Oh, Baby[wise]: Part 2

Welcome to part 2 of my series on Babywise (also see the intro and part 1). In part 1 I shared things I disagree with in Babywise. Today’s post is about things I don’t disagree with and things I like.

I phrased that purposefully, because what I don’t disagree with in Babywise is cry-it-out. But I don’t like it, and I don’t think it’s discussed helpfully in the book. (See part 1 for more about that.)

This is completely a personal opinion: I think a little crying before sleep is okay, for the purpose of teaching your baby to soothe herself. I tried it when Christian was a newborn – just laying him down and letting him fuss for awhile, but it didn’t “work” and I felt bad because he was so young. I was determined not to do it anymore, but by the time he was 6 weeks old, he was eating frequently, but still cried himself to sleep even if I was holding him.

Finally, we decided to let him cry it out before naps, and within a couple of days there was a huge difference. He usually just fusses a few minutes before his naps now. I did not do cry-it-out because I wanted to follow Babywise. It was the decision we made as parents. So I don’t disagree with this tenet of the book, but it’s not my favorite part, for sure!

Now, onto some Babywise ideas that I actually agree with!

Eat/wake/sleep. This is a very helpful routine, and it’s recommended by sources other than Babywise, too. It helps dissociate eating from sleeping, so Baby won’t become dependent on food to sleep. It also allows Baby to be well-rested and full during his awake time, so he can enjoy it. It also provides a consistent, predictable routine, which I think is very healthy.

[There are two problems with it, though. One is that you assume Baby's not going to be hungry again because he started out the cycle with a feeding. But sometimes he needs to be fed again a few minutes later to really get that full tummy. The other problem is short naps - Baby is supposed to dutifully sleep until it's "time" to eat again, but trust me, most babies don't naturally like to take 2-hour naps 3 times a day. This makes it very difficult to follow the Babywise schedule!]

Feeding times. It was helpful starting to out to have a general idea for how many feedings Christian should have in a day. Of course, I could have gotten this information from other sources, but Babywise does have it too. From the time he was born, I have made sure to feed him at least every 3 hours during the day, to help him differentiate night and day, which he was able to do very quickly. Of course, this is a maximum time – Christian was more of an every-2-hour eater for a long time.

Full feedings. I also appreciate the book’s emphasis on doing your best to get in full feedings from day one. This helps ensure Baby has a full tummy and doesn’t need to snack all day long. Of course, Babywise is completely anti-snacking, which I don’t think is entirely realistic – don’t we adults like to snack too? But I think the concept of feeding more at one sitting so you can feed a little less often during the day is generally a good one.

Your thoughts? Come back tomorrow, and I’ll finish out the series with some other baby wisdom that has helped me, and a few concluding thoughts.

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