by Gina Ford, by The Contented Little Baby Book

I love this book, Before reading this book My baby Wanted me to pick her up all the time. since doing the routines in this book she's happy to sit by herself And I know that I will have certain times of the day to be up to wash or cook the dinner.

My baby is now going to bed at 7 o'clock before we had to keep up on the sofa with us until midnight. Brilliant Highly recommended

This is the book equivalent of marmite. Friends with babies either love it and follow it to the letter or, like me, realise that its a great way to make yourself miserable and bin it.

I struggled with this book for a miserable, desperate fortnight before I realised that the problem was that although i knew when my baby should sleep, feed (and for how long), he hadn't actually read the book himself.
The minute I threw the book away and stopped beating myself up, I became an infinitely happier, calmer mother (and then I found out that that's the secret to a contented baby!)

I don't want to totally diss this book, but I will explain why I think it is to be avoided. The routines, no scrap that, schedules are for tiny babies until toddlers. Tiny babies should be fed when they are hungry, and sleep when they are tired, and cuddled when they are crying. They have it like that for 9 months so why change.
I don't believe this books works with breast feeding mums.

I really wanted someone to tell me how often my baby should be feeding, how long she should be sleeping, and everyone just said "your baby will tell you"... such unhelpful advice. I read CLB, and adapted the routines to fit our family, and I have a truly contented little baby. It's adaptable, helpful and far from discouraging cuddles it actively encourages them. Ignore the hype and read the book.

I was pretty poorly after DC was born. My formerly beloved NHS was unhelpful, contradictory, erratic and often plain wrong. I adapted the recommended routines to suit us and wouldn't have survived without them. 4 yrs on and DC is still a good sleeper. Loads of handy tips in it for making things simpler. Forget the anti-hype - cuddles are DEFINITELY allowed.

Everyone told me this book was too strict, so i didn't bother with it originally. Started the routines at month 5 and they have changed my life!! Wish i had done it sooner! She knows her stuff!

We would never have survived twins with our sanity/marriage/nerves in tact if it wasn't for 'Aunty Gina' as we called her.

Hard work but worth the effort! A brilliant book for anyone who is all at sea and struggling.

I was given this book when 3 months pregnant and it absolutely scared the life out of me, how was I going to manage all these routines, did I really need to wash everything at 60 and iron whilst still slightly damp and oh heck Gina says buy everything in white cotton and I had brought my unborn daughter all pink sheets!! Ahhh felt like I was failing already! So the book went in the drawer!

Cue 6 months and 6 weeks later and I had a beautiful 6 week old baby girl and things were going ok but we were working round Grace and I never knew where I was in a day and this was stressing me out, when was I supposed to have a shower or get out of my dressing gown and after being made redundant when our daughter was 6 days old my Hubby was starting a temp job of 12 hour nights or days so I was about to be on my own a lot therefore I reached in to the drawer and out came Gina!

WOW this book is amazing, it is hard work to start with particularly getting up at 7 but after 3 days little Grace was sleeping from 7-7 with a 10pm feed and I felt so happy, organised and confident enough to get dressed during her morning nap and go join some local Mummy groups.

Grace has been a content baby ever since and my husband and I have a great relationship because we still get time together of an evening and are fully refreshed due to great nights of un disrupted sleep!

I wouldn't say you need to follow it religiously such as the white cotton sheets and so on but by following feeding times, sleep times and the bed routine everything will fall in to place! The NHS should include these books in your bounty pack!!!

Basically if you want to be a happy mummy, wife, person with a happy content child and husband then buy this book!!!

Much too complicated and restrictive for me in the early days but found the general basis for the routines useful when my DS got older. It is worth a read but I would never get that hung up on timings.

I have been a slave to this book with both of my children. They are both contented children and the routines set out in the book most definately work, however, it has taken over my life and has made me sooooooooo obsessed!!!

I know some people think she's a nutter but taken with a pinch of salt, I love Gina! My baby adapted really well to the routines and she has slept from 11pm-7.30am from 6wks old :) Don't follow it religiously (baby up at 6.45am? naps in darkened room? yeah right), just use nap-times and feed times as a rough guide. The bathtime routine is brilliant tho and works like a charm.

I know it is unfashionable, but I don't hate this book. As a teacher, I really like the idea of routines and have been able to adapt the ones in this book to suit my child. I suggest reading it thoroughly beforehand (there are some brilliant suggestions on how to prepare) and come back to it when you're ready. Use it as a tool or a guide, not a prison sentence.

