I have read in the last couple weeks both On Becoming Babywise and The Secrects of the Baby Whisperer. Both have essentially the same theme: structured routine with your infant to help them transition into your life easier and sleep through the night faster. I did glean some good information from each, but they are written in two totally different styles. I honestly would never rad another book by the Babywise author/s. They really rubbed me the wrong way. But lets start with a basic "book report" if you will.
Babywise:
Written by two men. Normally, that doesn't bother me. Men can know about raising children just as well as women. But these men are super pompous!! I really did not enjoy the tone of writing. They completely blow attachment parenting out of the water, and they have very strong opinions on certain things that everyone should do with their child. I hate to remind them that every baby is different as are parents. Meaning there are multiple correct ways of parenting. But apparently theirs is the only way. At least that is the feeling I got from the book.
However, I did learn a lot about their form of structure. I agree with a lot of what they said, yet it took me several chapters to fully grasp what they were trying to tell me. Honestly, that bothered me too. I read the chapters on the actual routine and was still lost about what they were saying. But basically, baby needs to eat right after sleep and then stay awake for awhile. Never put baby to sleep with breast or bottle, because baby will become dependent on eating prior to sleeping and use it as a prop to fall asleep. Basically, teach your child to self-soothe to fall asleep. Put baby in crib before they are fully asleep so they don't depend on anything but themselves for sleep. Makes sense, I agree with the basic concept. But really your way isn't the only way... but again I agree with the basics and will be trying it with little Oswald.
Baby Whisperer:
British lady with massive experience with tons of different styles of households and parents and babies. Loved her writing (but I am partial to the Brits style of say it like it is, bluntly.), loved how she explained her concept, and will be using a lot of the information learned in the book. First, it's always nice to here that some things Americans think of as strange is normal for other parts of the world. Since we are planning on some "back to the basic" ways of parenting, it's very nice to know it's normal elsewhere at least. She takes the same concept and explains it well. E.A.S.Y. Eat, Activity, Sleep, You time. Same order as Babywise, just written in an easier tone, and explained completely. Both state that sleeping through the night is possible by 6-8 weeks. But Baby Whisperer takes into account that babies are different and some take longer. She also tells lots of tricks about how to fix small parental issues that can affect the EASY plan. Loved it. And will be using so much info from her. Heck I've been using it with Caly (our dog), you need to think through what you teaching with your reactions to the child/pet's actions. And be consistent. Specifically, be consistent from day one. We will be trying to do that as best as possible.
Jerry and I are constantly talking about how we would integrate baby into our everyday routines. We have refigured out many of our systems or routines to help make life easier to transition. Let's hope all this reading and talking really has helped us prepare! We are sooo ready now. At least emotionally. :)
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