But Bekka gained weight. She began sleeping through the night. Johnson breastfed for a year, the length of time recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Johnson's second child also breastfed for a year and thrived on the schedule and she hopes, so will her third after it is born this summer.

"I'm perfectly at peace because I know it is what God has called us to do" Johnson said. "I'm at peace knowing that."

Followers of Ezzo say the program teaches flexibility and that every parent needs common sense.

Terri Burks, a registered nurse from Nokomis, Florida, and her husband, Dr. Matthew Burks, an anesthesiologist, took the Prep course at Agape Christian Fellowship in south Sarasota during her pregnancy with their only child, now almost three.

Terri Burks knows the materials, particularly that on breastfeeding, are not what she learned in nursing school, but doesn't mind.

"I think its pretty unfair to start a baby out and make them think they rule the family" she said. "There is a natural order and God-given authority."