The Baby Whisperer - Would you Recommend?

[buggie]

Phew!! Was worried there was something I'd missed!

[damzel]

I used the EASY theory from birth because I found it logical and it worked brilliantly with my daughter. Never had a problem sleeping or getting herself back to sleep if she woke up. Highly recommend it. I never finished the book as I found it annoying once I actually had my baby!

[Letsallmove2peckham]

I'm not that familiar with the BW book but one that I have used with what sounds like a similar approach is "the sensational baby sleep plan'. Despite the positively cringeworthy title I have found it very useful although baby Peckham did take longer than the 8 weeks the book suggests for sleeping through the night (12 hours). It was more like 11/12 weeks.

Salsie - the description you give of your baby at 8 weeks would have been word for word what I would have said at the same time. Baby Peckham is now 15 weeks old and more often than not settles to sleep by 7.30pm and sleeps until 6.30-7.30am the next morning.

Defo recommend the book as a result of our success although I have to admit I was not a slave to the details which is perhaps why it took longer than the 8 weeks that she bangs on about ...;)

I agree with other posters that a combination of listening to your baby at the same time as guiding them towards a routine is possible and is a stress free(ish!) approach although easier said than done if you're a first time mum like me who finds herself questioning every decision!!!

[Strawbs]

I tried gina and bw before my partner threw the books out as I had become a crazed woman and very rigid and it wasn't working! I think defo give it a read and a go if you fancy it but just remember not all babies are the same and other factors need to be taken in to account ir reflux, allergies etc.. My son finally slept through at 10.5 months and it was constant sleep training every day..

Give it a go but try to be relaxed about it and don't beat yourself up if it doesn't work x

[Saila]

I did a gina-lite approach for no. 1. It worked really well for us and my son was a happy baby/toddler

No.2 is a month old and I've realised the basic routine won't work cos of school drop, but just taking the basic principles and doing a gine-mega-lite approach is working nicely. I agree w pickle, establishing bedtime routine is godsend early on. So we're basically just doing that. Oh and always starting the day with a feed at 7am.

Just these things for now and he's only feeding at 1130 and 3am

I expect the growth spurts will screw things up a bit!

BW sounds like a similar approach to gina-lite

Good luck!

[BellendenBear]

I used Baby Whisperer with second baby and really recommend it. I used a 'Gina lite' approach with number 1, very much like Pickle describes. Both worked in that both daughters have always been good sleepers, but I found BW much less stressful and more intuitive and easier to use with a toddler to look after as well.

The basic ideas of establishing a bedtime routine at the same time each day and ensuring good daytime naps were really 'easy' using the routine suggested, but you adapt it to suit your own baby. Feeding the baby when they wake up rather than to get them off to sleep makes everything much easier. I breast fed both babies and don't see why this approach couldn't be compatible with breast or bottle feeding.

[Josiehendrick]

We vaguely followed the baby whisperer routines and have a 9 month old who sleeps and eats very well. Got to say I recommend it :)

[QueenMab]

I think the Baby Whisperer was the one I liked best at the time, although like others I found her style deeply irritating at times.

However I would recommend keeping an open mind, and not expect one book to have all the answers. All babies and parents are different and different things will suit different people. The best thing I ever did was joined the library and just borrowed as many books on the subject as I could. That way I didn't feel I was 'investing' in one approach which I had to stick to no matter what. I much preferred reading a really diverse set of ideas on the subject, happily discarding stuff I didn't find helpful, and picking up some real gems here and there.

More to to the point, the utility of these books is often very fleeting and there's plenty of other things you can usefully spend your money on. So make the most if the fact all of this information is free on your local library!

[scareyt]

Bluesuperted I wish I had seen that kellymom article in my early days of being a Mum! People really recommended BW to me but it was hopeless for us and I got really stressed out about it, feeling like I had failed every day and was irredeemably chaotic and doomed to have a freak child who would never fall asleep alone until he was 25.

I now know I should have thrown BW away, read some AP books that would have told me i was doing everything right, and relaxed about it all.

All babies are different and they keep changing just as you think you have got them sussed so there is really no need to stress about it all as much as new mums always do. (But if the books didn't make you stress about things, how would they sell more books???)