On Becoming Baby Wise by Gary Ezzo, Robert Bucknam (2001)

Book has some interesting points about feeding, crying, and getting your baby to sleep, but as with all newborns - you can't expect your child to fit perfectly into this books mold.

This book is a great tool for all parents! When I had my second baby, he refused to sleep. This book was a lifesaver! It really explains the rhyme and reason behind newborn behavior. We now have a third baby, and he is great! I credit this book with helping us get him on a schedule. He is two months old and already sleeping through the night (8-10 hrs)!!!

This book is fantastic, it shows how to welcome a baby into your family and build your family as well as instill wonderful prinicples into your children from day 1. Its a 'parent led parenting' kind of book, not a 'children led parenting' so if you want your children to run your home, its not for you but if you want to allow you as parents to run the home its a great book! I am on my 4th child and its hands down the best book on parenting next to the Bible!

This is also a great book for breastfeeding moms, there is so much telling us that not feeding on demand will all but kill our babies, simply not true, this book shows well how to feed on a schedule while still letting life happen, its not a 'schedule is more important then anything' kind of book as some people seem to say it is, it actually shows well how to have a schedule so you can manage your whole family at one time and not just baby while letting your other children and husband fall by the way side. We are managers of our families, we welcome children into our families, this book shows how to show them their place while still meeting all of their needs and bonding with them and allowing all members of our family to bond with the new addition as well.

A+++++++++++ book!

The book was recommended to me by my sister, and I found it to be very informative. As I enter into the last trimester of my pregnancy, I feel confident that, with this book, I will be better equipped to handle the first stages of having my first child.

We used Baby Wise for our first child, now 8 yrs old. It has set the course for his entire childhood. He eats and sleeps very regularly, and I would credit the principals laid out in Baby Wise to a large degree for our success with #1. We are now expecting a second child soon, and have since given our original copy away to another expecting couple. We highly recommend "On Becoming Baby Wise", it truly made us feel 'Baby Wise'!

The system Ezzo describes is much like the Baby Whisperer system of Eat AWake Sleep, and it WORKS. I don't know what the old edition of the book was like, but the edition I read promotes a balanced schedule. In other words, yes, get your baby on a 2-3 or 3-4 hour schedule, BUT assess your baby's needs. If he's crying before 2 hours, assess the situation and use your best judgement to determine if he's hungry, or just has a tummy ache, or whatever.
With my first child, I used the attachment parenting method, not knowing any better. My daughter didn't fall asleep on her own or sleep through the night until she was a year old, and I was a WRECK.
MY sister-in-law lent me this book, and now my second child, who is 11 weeks old, is sleeping 8-9 hours a night, and falls asleep for his naps on his own. I have not had to do any Cry-It-Outs because just following the schedule at an EARLY AGE has regulated him to the point where I lay him down and he falls right asleep, waking up happy and cooing.
Read this book, use what works for you, and you will be so glad you did!

This is the best book to learn how to get your infant in a schedule that will help the baby sleep through the night. My daughter tried it for my Granddaughter and she was sleeping all night under in less than a month. Several of your friends have used the same book with similar results. This certainly beats the "feed on demand" that was popular in the past. Certainly worth a try.

I read this book when my son was just a few days old. I followed it as best I could and he was on a schedule in no time. I buy this book for all my friends when they have babies. I highly recommend it for anyone with their first baby! My son has been a very easy, happy baby and I give some (not all) of the credit to this book.

I told my pediatrician about this book and he said that he doesn't like it at all. He said baby bodies are programmed to eat when they need to, etc. Maybe when our baby gets a little older we'll be as military about the scheduling as this book suggests. It is an easy read though.

I am an OB nurse and a mother of twins. This book saved my sanity. I recommend it for many of my patients that I think will actually follow through. Anyone who has anything bad to say about this book is not following it the right way.

This book is a great book and would highly recommend it to anyone with a baby. I didn't read it until my baby was 4 months but my baby was easily corrected by a few things I was doing wrong. One comment I will make is just because your baby is on a schedule doesn't mean he will sleep 12 hours through the night without waking. I have learned it is all about maturity and when your baby is ready he will do it on his time. My baby has been on a schedule since 2 weeks not because of me but because he naturally put himself on one. He is 6 months now and still doesn't sleep 12 hours without waking. He goes about 9 or 10 hours of sleep and then needs to eat but then goes back to sleep for 2-3 hours more. Every baby is different. Just don't get frustrated or disappointed. Follow this book's advice. It really works and helps your baby feel secure.