Started reading this just after giving birth in hospital and very quickly gave up. I'm too laid back and disorgansied to ever stick to something so rigid! The strict routines terrified me! When at 6 weeks I picked it up again to get some advice about geting my son to sleep at night 'your baby should now be sleeping through the night' meant I closed it again straight away. May work for some, but finding my own methods (through lots of trial and error)has suited me better and given me lots of confidence.

It is a shame the most talked about new baby book is so complicated. There are a few good ideas in it but the routines are hard to adapt and inflexible. Where deviations are permitted the solutions are also really complicated.

I read it before I had my baby three and a half months ago and most of it went in one ear and out the other. Some of the tips like buying white clothes and buying a tumble dryer have been very useful.

I would really love to have a routine and have invented one myself based around some of the principles but I am now thinking of going back to on demand feeding because my baby is fully breast fed and we will be weaning him quite soon.

Life is too short for books like this and so it is the only one on routines I have and so I do refer to it from time to time as there is not much on the internet about breast feeding once breast feeding is established but I wish it did a better job.

This book is too much like hard work for my liking. And if you live in a flat or semi or your kids share a room then controlled crying is pretty much impossible.

My baby is 10 weeks old and I have been trying to follow the routine as best I can. The feed times are easy to follow but it's the daytime sleeps that I'm struggling with. The trouble is, I find that I get really depressed being confined to the house so much because I am such a social person usually and have lots of friends with babies too. Today I was asked to go for a coffee over lunchtime after a baby group meeting (lunchtime nap!). I made up some excuse and came home to put my baby to bed but just felt very down about it. I also feel restricted going out with the pram or in the car because my baby falls asleep and then has too much sleep (according to the routine)!! How is anyone else managing to get out and about?

I want to give my baby the best start and get her sleeping throught the night asap but I feel I am going slowly mad, constantly analysing the routine and whether I'm doing it right.

Please help
Nikki

I tried to use this book when my baby was born and almost tore my hair out. The precise timings and instructions seemed crazy with a crying, screaming baby. But after six weeks, I took the general idea and instituted some of the really good, sensible advice. You don't have to follow it word for word, just the basic principles. As a result, my baby was on a routine from 6 weeks and sleeping through from 8! I can't recommend it highly enough to any mother who values her sleep, sanity and life.

Some mums (and their babies) thrive on Gina, others go demented. I'm in the latter category but I know several mums who are in the former, including one whose who DD genuinely seemed to be soothed and comforted by a strict routine.

As for me, once I'd learned to trust myself and my DS, we worked splendidly with each other and Gina was banished to the back of the cupboard at about 5 weeks (along with Tracy Hogg, Miriam and a host of others), to be brought back out months later for really helpful advice on stopping BF and then reducing the bottle feeds.

Try it but as with all parenting guides don't beat yourself up over it and take from it what you want - you'll quickly have an inkling if Gina's not for you.

I think Gina Ford gets a bad rap because her book is badly organised and the information is poorly presented. On first reading while pregnant, I was horrified at her dogmatic tone and the very precisely timed routines.

But being a first-time mum in a foreign country without any help or support, the idea of having a routine appealed and I persevered with the book. I had to read and reread it (would have it to hand every time I breastfed) to really "get" it - but now that I do, I can't imagine going the baby-led demand route.

If you give the book a chance, you'll see that while Gina Ford has set out her ideal routines, she does want you to adjust things to suit your baby. Also as some other mums have said, you'll find that you don't need to follow her directions to the letter to find the book useful. I read Elizabeth Pantley's No Cry Sleep Solution and found that useless, and I tried Tracy Hogg's routines and sleep techniques, but in the end it was Gina Ford that worked for me and my baby. I just wish she would work with a better editor to improve the organisation and tone of her book so as not to put people off straight away, since her methods are great.

