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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To consider gina?

288 replies

Pickles77 · 22/06/2012 18:52

Okay AIBU to consider buying a gina ford book? I have the mumsnet baby book which is great... But got the impression most mumsnetters don't approve of gina ford? I'm not sure I will, I'm just intrigued by the fuss? And want to be the best mum
I can be...

OP posts:
Rockpool · 22/06/2012 19:23

Very popular in RL where I live.SmileGoing by her sales one would presume she's popular elsewhere too.

Noqontrol · 22/06/2012 19:23

I bought the book when dd was a baby. I thought it was too rigid and strict, dd hated the routine and got really stressed with it. It was hideous actually, when to nap, when to wake, being told to go and sort bottles, when to rest myself, when to cuddle my baby, hideous hideous hideous. I threw the book away and dd eventually settled into her own routine. Those couple of Gina ford days were really quite unpleasant, stressful, rigid and unnatural, in my opinion of course Smile

Rockpool · 22/06/2012 19:25

Meglet I had a Gina notebook for the dtwins. Took her into hospital when I had dd a year later as I couldn't wait to brush up again.Blush

NicholasTeakozy · 22/06/2012 19:29

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by Mumsnet for breaking our Talk Guidelines. Replies may also be deleted.

DublinMammy · 22/06/2012 19:32

I thought I was going to have a stroke when I read GF before my son was born and felt that every sodding minute of the day was going to be regimented and awful. In fact, I found it really helpful in the first few aimless weeks to have some help with a structure and ended up doing a sort of Gina-lite routine which worked brilliantly for both me and my son and we still do a version of it (he's 3). I'm now 12 wks pg with number 2 and plan on doing the same again.

GnocchiNineDoors · 22/06/2012 19:33

I would just like to point out to whoever said it upthread, Gina does NOT tell you not to refuse sex after six weeks.

She says to TALK to your OH about sex to encourage communication about it and so you are both onthe same page re: resuming a sex life.

If you disagree with her routines and her perscriptive attitude to child rearing, fine, but dont make up bollocks about her.

gamerwidow · 22/06/2012 19:34

OP if you want to give the book (or indeed any other books) a go then pop down to your local library and read whatever takes your fancy.
Just keep in mind that all babies are different and there is no magic method. You obviously care very much about your babies happiness so you are already the best mum you could possibly be. Do whatever works for you and don't worry about whatever anyone else says.

monkeymoma · 22/06/2012 20:13

or your local nearly-new, there's always a number of GF and BWs for sale at them

(wish I hadn't sold mine - didn't think I'ld forget EVERYTHING!)

StepOutOfSpring · 22/06/2012 20:31

YABU. I totally disagree with the advice in the book.

LittleWaveyLines · 22/06/2012 20:37

I know someone has already said it upthread, but can I just please reiterate, that if you want to breastfeed successfully it's best to feed on demand frequently at first to generate a milk supply. Routines, spacing feeds, and breastfeeding tends not to work, except for a fortunate few.

runnindownadream · 22/06/2012 20:38

I used it a bit like pirates code - guidelines!

Useful for me when I started to flounder not knowing what the hell I was supposed to do with a pfb. I would have asked my mum but she died 5 years ago!

monkeymoma · 22/06/2012 20:40

she. does. not. tell. you. to. try. to. space. out. feeds. with. a. BF. newborn.
she tells you a MINIMUM amt of feeds they should have, and a max amt of time you should go between feeds - but she says if they want feeding sooner then FEED THEM

so its the opposite of spacing out feeds, its not NOT having too much space between feeds. (which, if your baby is doing itself - great! if not your supply will be affected if you feed on demand, cause sometimes on demand only feeding = LESS feeds than they need)

Viviennemary · 22/06/2012 20:41

I wish I had that book about routines when I had DD. She was impossible, crying yelling being sick, wind you name it. Waking six or seven times in the night. I'd certainly have given it a go. I was breastfeeding. DS was a much easier baby.

runnindownadream · 22/06/2012 20:42

I should add I had to ff (failed bfer) which I think helped

It's not for everyone and that's ok. As I settled into a routine I found my own version and didn't stick to it rigidly

MsVestibule · 22/06/2012 20:42

It's interesting to hear from people who have a positive view of her. I've not come across this before

That's because Gina Ford users are often derided as being inflexible mothers who have no maternal instincts - and who wants to be thought of as one of those? It really pissed me off when HVs gave me the catsbum mouth when I mentioned I was following the GF routines. Not one of them asked how it was working for me; it had been decided that it was a Bad Thing, and that was that.

Declutterbug · 22/06/2012 20:43

YABU

What Mothers Do by Naomi Stadlen is more useful

monkeymoma · 22/06/2012 20:47

MsVestibule is right, if you own up people think you denied your newborn BFs (not true), that it = CIO (not true), that you only allow visitors between 3.01pm and 3.12pm (not true)
etc

LittleWaveyLines · 22/06/2012 20:47

I'm sorry if I got that wrong then Monkeymoma - I only flicked through a friend's copy, didn't read it properly but that was the impression I got. I also noticed that from my NCT group the 2 who followed her routines both gave up breastfeeding very quickly... but as I said I didn't read it thoroughly.

LittleWaveyLines · 22/06/2012 20:50

Although I personally think it would be a good thing in the early days to say you have to restrict visitors between 3.01pm and 3.12pm - I would have welcomed that! Grin

akaemmafrost · 22/06/2012 20:51

Yeah yeah she tells you to feed on demand to cover her arse but if you actually DID it you would not be able to follow the routines, which rather makes buying the book pointless doesn't it? Well for you not for her as her bank account just keeps bulging ever bigger.

akaemmafrost · 22/06/2012 20:52

It is near on impossible to follow her routines if you breastfeed. So you are not really wrong littlewavylines.

monkeymoma · 22/06/2012 20:53

I was under doctors orders to get AS MUCH breast milk into jaundiced DS as possible to clear his system

if GF was at odds with that NO WAY would I have risked his health

but in fact GF helped me get MORE BFs into him then he would have demanded, and longer BFs

which not just helped clear his jaundice, but kept my supply up. I wouldn't have been producing much if I'ld been waiting hours for DS to wake up and demand a half-arsed feed!

runnindownadream · 22/06/2012 20:54

If anyone ever asked I always told them I used it - I never restricted visitors though Grin

I got mine off eBay but then I'm tight and don't like paying full price for anything!

balotelli · 22/06/2012 20:56

read

Unconditional Parenting by Alfie Kohn

Best parenting book I ever read.

LittleWaveyLines · 22/06/2012 20:56

I think you are advised to wake jaundiced babies to feed them though anyway, aren't you? As jaundiced babies tend to be sleepy babies you have to!

Just out of interest my DD fed 2 hourly day and night - taking about 30-40minutes for each feed in the early days - would I have been able to follow her routine?