I remember when I was pregnant and I told people that my goal was to have Beckett sleeping through the night, or at least close, by the time my 8 weeks of maternity leave was up. I can't tell you how many people rolled their eyes and laughed at me. Well the night before I went back to work, Beckett slept 11 hours and woke up once. I'm not trying to brag, but it can be done! And I wasn't just blessed with a good sleeper or that I was lucky; I feel like it took hard work and a lot of research!
As much as I've always said how much I love Babywise and I'm so glad I'm doing it with Beckett, I didn't fully understand the concept until just recently. I knew that it was working for us, but I didn't understand why. I read the book while I was pregnant because I heard that other people really liked it, and frankly because I knew absolutely nothing about how much a newborn eats, how much they sleep, and how often. Not everything in it made sense to me at the time because I didn't have anything to apply it to. Sometimes I would read 5 pages without comprehending a thing. Then after Beckett was born, I basically re-read the book as he went through different stages to know what to do next. It sounds weird to me to say that I had to turn to a book to know how to feed my baby and get him to sleep. I could have done it without the book, but it would have been much more confusing and I have a feeling I would have had many more sleepless nights. I know some babies are easier than others, but I feel like Beckett is a fairly calm baby and a good sleeper thanks to that book.
Although I had read the book, it wasn't until I found several Babywise blogs that I really started to understand the concept, why it works so well, and what to do when things aren't going like you expected. I don't feel like I'm implementing it 100% because I work and so we have to be flexible because if he's napping and it's time to get in the car.... then it's time to get in the car. If I were at home all the time I think I would be trying my hardest to get him on some exact schedule, and stressing myself out for no reason. If I had three kids or something it might be more important to keep my sanity, but I don't really need to do that right now. I do feel like I know how to do it though if ever the time comes. The thing that is important to me is that he quickly got his days and nights straightened out, he goes down for naps easily, naps well, eats well, and sleeps good at night. For the most part, he does all of these things! If it isn't at the exact same time every day it's ok.
I thought about writing down a summary of the Babywise concepts and how it works, but I would only be rewriting what others were able to do so well. Here are a few sites that really helped things click for me and make a lot of sense!
Babywise Basics- This is a very good summary of what the book is about at a glance.
Chronicles of a Babywise Mom- I couldn't decide on just one post, so this link is to the entire blog. I have referred to this blog with more of my baby questions than any other source. It was a little confusing to navigate at first, but just use the topics in the left hand column and you can find so many great things!
Babywise Facebook Group- This is a great group on Facebook where moms can ask questions and other moms can answer that have experience with whatever the topic is! I haven't really asked any questions, but I love just reading what everyone has to say.
I swear.... I don't know how first time moms did it without the internet. It's so wonderful to have the knowledge and experience of so many other people at your fingertips.
I'm so happy I started this from day one. I feel like it helped Beckett's body adjust and establish good sleeping habits right away. It's never too late to start it though. I am super inexperienced, but I really feel like in most cases raising a baby doesn't have to be a stressful, sleep deprived experience! If you are struggling with getting your baby to sleep well, or are a first time Mom that has no idea what you're doing (like me).... I highly recommend reading Babywise or just using these blogs as great resources!
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