Real concerns about this book due to the dogmatic way it is written. Definitely contains some good advice but does not recognise that not all babies will fit in with these schedules. The requirements to express breastmilk left me with a huge worry that I was not producing sufficient milk which took weeks to overcome despite baby growing well. Take the book with a pinch of salt and while working towards the schedules, don't worry if you do not achieve them. One of my best tips to preserve sanity and be a happy mum is to ensure you continue to 'have a life' and get out and share experiences with other mums - which this book makes difficult.

perfect for the first time mum who hasn't a clue about babies, like me. i did become a bit military about it with my first child though and had to relax a little bit about it all, but when i had my second child (5 and a half years difference) i went out to buy it again, just to help get the feeds and sleep patterns going, i didn't follow it religiously the second time around as i had a totally different child from the first one, he was alot hungrier, but i still didn't demand feed, instead of every four hours i just feed him every 3 hours during the day. i do recommend you get this book, but take it all with a pince ofsalt, she must be well old, the language is very antiquated

Excellent guide. Fairly presriptive but good for those with no idea about sleep/ feed patterns. Our baby slept through the night (10.30pm-7am) from 10 weeks. Nuff said! Just need to ignore the slightly irritating and repetitive 'in my vast experience of looking after hundreds of babies...'

I know she's controversial but I thought the advice was brilliant. I am an anal person and the book suited me, my child and my family perfectly. People often comment on what a good sleeper etc he is, and I honestly think it is down to the routines. It did make life restrictive in the first few months, but I was willing to deal with it. Will be interesting to see if it is doable with child number 2.... Oh, and I followed it to the absolute letter until he was about 1.

I wish I had not been given this book as a present before my baby was born.

The problem with Gina Ford is the micro managing, one-size-fits-all timings she sets out. People say she's not inflexible but you look at those timetables: where is the sensitivity to each different baby, or alternative approaches? I was constantly thumbing through to the daily schedule for my baby's age thinking, "What is it I'm supposed to be doing now!?". I was slightly nervous as a new mother and this book did nothing to reassure me. It became an obstacle to my simply getting to know my baby's own natural routine, trusting her signals and needs. I'm not a hippy, I do believe that some babies need help to get a routine going but this book was too much for me.

Oh and where in the schedules does it mention when exactly you as the parent are supposed to get yourself up, washed and dressed...? Figure that one out for yourself. Before you wake the baby at seven a.m.?

Having had no rotuine on my first child and paid the price with sleepless nights etc, on my second I bought this book as a friend used it for both her girls who went straight into a routine. When I tried to follow it I nearly drove myself insane as it is so regimented I lost my life somewhere! I gave up and started Tracy Hoggs baby whisperer which is a more relaxed way of setting a good routine. I'm sure there are soem good tips but It's not for every mum or every baby.

Most of this book is patronising, overcontrolling, condescending, and completely unflexible if you don't want to do EXACTLY the same thing EVERY SINGLE DAY for the first year of your babies life. Gina Ford is most definately a complete and utter baby nazi (she's also a bit of an ego-maniac if you consider every one of her nanny stories, there's one every 5 pages or so, goes along the lines of 'there was this long-suffering family, I changed their lives in a week, etc, etc.)
HOWEVER, not only did I use contented little baby, I now also refer to contented little toddler frequently. Although I don't use 80% of the book, the routine pages are fantastic. I was a young first-time mum and when Lola went onto bottles from breast at 8 months I had no idea how much milk I should be giving her and how often, if/when she should be sleeping during the day, what time to put her in her cot at night etc. etc. and this book really helped. We still use the routine now and Lola is 2.
If you can get a friend with the book to photocopy the routines for you, it's really not worth buying the book as the rest of the material is utter rubbish. Otherwise rent it from the library and copy them yourself! :p

Most of this book is patronising, overcontrolling, condescending, and completely unflexible if you don't want to do EXACTLY the same thing EVERY SINGLE DAY for the first year of your babies life. Gina Ford is most definately a complete and utter baby nazi (she's also a bit of an ego-maniac if you consider every one of her nanny stories, there's one every 5 pages or so, goes along the lines of 'there was this long-suffering family, I changed their lives in a week, etc, etc.)
HOWEVER, not only did I use contented little baby, I now also refer to contented little toddler frequently. Although I don't use 80% of the book, the routine pages are fantastic. I was a young first-time mum and when Lola went onto bottles from breast at 8 months I had no idea how much milk I should be giving her and how often, if/when she should be sleeping during the day, what time to put her in her cot at night etc. etc. and this book really helped. We still use the routine now and Lola is 2.
If you can get a friend with the book to photocopy the routines for you, it's really not worth buying the book as the rest of the material is utter rubbish. Otherwise rent it from the library and copy them yourself! :p

