but regardless of what I chose to try, tomorrow is a brand new day and we can start fresh. That piece of advice has been a sanity-saver more than once in the past seven years!
Babywise isn’t a magic plan, it does take work. But I have always found, through all 4 of my babies, that you get out of it what you put into it!
PLEASE HELP! I am currently on a two week run of my almost 5 month old waking up every 3 hours at night even with her Dream feed. I am a first time mom and have done babywise since we brought her home from the hospital. She slept through the night at 6 weeks old for the first time and we (my husband and I) were thrilled. we have been so incredibly blessed by babywise and the wisdom from different posts and other babywise parents. however, I am at a loss because baby has never consistently slept through the night we have only ever had 2 nights in a row and other than that she will maybe sleep 3-4 nights a month without waking crying. I am just not sure what to do since it seems like this has been more of a long term issue rather than multiple growth spurts. I also think she has been working on breaking in teeth for a couple of months for which we use both hylands tablets and the amber necklace along with occasional essential oil in her massage. I'm not sure if I am looking for wisdom, encouragement or advice but I need help from some other mom's who can direct me on what to do? most sincerely,sara
Hi Sara, It is definitely hard when you don't have your baby consistently sleeping. If it makes you feel better, Brayden also didn't until he was 6.5 months old. But things I think made that be delayed are:1-being cold at night 2-getting enough food in day (he was a big eater and once he could pound the solids in the day, I think that helped)3-noise–he was in the same room as us until 2 weeks before sttn. So look into those things. Teething can definitely contribute to lack of good sleep also. Keep working and stay consistent. You will get there!