Confessions of a Former Babywise Loving Mom

That's right, I said former.

To date, my blog post that gets the most hits every day, every week, every month, and every year is my Babywise post.  In it, I told you all about how my sweet little baby girl was a Babywise success story because she slept through the night at 3 weeks. Yep, be jealous.  Hey, I'm jealous!  For some of you, The Babywise post may even be how you found my blog to begin with.  I wrote it nearly 3 years ago, yet people still comment on it on a regular basis.  I frequently get emails and messages on Facebook with Babywise troubleshooting questions.  As of today's writing, nearly 8,000 people have read that post. 

And now I disagree with much of what I wrote.

One of the best and worst parts of blogging is that you all get to witness my growth as a mother.  You've seen me wax eloquently about the glories of cloth diapering, only to get swamped with life and laundry.  You know I use disposables on a regular basis these days.

Sorry folks, we do real life over here.

If there's anything I've learned after having 3 kids, it's that formulas don't always work.

Do I still use some of the principles found in Babywise?  Yes, I actually do.  I don't hate the series.  And I still think the controversy surrounding it is completely and utterly ridiculous.  But I no longer consider myself a Babywise Mom, and I don't mind if you know that.  I do like some aspects of Babywise, but I think it's one of those books, like nearly every parenting book that I read, where you take what you like and toss the rest out.

So here's the confession part: 

My third baby is 7 months old and he's still not sleeping through the night.

My second baby was 10 months old when he started sleeping through the night. 

My third baby is not on a schedule. 

I can't tell you what time he eats every day or what time he naps.  And I don't really care about that either because he's happy.

Do I love those truths?  Not all of them.  Trust me, I want my babies to sleep because I need sleep.  But these things are true nonetheless.

Over the next few weeks, I'll tell you what I like, love, and hate about Babywise.  Stay tuned.

Are you a Babywise Mom?  A scheduling mom?  An attachment parenting mom?  Or are you like me, and you've completely thrown off the labels because you're tired of them.