Most of this book is patronising, overcontrolling, condescending, and completely unflexible if you don't want to do EXACTLY the same thing EVERY SINGLE DAY for the first year of your babies life. Gina Ford is most definately a complete and utter baby nazi (she's also a bit of an ego-maniac if you consider every one of her nanny stories, there's one every 5 pages or so, goes along the lines of 'there was this long-suffering family, I changed their lives in a week, etc, etc.)
HOWEVER, not only did I use contented little baby, I now also refer to contented little toddler frequently. Although I don't use 80% of the book, the routine pages are fantastic. I was a young first-time mum and when Lola went onto bottles from breast at 8 months I had no idea how much milk I should be giving her and how often, if/when she should be sleeping during the day, what time to put her in her cot at night etc. etc. and this book really helped. We still use the routine now and Lola is 2.
If you can get a friend with the book to photocopy the routines for you, it's really not worth buying the book as the rest of the material is utter rubbish. Otherwise rent it from the library and copy them yourself! :p

I have a 6 month old who ahs never slept through wakes up all through the night and never slept soundly...i got told to read this book by a family friend who is a health visitor.
Since i have read it and put SOME of this book into practise my son is now sleeping 12 hours at night 7pm -7am ish.
he wakes up naturally i nevr wake him up and i dont stick to the routine strictly
This book has been an absoult god send to me as i am a single mother.
I no have an hour in the moring to do my house work and for myself to get ready as he is asleep
then i have 2 hours in the afternoon to relax and get myself somethig to eat and RELAX.
Then at night hes sleepin soundly by 7pm.
i have my life back at night to get a relaxing bath tea and watch tv without having to rush around eating waiting for my son to stir.
I think that this book can be usefull if you dont follw the routines strictly i never alow my son to cry and to get into a state of upset

I sufferd with post natel depression but since i have managed to get back to my somewhat 8 hr sleep a night for myself i am near eoungh back to my normal way of thnking and my post natel depression has subsided without taking any drugs
I thank gina for this book and think that to mcuh has been made about it

Pick the bits of the book that you thnk would benefit yourself

x

This book saved my sanity and my breasts. They were exhausted nursing my baby to sleep everytime she woke up in the middle of the night. I had no clue how much sleep she needed. My baby seemed to naturally fit into her routines and I got peace and quite to sit and eat a nice relaxing lunch and I get to cuddle my husband at night instead of nursing my baby on and off who sleeps all night through. Thanks for commonsense Gina Ford.

awful book, awful read. If I want to be a rigid clock-watcher, I'll join the military or develop an Obsessive Cumpulsive Disorder.

People should't feel they HAVE TO follow everything on the book, i think just to read and follow what is good for you and your baby is the best. Every mother + every baby is diffirent.

someone here posted as : she followed everything to make her life easier and the baby is contended but please don't call others selfish, because I think you were selfish too, for just to make your life easier you made him grow like he is in the army already.
My best advise would be before judging Gina Ford to read and just get an overall idea what babies need but do your own routine if needed. I've stopped following the book after 6 months (and I didn't do everything on there) as my baby had a very bad theething problem and didn't eat for 8 months, you can't force a baby like him or with a reflux or any other condition.

Gina Ford is like a Marmite,, you either love her or hate her,,
I loved her,,even though I didn't-couldn't follow everything on the book, it just helped me to understand what baby really needs. Especially for our early days.
Ofcourse, I could not understand which mother can not look at her babies eyes when they want you, but I guess I am paying for it now,,My baby is 2 and I still give him milk during night :)) but I don't mind as I said the book helped me with our first 6 months, within 2 weeks I knew when he will wake up and wants his milk,, that was something good to know :)

this book was recommended to me by several friends who swore by it. i read it whilst pregnant and thought how great it sounded and what a wonderful happy baby id have once id established the routines described in the book....it is now under the sofa where i shoved it when my little girl reached about 6weeks old!!! it turned me into a paranoid, self doubting wreck! as soon as i stopped reading it and beating myself up about the fact that i couldnt follow it i felt alot happier and my little did settle into her own routine. there are some good tips int the book hence the 5 rating, as others have said take it with a pinch of salt.

In theory, this book is a marvellous idea, a lovely routine so you know exactly where you are, great if you have OCD but not much use if you are trying to breastfeed and have issues with milk production. The result of trying to use the book was a week of rows with my family and the health visitior advising me to burn it! I gave up and tried something different and succeeded with the breastffeding instead.

This is definitely one of those books that you either love or hate! Personally I hated it. My advice is to borrow it from a library and have a read first to see if you like it. If you do think it's for you, you can then get your own copy. If you don't like it, then you haven't wasted any money! A lot of the ideas seemed good when I was pregnant but terrible once my little daughter was born.

