Preface
Yes, one day people will stop you on the street, at the grocery store, and
in the church nursery to comment, “Your baby is so content.” Then they
will insult you with the following statement: “You’re so lucky to have
such an easy baby. What? Sleeping through the night already? How old is
he? You’re really lucky!”
As philosopher Immanuel Kant pointed out, the actual proves the
possible. With On Becoming Babywise, we no longer count the success
stories in thousands, nor in tens of thousands but in millions of happy,
healthy and sleeping through the night success stories. On Becoming
Babywise is not a book of luck but of principle. Luck has nothing to do
with the benefits described above—right parenting does. What you do in
the first days, weeks, and months of your baby’s life will impact the rest
of your parenting years.
In discussing infant and maternal physiology, we will demonstrate
how order and stability are mutual allies of every newborn’s metabolism.
In particular, we will note how an infant’s body responds to the
influences of parental routine or the lack thereof. In the latter chapters,
we will explore the everyday aspects of infant management. Included is
an explanation of the three basic elements of daytime activities for
newborns: feeding time, waketime, and naptime.
The questions at the end of each chapter emphasize the key themes
found in your reading. We encourage you to take the time to go through
and write out the answers. You will feel more confident when you know
what to do and why you should do it. We designed the study questions to
serve as an aid in gaining that confidence.
Because every philosophy of parenting has a corresponding
pathology, we invite new and expectant parents to consider, evaluate, and