Using an eat, wake, sleep cycle during the day will help train your baby to sleep through the night.
Although controversial, the popular book On Becoming Babywise by Gary Ezzo and Dr. Robert Bucknam, published by Charleston Publishing Group, Inc., discusses a parenting program designed to help infants sleep through the night from as early as 7 weeks of age.
Eat, Wake, Sleep Cycle
The premise of the Babywise philosophy is that a healthy infant should be fed on a regular schedule (every 2-4 hours depending on the age of the child), have awake time after eating, then go down for a nap before the next meal.
The concept is that when the baby is having regular feeding/awake/sleeping times, his metabolism will grow used to eating at the same times. As the baby begins eating more at each feeding, he will slowly extend his sleep at night, sleeping 7-8 hours at a stretch by 7-9 weeks, and 10 hours at a stretch by 12 weeks old.
Feeding Schedule
The feeding schedule in the Babywise philosophy is a flexible 2-4 hour schedule depending on the age of the child. From birth to 8 weeks, a 2-3 hour schedule should be followed, slowly extending the times between feedings as the child becomes able to go longer.
Gary Ezzo and Dr. Robert Bucknam urge parents to think when their baby cries, and decide what is the most likely source of the crying instead of simply feeding the baby at every whimper. They mention common growth spurt ages and say that at these times feedings may indeed be closer together than the regular schedule.
Suggestions for both breastfeeding moms and formula feeding moms are given, and problem solving tips are gone over, including tips for moms not starting babywise with a newborn.
Regular naptimes are just as important as regular feeding times according to Mr. Ezzo and Dr. Bucknam. Teaching even the youngest infants to have healthy sleep habits is central to those infants being able to learn to sleep through the night. Suggestions are given to help parents teach their babies that daytime is for playing and nighttime is for sleeping.
According to the Babywise philosophy, babies must be allowed to cry in their crib in order to learn to fall asleep on their own. Mr. Ezzo and Dr. Bucknam do urge parents to ensure that the baby is clean, has a dry diaper, does not need burped and that all is well before simply allowing the baby to cry, and parents are not to allow their baby to cry longer than 15 minutes before checking in on her to make sure that all is well.
Criticisms of Babywise
The critics of the Babywise philosophy cite the feeding schedule as the main fault. Those who believe in demand feedings (feeding your baby whenever he cries) are the most critical of scheduled feedings. They claim that parents become too attached to the clock and do not feed the baby when necessary, and thus the baby can fail to thrive.
The other common criticism comes from those parents who do not want to allow their baby to cry for any length of time without comforting them, stating that babies need to learn to trust their parents to care for their needs, and they learn that trust through their cries being answered immediately.
In summary, parents who utilize the Babywise philosophy with their babies are hoping to find a regular schedule for their lives. They are feeding their babies on a flexible routine, responding to cries with thought before action to ensure that the proper action is taken (including times when no action should be taken), and allowing the baby to cry herself to sleep. These babies then learn to sleep through the night from an early age allowing parents to get much needed sleep themselves.
The copyright of the article Infants Sleeping Through the Night in Infants & Toddlers is owned by Jennifer Wagaman. Permission to republish Infants Sleeping Through the Night in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
We have followed the babywise strategies, and it workes. Our baby is now 8
weeks old and sleeps 6 hours in a strech in the night. And we expect him to
sleep 7-8 hours in a strech pretty soon. :) Another thing is that he has
become quite "predictable" - he wakes up every 3 -3,6 hours to
eat during the day. Makes it so much more easy to plan the day around his
feeding times. And although they tell you to let the baby cry itself to
sleep - our boy only did that a couple of times in the beginning. Since
then he falls asleep when we put him down without crying at all. :)
Mar 18, 2009 8:22 PM
Guest :
Wow I'm surprised i have followed these strategies before i even knew about
them! My little girl is 14 weeks old now and since the day i bought
her home from hospital she has slept through the night, first starting off
at 6 hours and gradually building up to 10 hours! Its great i didn't
think it was normal for a baby to sleep so long in a night (not that I'm
complaining)! She cries every time i put her down to sleep during the
day but never at night its almost like she knows that she has to sleep
because its dark! I find that I'm breastfeeding her every 2 hours
after she wakes from a nap though she was a big baby born and i think she
just needs more to fill her chubby lil tummy :)
May 4, 2009 10:01 PM
Guest :
We love the Baby Wise strategies and have been using them in my family for
over 15 years. I have 5 nieces and 1 daughter. All were sleeping through
the night by 5 weeks. And would also go down for a nap without any fussing
after only a few months. But even beyond the sleeping aspect, giving our
kids consistency helped them know what to expect which made for all around
happier babies. I currently have a 10 week old son and I've heard the Baby
Wise concept takes a bit longer for boys. This is true for my son. He
sleeps for about 5 hours a stretch...give or take an hour.
May 25, 2009 6:09 PM
Guest :
This routine works really well. My 6th child is 10 weeks old and sleeps
and eats well. He is very healthy and very content. I think the critics
of this program fail to hear what is really being said. Nobody is
recommending that you ignore your child or just randomly let him cry. He
says to feed him if you think he may be hungry. I think the routine is
nice because you know he has eaten and slept so it takes a lot of the guess
work out! All six of my children have slept well and eaten well. They
have never been left to cry for no reason. However if someone wants a
cookie for lunch they will be told no; and then they may cry. If someone
wants to get up at 4 am, they will be told no, and they may cry. Trying to
avoid crying will not get you very far!
Jun 8, 2009 1:39 PM
Guest :
Any suggestions for the 45 minute intruder in my 4 month old daughter who
is on Baby Wise and has slept through the night for 2 1/2 months now. The
day naps have her screaming though not awake (eyes shut). I love Baby Wise
but need some help on this.
Jun 16, 2009 7:55 AM
Guest :
I followed Baby Wise with my first child and will follow it again with my
next due in a few weeks. It is easy and it works. My daughter was sleeping
throughout the night by 7-8 weeks and life was wonderful. Now she is 20
months and still goes to sleep awake every night without a sound from her.
I have passed it along to many friends .....the ones who followed it
through said it worked beautifully and are forever thankful and the ones
who didn't follow it...well they are sleep deprived and so are their
children.
Aug 13, 2009 6:48 PM
Guest :
Its so nice to see positive comments regarding babywise. There seem to be
so many sites opposing these strategies. I used them with my son and it
worked wonderfully! He was sleeping through by 7 weeks, having regular naps
and feeding voraciously, yet I've been told I'm a bad parent and in one
instance was told mothers like me should be sterilised *shock* all I did
was put a flexible routine in place that suited both my baby, my husband
and I! Our second baby is on the way and I am looking forward to extending
our routine to include her. It gives me confidence as a parent knowing
whats going to happen next (not to mention getting a good nights sleep
fairly early on!!) - whats wrong with that?
Sep 8, 2009 6:28 PM
Guest :
I have used Babywise for my 4 children and have had the same wonderful
result with all 4! Sleeping through the night by 10 weeks, this has been a
wonderful tool for me as a busy Mom for me to get my rest too its awesome.
May 20, 2008
