Ezzo Week
DH’s cousin had twins a few months back, and we had the opportunity to meet tiny Sadie and Jack last week. Those two are precious little things! I have never had twins, and I can hardly imagine how challenging it would be. I was surprised when their mom came up and said, “I heard that you used to like Babywise, but now you don’t. What’s the deal? I need advice! I’m kinda using Babywise, and it seems to be working well. What do you think?”
I only had a couple of minutes because they were about to leave, and honestly I had a hard time thinking of all I could or should say. On the one hand, I could talk her ear off. But then, I’ve never tried to juggle twins, either. And frankly, I did use the “church version” of Babywise–Prep for Parenting with most of my kids. And it worked well, if all you’re after is a good night’s sleep. Who was I to tell this new, tired mom to do otherwise?
So I merely gave her my list of cautions–be sure the babies gain enough, DO NOT get into the older kids’ programs (where I really had more problems), find a balance and use compassion. I guess if I were to give this momma further advice, it would be to read my experiences that I have posted, and I would guide her to other sources, like Tulipgirl and EzzoInfo, and then I’d probably send her on to a grace-based parenting board.
Meanwhile, Tulipgirl is having her fourth annual Ezzo week, and in honor of that and my DH’s cousins questions, I wanted to link to my old posts in a series I did about my experiences as a Contact Mom with the Ezzos.
How I Got Involved with GFI
Why I Loved GFI
Becoming a Contact Mom for GFI
Red Flags with GFI
Disassociating Myself from the Ezzos and GFI
My Parenting Post-GFI
There are other posts I have written that allude to my GFI days as well. You can either search for GFI or Ezzo in the sidebar, or you can click on the GFI/Ezzo/Babywise link to see everything in that category.
July 17th, 2007 at 4:12 pm
Hey! Does Ezzo Week coincide with Shark Week?
July 17th, 2007 at 4:35 pm
Aw, looks like I’ll be up late tonight reading your old entries. I myself am anti Ezzo. But then you know that.
I have nominated you for a blogging award. Swing by and pick up your trophy. LOL Love you!
July 17th, 2007 at 8:16 pm
Ezzo Week Else-Web…
July 17: ChewyMom shares her experiences–positive and negative–with Ezzo parenting. I “knew” Chewy from the GFI discussion boards (mid-90s) before they were closed without warning. She was a “Contact Mom” and had a knack of encouraging young moth…
July 18th, 2007 at 11:06 pm
I’d never heard of any of those theories. Your posts were an interesting read!
July 19th, 2007 at 7:38 am
Hi! Here from TulipGirl. I had twins and while I didn’t exactly babywise-parent, I did schedule because if you don’t, you go stark screaming mad. (Well, perhaps I should qualify that. You’ll still go mad, but if you schedule, you might recover
) I informally did babywise-style scheduling with my oldest, who was 20 months when the twins were born. My twins were small for their age (still are, actually), yet I managed to nurse them both to 15 months old. I know you don’t know me, but I’d be happy to pass on some hard-earned advice to your friend–tell her to write me if you are comfortable with this.
August 11th, 2007 at 1:05 pm
Hi, Chewy! I’m here from Tulipgirl, as well. What a dear family you have!
I was too involved in nurturing our many babies and children to take the time to read the experts. I did pick up some tapes at a thrift store once during a desperate moment. The set was called “Let’s Fix the Kids” and, ironically and sweetly, were actually about fixing the parents! Before I had children I had 11 theories about raising them; I now have 11 children and no theories. ;~)
I shall enjoy reading on down…
August 27th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
Hi, Chewymom. I love your website and find it very inspiring. I found it when a friend told me she was using Babywise. I vaguely remembered reading something on the ‘Net about Babywise being bad, but I didn’t know much, so I started searching and that’s how I found you. My usual stance when it comes to parenting is, “To each his (or her) own,” but Babywise upsets me so much that I find myself biting my tongue whenever I’m around her. Then today, at Bible Study, she and another mom were both singing the praises of Babywise and it was killing me! My question is, how do you suggest I proceed? I am fairly sure these women know little to nothing about Ezzo or the background of Babywise, and I think they’re both using the secular version. I suspect that they are “just using the good parts,” but I worry about them proselytizing (for lack of a better word) to other moms a system that I am convinced is deeply, deeply flawed. But of course, I don’t want to offend, and I make it a habit to generally stay out of other people’s parenting choices. Do you have any wise words?
August 28th, 2007 at 2:39 pm
Lara,
I really don’t know….I tend to not jump in and offer parenting advice without being asked–mostly I guess because I spent so many years being a Babywise know-it-all and giving unsolicited advice to anyone and everyone. I do find that people ask me my opinion since I have a million kids, and I tell them my main concerns. I guess in your situation, I might pipe up and say, “I actually have some problems with BW,” if you hear others praising it in a group setting. You could look on Ezzo.info to get more information to give them, or just recommend that anyone thinking of trying it check that out. Maybe others will have advice for you as well??
May 30th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
[...] ChewyMom shares her experiences–positive and negative–with Ezzo parenting. I “knew” Chewy from the GFI [...]