Baby Whisperer...?

[MelissaEvans]

I was reading the blurb on "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer: How to Calm, Connect, and Communicate with Your Baby" at amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...55934?v=glance) and found this to scare me...

The first half of the book is devoted to E.A.S.Y--her name for creating a structured daily routine for you and your baby that makes the most of your baby's awake times and also leaves time just for you.

It softens the idea up quite a bit... but I was wondering if anyone here has read it and what you thought.

[PurplePixiePooh]

The back cover says that and i quote " A happy baby sleeps through the night" yeah right! My ds is a very happy baby and he doesn't sleep through the night at all.

If you look into the area for other book recommendations based on the book being looked at, it includes babywise. That alone should tell ya that it is not a good book.

I know only a little about the baby whisperer technique, but it does involve crying and I am opposed to any so-called expert who will tell anyone that if their baby is happy they will sleep through the night or that their schedule will allow for a happy baby etc....

Maybe the no-cry sleep solution would be better, check that one out instead

[JessicaS]

I agree about Baby Whisperer. A big thumbs down from me.

[DaryLLL]

I agree with abimommy. I read it and it sickened and horrified me. She is harsh cold English nanny. She proudly relates a story of "helping" her client's toddler to go to sleep. She sat by the childs' bedside all night and every time the baby sat or stood up in bed and cried for security, she pushed it back down in its crib. She counted how many times. I think it was 135.

EASY stands for eat, activity, sleep, you.

A baby should never be allowed to nurse to sleep. Nurse it until it gets drowsy, then wake it up and put it down to "play." Well, my children would not appreciate being woken up from a cuddly sleepy nurse to be put down to play, how about yours?

Then when "playtime" is over, child is put to bed awake. On a schedule set by mom. Whether the child is now sleepy, happy, full-tummied and feeling secure or not.

While baby howls in the crib, Mommy now has "her time!" Which should be nice and relaxing.

[puppytails]

It scares me that she passes herself off as a "baby whisperer". I mean a horse whisperer has respect for horses and IMO, she does NOT have respect for infants or their needs...

[MelissaEvans]

Thanks for the input. =) It won't be making it to my wish list. I thought with a name like "whisperer," it would be gentle. Perhaps she should rename it to "Baby screamer" She has a DVD too I think... I'll be passing it up also.

[bloodrayne]

Someone lent me this book, and while I expected to be happy with it by the title, and then horrified by it when I read the description, I was neither. This book did nothing for me at all. I don't agree with it in almost every way, but it didn't upset me.

My son is a stubborn little Taurus and likes his routine to be the same as much as possible, so he does have a routine. That is by NO means a schedule!!! I think it's important to make that distinction. And I give him whatever he needs whenever he needs it - but I try to make it predictable for him, so he knows what to expect next, and that is when he is happiest, and I think that's one thing I took away from the book. I know other people won't have the same experience.

[DebraBaker]

Is anyone else aware of the fact she abandoned her three children in England to come over to the US to promote this book (left them for many months)

DB

[Momtwice]

http://www.kellymom.com/reviews/revi...whisperer.html

[DaryLLL]

Thanks Momtwice. Here' a quote from that review:

"As this book is being written, scientists are experimenting with the notion of genetically altering cows to produce human breast milk. If that happens, perhaps in the future everyone will tout cow's milk."

Hogg goes on to quote a 1999 article from the Journal of Nutrition that suggests formulas may one day be so advanced they will meet babies' needs better than human milk.

[Addie's Mom]

The Baby Whisper makes What To Expect When You're Expecting look thoughtful and unbiased. I actually bought a copy- shame on me. Now I don't know what to do with it. I don't want to sell it secondhand and pass on mis/information and bad advice!

Gretchen

[Momtwice]

The Baby Whisper makes What To Expect When You're Expecting look thoughtful and unbiased.

Good one!

[cottonwood]

She sat by the childs' bedside all night and every time the baby sat or stood up in bed and cried for security, she pushed it back down in its crib. She counted how many times. I think it was 135.

That is sick.

Nurse it until it gets drowsy, then wake it up and put it down to "play." Well, my children would not appreciate being woken up from a cuddly sleepy nurse to be put down to play, how about yours?

That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Whenever my babies have inadvertently gotten woken up after comfortably drifting off to sleep, they have been *pissed off*. Come to think of it, I react the exact same way. What would be great would be if, when Hogg gets old and is dependant on the care of others, she gets woken up every time she starts to drift off to sleep at a time not convenient for her caregivers. Wonder if she'd still think it was such a fantastic idea?

[kimbalicious]

Originally posted by Addie's Mom
The Baby Whisper makes What To Expect When You're Expecting look thoughtful and unbiased.

Wow, my thoughts exactly!

[MelissaEvans]

The kellymom article mentions BW (woo! BW = Baby Wise or Baby Whisperer!) says you should wash your nipples after each nursing session. How stupid is that! If she's so totally wrong on this, what's that say about the rest of the book? Scary stuff. *shaking head in sad disgust*

[seren]

I read this book with my dd. I loved it then, but have since learned a lot. I wouldn't do any of it now. But I do have to clarify a bit. You feed your baby, play with s/he, then put it to bed and have you time. But, it's not when the mom decides the baby is tired. You are supposed to play with your baby until s/he is tired and then put them to bed. It is not a rigid schedule. She teaches you to start a routine. She calls it a schedule, but says something to the effect that it doesn't mean (and this is a sentence I made up to explain it, it's not a quote) "Oh, Joey's waking up and he's crying, but it hasn't been three hours, so he's not hungry." She teaches you that if s/he eats, plays, and sleeps, and then wakes up then it is very likely time for the baby to eat. It did help me a lot then, but I have since learned better than that.

Here is what I meant:

While she acknowledges that the exact amount of time will vary from baby to baby and with the baby's age, she makes it clear that following a schedule such as the one she outlines is crucial to preventing "chaos in the house."

If you read the bok she explains it like i tried to above. It is just to give you an idea of what comes next if you do it in order. She says taht babies are just like adults, creatures of habit and benefit from routines.