# Babywise summary, please?



## lithigin (Dec 28, 2007)

I have been reading the Babywise thread, including the several fascinating links, and I'm getting the gist of what Babywise and the Ezzo clan propose, but could someone please post a few bullet points of the theory? I have been following my bean's lead on sleep issues (she says boobie to bed and some boobie at night, and it's reassuring to know that other mamas' beans are also a pain during their teething spells), but it is very interesting to read the NCSS and CIO and other threads. I'm not being very eloquent here, but the point is that I haven't read any of these books but am appreciating knowing what the theories are. Thanks!

I think this is my first post and I don't know how to find all the blinkies, but I CD, BF, co-sleep, and wear my little bean, who is almost 11 months old.


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## MilkTrance (Jul 21, 2007)

Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babywise

Quote:

Babywise recommends a parent-directed feeding schedule of 8-10 feedings a day for newborns, which contrasts with the American Academy of Pediatrics' recommendations that nursing mothers be encouraged to have 8-12 breastfeedings a day [...] Babywise [...] [notes] that by the 13th week the baby will have only 4 to 7 feedings a day and between 4 and 6 months of age, the book calls for babies to have 4 to 6 feedings a day.


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## lithigin (Dec 28, 2007)

Thank you; that is pretty much what i was gleaning from the other thread, but I didn't know if there were other tenets to be aware of.


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## tashaharney (Feb 19, 2007)

oh, yeah, there are other tenents. like rigid 'alone time' or 'playpen time' where you do not play with your babe. rigid sleep training regimes that dictate that a babe will sttn by 8 weeks . . . not 5 hours but 7-8. just all around scary and IMO cruel.


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## MilkTrance (Jul 21, 2007)

... and corporal punishment for toddlers and older babies, too.


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## veganone (May 10, 2007)

WTH??? I knew it was bad, but I didn't know _how_ bad... This breaks my heart - dd is four months and eats sometimes 10X a day still, but she's genuinely hungry. How could you make a four month old eat only 4-6 times in 24 hours?! That makes me so sad...

"Babywise calls for feedings to be gradually spaced more widely apart as the baby increases in age noting that by the 13th week the baby will have only 4 to 7 feedings a day and between 4 and 6 months of age, the book calls for babies to have 4 to 6 feedings a day. The American Academy of Pediatrics' recommendations indicate than once breastfeeding is well established, the frequency of nursings may decline to approximately 8 times per 24 hours, noting that the infant may increase this frequency in response to growth spurts or at other times when an increase in milk volume is desired. (For further information, compare the media alert issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics from April 20, 1998, dated 4-20-98 AAP Addresses Scheduled Feedings Vs. Demand Feedings and Gary Ezzo's Myths and Misconceptions - Babywise Authors Set the Record Straight.) "Babywise" is the first infant parenting guide that the AAP has publicly recommended against."


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## funkymama (Aug 12, 2005)

It gets scarier when you get into his reasoning for doing all these things. They are "Christians". I have issues with them using God and the Word of God to lay out such horrid stuff. (I was a pastor's wife for a short time now dh ia a sailor same guy) The church we pastored at had their Growing Kids God's Way Cricculum. I reaf it and it was scary. Equating letting a baby cry with God letting Christ suffer on the cross was the part that got me the most heated up. The man was kicked out of the fringish denomination that he was a part of because his theologhy is so strange. ok end rant...

Go find Ezzo thread.


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## carmenvg (May 30, 2007)

I read this book as a gift from a friend of mine who has a child three months older than mine. I was outraged. The schedules, the alone time, even recommending sitting the child by themselves on a bouncy chair by the window so they can learn to away from people. It encourages CIO to the point of learning your childs crying patterns as they fall asleep. It was disturbing to me know that my friends daugther went through this. The controlling of the nursing was sad as you had to wait to nurse even if the child cried.

Now at times when my 18 month old daugther nurses three times in one night I think of my friends daugther sleeping through the night since she two months old and I do get a bit envious but is all gone as soon as I think of her being miserable by herself in a cold room crying for some normal human touch.


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## MilkTrance (Jul 21, 2007)

The Canadian Child Care Federation is opposed to it as well.

http://www.cccf-fcsge.ca/practice/he.../babyw_en.html


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## stormborn (Dec 8, 2001)

Summary? Your baby has the devil in it. If you pick up or feed or let the baby sleep any way BUT the way the book says you are going straight to hell and damning your child's soul. Oh and it'll be an insufferable brat. That was my take on it, anyway.


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## Danielle13 (Oct 31, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *stormborn* 
Summary? Your baby has the devil in it. If you pick up or feed or let the baby sleep any way BUT the way the book says you are going straight to hell and damning your child's soul. Oh and it'll be an insufferable brat. That was my take on it, anyway.









: also throw in that you need to be a mom last and you've got the summary on the back of the book!


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## MilkTrance (Jul 21, 2007)

And letting a baby cry is comparable to Christ suffering on the Cross -- it is necessary for salvation.


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## ladylove (Mar 6, 2006)

I skimmed it at the bookstore for curiousity and read something like this...

nursing a child on demand (esp. past one year of age) relates to adulthood obesity since the child isn't learning to "control" their hunger.

I just lauged outloud at how absurb that is.


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## Danielle13 (Oct 31, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MilkTrance* 
And letting a baby cry is comparable to Christ suffering on the Cross -- it is necessary for salvation.

oh geez!


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## Jackielyn (Jun 27, 2007)

that's disturbing...


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## Pixie26 (Jul 22, 2007)

scary!


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## purple_kangaroo (Feb 20, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MilkTrance* 
And letting a baby cry is comparable to Christ suffering on the Cross -- it is necessary for salvation.


Quote:


Originally Posted by *ladylove* 
I skimmed it at the bookstore for curiousity and read something like this...

nursing a child on demand (esp. past one year of age) relates to adulthood obesity since the child isn't learning to "control" their hunger.

I just lauged outloud at how absurb that is.

Actually, Babywise has a lot of problems, but it doesn't actually teach either of these things.

The Christ on the cross analogy is only used to illustrate that a person can still be a loving parent without solving a child's every cry, because God's allowing his Son to suffer to accomplish a specific purpose didn't mean that He wasn't a loving parent.

The obesity thing has to do with immediately nursing every single time the baby cries as opposed to, say, checking first to see if the baby is crying because it needs a diaper change. They say it teaches the baby to turn for food for comfort if you never use other methods of soothing the baby.


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## nubianamy (Jul 6, 2005)

Thanks for the summary. At least now I never have to read the book! I had to choke through What To Expect... so I could warn my doula clients against it. This one was much easier to avoid.


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