Brilliant, like a car you need a manual and think its a necessity for a baby too. My son was a total Gina Ford baby and it paid off too. Dont care what anyone else says, a lot of people are very selfish with training their babies I put 100% in making my life easier while all the other mums are battling with bedtime and feeding, my son was sleeping right through by 6 weeks and never have any emotional issues. Now one of the happiest and contended babies in the nursery. Thank Good for manuals like this!

I hated this book. I read it before he arrived and was not sure, she came across like some army general! When he arrived there is just no way he would fit into the routine, we did try some aspects but was about as useful as swatting an elephant with a fly swatter! He had reflux and would scream when laid down and needed small regular meals, he was never going to fit into the regime set out in this book.

If you have an easy child with no medical or feeding issues it may work, but if you have that sort of a child they will probably do what is set out in this book without the sergeant major.

All that said I did find the chapter on weaning interesting and helpful.

When I was pregnant all of the midwives and current thinking was about baby led everything and demand feeding etc. I liked the idea of that but found it impossible to cope with in reality. This book was a fabulous resource as it illustrated a completely different approach. Once I had a broad picture of the different approaches I felt more confident to chart my own waters in parenthood. I think it is essential reading...but you *don't* have to follow her advice to the letter as she claims and be warned that tolerance of other approaches to parenting does not feature large here!

With all great intentions I tried raising my baby as a 'free spirit' n'all, but after 4 months of hell I humbly admitted my need and took on board 99% of the principles in this book of books! Now I tell all mums/mums to be to give it a go!

just not for me at all

Has no one heard the bad press about Gina Ford!? The harsh routine is not only practically impossible to fully implement (therefore creating more anxiety and feelings of uselessness to parents who need support in doing what is right for their family) but also gives parents this stupid idea that children's emotional wellbeing is non-existant, that they shouldn't affect you or your life, and that 'the baby' is a demanding little creature we must train from birth! A routine is not the be all and end all of parenting! PLEASE do NOT buy this book- unless you want to feel like a 1950's nanny, shoving your baby out into the cold to cry alone for an hour every day 'because they need fresh air'(seriously, this is what Gina Ford advises) - there are plently of books to help you as parents, to cope with the emotions of babies, children and yourselves, without harsh routines and emotionless parenting.

I bought this book again for my third child (having binned my first copy) to get some pointers as to how much sleep/milk a baby needs at different ages. I had forgotten how guilt-inducing this book is and how crap it made me feel about what I was doing. Gina goes on about how your baby will suffer "long term" sleep and feeding problems if you don't follow her advice to the letter, which is rubbish.

She makes the pretty arrogant assumption that ALL babies are the same and need exactly the same amount of sleep every day and at the same times each day. Any mother of more than one child can tell you that is not true. And all the bits about needing to express to keep up milk supply certainly didn't apply to me.

On the plus side, she does give good advice about babies needing enough sleep in the day to sleep well at night. And the advice about putting babies to bed awake is useful too.

I read this book thoroughly whilst pregnant with my first and it gave me a really good idea of how to approach life after i brought my baby home. I saw the immediate appeal of a routine and it has been easy to follow a relaxed version of the routines that Gina recommends.Before her arrival, I wasn;t sure how much to feed my baby and when and what sort of sleep intervals were advisable. I learnt enough to have confidence in my parenting even though it was all so new to me. Both of my babies are happy, content and both went throught the night at 7 weeks. I'm thinking it works. Her Potty Training book also worked for us.

I read this book when pregnant and thought it sounded great. However, DD arrived and she had not read the book, she refused to have anything to do with her cot and would only sleep in my arms or next to me. Eventually we found our own routine. We were all the better for not sticking to a rigid schedule, we prioritised getting out and about, meeting other new mums and having fun. I'm very glad we did.

I agree with the reviewer who said Gina Ford is old fashioned and bossy.

This book encouraged a rigid regime to bringing up your baby. It was way too structured for me as I prefer to 'go with flow' and me and my little-one have settled into a natural routine that suits us without me having to follow a strict structure to the day! There are a few useful tips however littered thoroughout the book which can be useful.

This book is fabulous. It is not appropriate for every mummy out there but if you like to be organised and have some routine in your own life - you may find it useful. The hints for bf were bang on - esp. how to increase milk supply and expressing. Just like everything in life you can take a little bit of what you think works for you too. I never used the black out blinds for example.
My daughter slept through from 10 weeks and I am still breastfeeding her now at 8mths. She took to the bottle (for night feeds) and is a happy child. Well worth the investment!