Interesting. I really enjoyed reading it. Some parts I laughed out right out loud at some of the claims he made. I like how it suggests a schedule with flexibility. We had a really hard time getting our first child on a regular routine so I am excited to try this approach with our next one. We will see if it is a fit for our family.
By the way he says several times about how if you don't use this program your child will have problems. We have raised a happy and healthy child without the use of this book.

This book is sanity to new or longtime parents of infants and babies. No more sleepless nights rocking a crying baby to go to sleep. Simple principles for anyone to follow. A friend loaned me hers. I bought 3 for family and friends for Christmas. Already a sucess for my sister who read it. I will continue buying them for others.

I started following this book in the middle of the day. The first night my 10 week old went from getting up 2-3 times a night to just once, the second night she slept though the night. Its been 5-6 weeks and she is doing great, she only woke up at night about 2-3 times since we started. This book changed my life. I went from having severe postpartum depression to a much happier Mom in just a few days after starting, I only wish I started sooner.

Had absolutely no problems with this transaction. This book is a great book and was sent in terrific condition. Would not mind working with this seller in the future. Thank you!

This book is easy to read, but a bit scattered in the order it was written. For any new parent who wants a typical plan for their infant, this book is excellent! I borrowed a friend's book and loved it so much, that I decided to buy one for myself.

I had the four happiest babies ever, because of this book. So many people are against scheduling, but they are the ones with the fussy babies. My babies were HAPPY because they knew how to go to sleep by themselves. And I was happy because I slept 8 hrs a night! Post partum is more likely to set in if you are exhausted all the time. My oldest is now 12, and EVERYDAY I get compliments on how well behaved and happy my children are, and how well they get along with each other, and I give all the credit to Dr. Ezzo for helping me raise children who are not self centered and constantly battling with me. This way I can relax and really enjoy being a mom. My sister in law chose Dr. Spock method, and it is exhausting to be around her kids. Only take advice from people who have well adjusted, well behaved, happy children!

I love the method given in this book! A friend gave it to me, and between myself and the friends who have used this method, we have a 100% success rate 4/4 so far (and there are two more on the way) with getting our babies to sleep 8-9 hours through the night at 9 weeks. It's as though right at the 9 week mark they suddenly are just ready. My son did it TO THE DAY!!! It was amazing. It does take some sorting through the book to get down to the actual method and really figure out what you're doing. But it is well worth it. My baby was the happiest, healthiest baby I could have asked for. People CONSTANTLY commented on how happy he was. Why? Because he got enough sleep!! How many people do you know who're happy when they don't get enough sleep? I don't think I know any.. Babies are the same way! Even now at the age of 20 months my son is more than happy to go down for his naps. A friend and I have discussed how happy our children look to be going to bed. They seem to understand that it's good for them, and they appreciate what we're doing for them. *Note* That's not how it is in the very beginning. They do cry a lot at first as you're getting them used to the schedule (or some do.. one friend has a girl that just adapted right to it without crying much). Most of the crying has to do with them expelling energy though, rather than them being emotionally upset. Babies younger than about 4 or 5 months have no way at all the expel energy, and they have plenty. That milk we're giving them has all kinds of good energy giving stuff in it. Crying is the best most healthy way a tiny baby knows how to get rid of its energy. It's nothing to worry about. Some mothers worry that their baby will think they're abandoning them, I don't believe that to be true at all. My son, and the other children I know who've been raised on this method are the happiest, and securest of all children I know. I've heard many, many people speak against this system, saying you should demand feed, but I couldn't disagree more. Most of the mothers I know who went that way with their babies have come to me asking what I did with my son, and they all fully intend to do it differently with their next ones.
Good luck everyone. You won't regret the purchase/read of this book!!

I purchased this book because it was recommended to me by my sister-in-law. The book contains some wonderful insight about how to get your child on a schedule, but it's slightly controversial in that it's a little regimented for a newborn infant. It's unrealistic that a child can be sleeping through the night at two weeks. I hope new parents don't feel like failures because their child is still needing comfort/nourishment at 9 weeks of age! However, one strength of this book is the contention that the baby should complete his/her feeding (get a full tummy) each time. The child should be stimulated to continue feeding until he or she is full, and not just sleep off a snack for an hour.

Just as importantly, parents should nurture their relationship for the benefit of the infant. One mistake I made as a new mother was placing the child's needs over my husband's needs, and that was a big mistake.

Overall, this book is good, but use what you feel is good information and chuck the rest. (As a side note, my childbirth educator did NOT like this book, but I chose to continue reading it and taking what I considered to be of value).