Jorja's Schedule & Babywise

Before I ever had Jorja, I read Babywise by Gary Ezzo. Now I know, you have probably heard horrible things about this OR you have heard rave reviews. I am going to tell you about my experience and how it has turned out for us. I have a cousin that read Babywise and we loved being around her children and how well it worked for them. So, being the reader that I am, I grabbed the book and read it a whole year before I was even pregnant.

Then we had her and new mommy fear took over. I was so afraid Jorja was going to choke on her own spit and so she ended up sleeping with us for the first two weeks. Because of the breastfeeding issues I had, I was persuaded to feed on demand. By two weeks- I was about to loose my mind. Then I was able to talk to my cousin and she reminded me about Babywise. Since on-demand feeding was not working for us, what would it hurt to start working on Babywise? Since I couldn't call my cousin every minute of the day, I got out my Babywise book and reread pieces of it. Then I started searching the internet for some POSITIVE Babywise information. This is when I came across an amazing website and Google group.

This amazing woman, Valerie, is queen of Babywise. She has three children of her own which results in a lot of experience with all things baby and Babywise. She also created a Google Group for the blog so you can get real advice from other moms!

Back to Jorja's story....

We started working on getting Jorja on the Eat-Wake-Sleep pattern. This was easy enough. Then we worked towards 2.5-3 hr schedule and we managed to do that. What really made the difference and I believe led to her sleeping through the night, was starting her day at the same time. So, we would get up between 7 and 7:30 and within a week she was sleeping through the night. Jorja dropped her middle of the night feeding on her own by 12 weeks. I would feed her at 10:30 and then she would go all the way through! We have worked through our other steps and we are now on a four hour schedule.

Here is was a typical day for Jorja looks like.

7-7:30 Wake up, nurse
9 Naptime
11 Nurse & cereal + vegetables
12:15-12:30 naptime
3 Nurse & cereal + vegetables
4:45-5 Nap (if we are home)
Around 6 (just depends) Nurse
7:15-7:30 Bedtime

Keep in mind I am NOT a morning person and we are working on having fruit and cereal for her breakfast as soon as she gets fruit that is. According to Babywise II they should have fruit and cereal for breakfast, vegetables and fruit for lunch and vegetables and cereal for dinner. Since we felt it was important to get some good veggies in her before fruit, we are working towards the goal of what Babywise II recommends. Since you have to wait 3-7 days to introduce a new food, it take a little while. Green beans and bananas are on the schedule for this week!

Here are a few reasons why Babywise works for us:

1. I have a need to be organized and Babywise allows me to have a schedule while still being able to be FLEXIBLE and take care of our needs.
2. Babywise gives me guidance on things that I would have no clue about (how much food and when)
3. It combines the child's needs along with my judgment to make the best decisions. I am not letting my 6 mo old make the decisions but I do use her needs as a guide. 
4. Babywise is more than just a schedule. It is a way of life. One of the biggest things I have taken away is that I need to "begin as I mean to end." So, if I don't want to have to rock, sing, bounce, soothe, etc my child to sleep when they are 3, why would I start that habit now? If you do these things, that is your own personal desire and that is fine, it just doesn't work for us. Trust me I get enough grief for not rocking my child to sleep but my daughter is 6 months old and she puts herself to sleep. I consider this a good thing.

Just like with anything in life, you have to make your own personal decisions on what works for you. I am not trying to jam my opinions down your throat but rather share our story.
A few questions for you...
Have you heard of Babywise before? Was what you heard positive or negative?
Do you actually know someone who has used Babywise?
What do you think about it?

Hope you have a great Wednesday!