Saved our souls and has provided us with two glorious, well adjusted, settled, happy children aged 3 and 5. God bless Gina Ford and all those who choose to sail into parenthood with her. Not always a popular view but you won't find any criticisms from our household.

new to this site i checked reviews on things i want to buy and products i already have, was stunned by some of the reviews this book has. I read this book when pregnant and thought it did have some really good idea's. This book has helped me loads, i have not followed everything in the book but followed feed times etc.. I now have 5 month old who is very happy and sleeps well through the night. Some say the routines are very strict, i find they are as strict as you make them. This book helped me (a shy breastfeeder) structure feeds and thus still be able to go out without having to feed in public. the book has some very good ideas and suggestions but there is no need to take everything litrally.

Brilliant, I didn't follow this with my first child and he didn't sleep well, he was feeding often in the night, had no routine at all. My second child, is two months old now, he sleeps well, feeds only once in the night, and I feel that he is in a really good routine, and is often content because of it. I don't manage to keep the routines all the time, but I find it a really good, useful guide.

Don't go there! This book turned me into a paranoid clock-watcher instead of encouraging me to figure out my baby's own rhythms by observing her. Oh, and this very detailed schedule of daily events somehow omits to mention when it is that you're supposed to get up, get washed and get dressed. Presumably before 7am, which is the first item in the routine - you wake the baby. For most new mothers there's fat chance of that. If you want a strict one size fits all routine then this is for you. In hindsight it is much better to figure out your own routine.
In its defence there are some quite sensible bits of advice in the weaning section and the argument about waking a premature baby regularly for feeds. But Gina Ford's tone is old fashioned and bossy.

Horrific. Bought this before my baby was born, having read it cover to cover suprised I managed to avoid nightmares. Had I wanted to live an army lifestyle I would have joined the army. Yes the methods do seem to work for some, but you become so obsessed by clock watching and following the regime that you never have chance to relax and enjoy the magic that is motherhood. Friends that religiously followed this book had to miss postnatal groups and coffee afternoons as they didn't fit the routine.

I loved this book it was my bible! Not all the no eye contact, leaving to cry bits but just having a bit of structure to the day. Would definitely recommend the routines timings they worked for both of mine.

Well you know, you take out of parenting books what you want to really. We had no-one willing to give us any practical advice and so, having done everything wrong, we turned to this book and for us, it worked. I had 2 blissful hours to myself every afternoon and we had lovely evenings together as we settled dd into a routine. And yes, she did start to sleep through. Ds however was not such a pushover but still the book was useful for instilling a routine because, despite hippy advice, our children did NOT find their own routines. So read it through but don't get upset if you can't do everything. The general gist of it is sound advice.

This book is very rigid in the routines that it sugests, but htere are some ggod principles in here, as long as you realize that compulsive clock watching is NOT compulsory.

Take it with a pinch of salt, and pick out the useful parts. There are plenty.

Just awful. I bought this with SUCH high hopes that I was going to be a military Mummy. I think I binned it in tears after 2 weeks of trying to keep up with the feedtimes, expressing, ridgid nap times and feeling like an idiot that LO still didn't sleep through the night.
I then tuned in and "listened" to my newborn and things started falling into place. How Mothers are able to apply these routines and swear by them is totally beyond me.

Bought this book after the birth of my very wilfull (5 years later still is) first born - binned it after 2 weeks because he was not going to comply with it at all.
To be honest my second baby who was (and yup, still is) a pushover probably could have been gina-fied. But, of course, I knew what i was doing by then so didn't need an expert to tell me what to do.
most parenting books are a waste of money. If you have to read them borrow them from the library and spend the money you have saved on YOURSELF!

i was recommended this book. i read it cover to cover. and i was horrified! "Routine for Day 1" was a good hint of what military, clock watching precision was in store. i think this all harks back to some 1950s parenting we are well shot of.
and dont forget this is the author who wanted mumsnetters banned from any discussion of her or her methods. an utter no no.

"You either love or hate it." "Gina takes you through the first weeks and beyond with meticulous timetables of feeding, sleeping etc., backing up her principles with case studies of children she's saved from the abyss of non-routined life." Some said: "impossible with a second child unless you have help" and "if you're feeling low, trying and failing at this can make things worse." Others raved: "Babies don't come with an instruction manual but this is the nearest thing - a godsend." The consensus: "pick out the bits that really make sense and you can have a very happy baby."