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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask if anyone used Gina Ford method

159 replies

newmum1611 · 26/11/2018 06:31

Posting here for traffic
Did anyone use this routine? Did it work? I have a few things I’m not finding clear answers to with it..

OP posts:
MrsChollySawcutt · 26/11/2018 16:51

@PaulHollywoodsSexGut I'm not the only person who has actually read the book telling you it doesn't tell you anywhere at all to put water on your baby's face to wake it up.

So puddle back at you, you rude buffoon.

GhoulWithADragonTattoo · 26/11/2018 16:57

I borrowed it from the library when DD was small. I found it useful as a general guide for sleeping and eating but didn't stick to it all religiously. At 2 weeks I would be looking for your baby's signs whilst looking at GF as something to move towards / adapt for your family.

Hideandgo · 26/11/2018 16:58

It’s really great but I think best implemented with flexibility and just to suit yourself.

collywobble · 26/11/2018 17:03

I used it for two out of three of my children and can honestly say it was a lifesaver. I love routine though and sticking to rules but goodness me compared to my first baby the difference once into the routine was amazing . There was a website at the time and I posted a question and Gina Ford actually called me up with advice I was completely blown away by what a lovely down to earth lady she was who genuinely seemed to care .

PaulHollywoodsSexGut · 26/11/2018 17:27

Ach sorry @mrschollysawcutt it’s been a long day 🙈

superstarburst · 26/11/2018 17:32

Shock Shock Shock
MN talking about GF. WE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO!

pinkcardi · 26/11/2018 18:35

I followed it lightly but preferred EASY which suited us more.

I was keen to encourage a good nap routine and DC1 slept through (7pm - 6am) from 6 weeks and DC2 from 8 weeks

craftinglife · 26/11/2018 18:39

I read the book and didn't follow it at all but still had a 6pm-6am sleeper by 7 weeks. It is purely down to your luck. I also had a nocturnal DS even though I did the exact same things with both

Stillwishihadabs · 26/11/2018 18:49

Yup DS was a Gina Ford baby (with tweaks) slept 8 hours at 8 weeks ebf. It works Ds is 14 now and still goes to bed very happily, I do believe it sets up good "sleep hygine" as we would now say.Dsis fed on demand and has 2 shocking sleepers at 6.5 and 3 is up at least a couple of nights every week, bedtime seems to be an endless battle. I would do it again in a flash. (Very unfashionable tho)

Ragwort · 26/11/2018 18:53

I followed it from the day we got back from hospital, the main points I liked were putting baby to sleep at a set time, in a dark room (my baby did sleep in his own room which I know is against the guidelines) at night time so you distinguish between Day and night. I didn’t follow it to the exact time but he had two long naps per day and bed time was 7pm and he woke at 7am. I may have just been lucky but when I read some of the threads on here from mums who are beside themselves with exhaustion I just feel very grateful that I had a baby who slept so well.

Many of us who followed GF successfully seem to have older children, my DS is 17 now.

BlueJava · 26/11/2018 19:01

Yes, we had twin DS and I used GF. It is regimented but it worked really well. I can see some might not like it but it worked for us. They slept through the night early on meaning we could both sleep - priceless!

Stillwishihadabs · 26/11/2018 19:03

When Dd came along I used the toddler book, that was really good for baby+toddler and not kissing your mind

Soconfusedbylife · 26/11/2018 19:04

I tried with my first for about 7/8 weeks but it made me more anxious as my baby simply did not fit into any routine. I then stopped trying and followed my baby’s cues and started enjoying him

Stillwishihadabs · 26/11/2018 19:04

Losing not kissing !

Stillwishihadabs · 26/11/2018 19:06

I think it does work better if you start early. I think I did after 2 weeks once milk supply was established.

SubtitlesOn · 26/11/2018 19:17

SWMNBN

GrinGrinGrinGrinGrinGrinGrinGrinGrin

Arealhumanbeing · 26/11/2018 19:19

A friend of my mine did. Everyone in the house gets their 8 hours and they have lovely days together.

The friends who didn’t? They don’t understand why everyone is miserable.

user1471592953 · 26/11/2018 19:27

I did with my two but the sleep/eat time ‘lite’ version.

Zebedee88 · 26/11/2018 19:30

We used it loosely...more as a guidance really.

frugalkitty · 26/11/2018 19:34

I did, she literally saved my sanity because she had a chapter that basically says if you can't (or don't want to) breastfeed you don't have to. I was on the verge of a breakdown and this felt I had permission to admit I was actually failing my baby because he just wasn't getting anywhere near enough food. Anyway, I used her book as a guide (didn't follow it to the letter) and within weeks he was feeding well, napping well and sleeping through from the dream feed. Used it with the next two as well, and for me it was fab. However, everyone is different and not everyone likes her (or any other 'experts') advice. I think with the first baby you just need to find something that gives you confidence in what you're doing, for me this was it (with a dose of the baby whisperer and my mother thrown in for good measure!)

citykat · 26/11/2018 20:01

It's like a confession! Yes I used it, loosely. Not feeding to sleep, differentiating day and night, routin. But not the crazy sheets thing, never missing an outing or visit to a cafe for it. A guide not a rule book!

Tinderb0x · 26/11/2018 20:05

Yes it was fab. Saved my sanity and made my 3 babies so much happier.

Nothininmenoggin · 26/11/2018 20:08

Please don't do GF method it's cruel and unnecessary. Responsive parenting helps calm a baby not ignoring them. Babies have no clue of how to manipulate you they cry for many reasons. A baby who is left to cry will have raised cortisol levels a hormone produced when stressed. This is not a good thing for the developing frontal lobes of their brains please research this as I'm not making this up. Their only means of communication is crying and they do it to get a response from a loving adult. Please never ignore your crying baby. God knows they are hard work but once they are relaxed and feel secure they will settle.

sar302 · 26/11/2018 20:20

I liked her ideas at the beginning, but realised her ideas around day time sleep were unrealistic very quickly. If you google "awake times" you'll find that the general consensus is that babies need a lot more sleep during the day than she says, and that if you keep them awake for her suggested times, you will end up with an overtired baby.

We switched to weebeedreaming.com at about 4 months and have had our baby in their routine (with some flexibility) ever since (he's coming up a year.) It's been a dream.

SusanWalker · 26/11/2018 20:26

I did but same as everyone else I used it more as a guide. I started when DS was eight weeks. I remember the first day I put him down for his morning nap and he looked at me as though to say 'thank fuck, you might finally have worked out how to do this '.

I didn't follow all the rules, although I followed the timings. But for his lunchtime nap i would put him in his pram and walk while he was sleeping, so he had plenty of fresh air and I lost a lot of my pregnancy weight.

I also didn't do CC. I would lie by his cot if he was upset and pat his back through the bars and usually that would be enough to soothe him. If it didn't i would take him out and give him a cuddle. But I found that following the timings meant he woke much less anyway.

I don't think I could have followed it religiously, but it was helpful.