Any success stories using Gina Ford with a BF baby?

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Hi there,
I know many people have their views on Gina and appreciate that however I'm interested can it work with BF babies.
I did Gina successfully with my DS who was bottle fed. Please no negativity.

I'm not sure I know what the gina ford method is, can you explain?

A good friend of mine did it with both her two bf babies (3 years apart) and swore by it. I remember her saying she started about 6-8 weeks old because she just wanted to get bf established in the first few weeks. And she had to 'help' keep them asleep for some of the longer naps (walking, rocking etc) at first but then it worked really well for her. So much so that I borrowed the book and tried with mine. Well, I say tried -I looked at the routine she was aiming for and looked at what my non -compliant baby was up to and couldn't see any way to square the circle so gave up again a couple of days later! And mine by then was mainly ff. My mate is very disciplined and determined and it worked really well for her. Good luck!

It is extremely unlikely you will be able to breastfeed for long using Gina Ford. For successful milk production it is recommended you feed on demand which is completely contrary to GFs method. I never understand treating babies like Robots but each to their own I guess

It is highly unlikely to be of any use to you in the early months. Your baby probably will not go three hours between feeds or take a two hour nap in the afternoon. Even bottle fed babies often don't slot into that sort of routine.no disagree with gf on a lot of things however I found her toddler routine useful. With a newborn I think it works best if you go with the flow

I did it with both DCs, bf until 12mo, and still had a life, got out and about etc. It suited the kind of person I am, I like schedules and lists! I was slightly more relaxed with DC2 as it was impossible to stick to it completely with an older toddler to consider but I still followed the general spirit of it.

Yes, I did it with both my children and they were both breastfed till 8 months and weaned onto solids. They settled into the routine well.

I had to be sure that I had given my babies a proper feed though i.e. not just enough to take the edge of the hunger for an hour. I would wind them and then "re-offer". This meant, for me, I would have to be in a place where I could comfortably sit for a good stretch of time, but then it would buy us a good 3 hr window in which we could get out of the house and enjoy the day.

It can work, so good luck.

I'd agree with others that you need to establish breastfeeding first if you really want it to work. Then it will totally depend on your lo, DD wouldn't have tolerated such a routine but DS was almost in that routine of his own anyway and I'm sure would have done it if I'd been so inclined. Just don't beat yourself up if it doesn't work.

I think you've got to be prepared for a) baby to not like it and not want to fit into the set pattern your trying to fit them into or b) have to stop breastfeeding as your supply may drop if your not feeding enough (this isn't a given but can happen with some mums). If you have no flexibility with breastfeeding then at certain growth spurt times you could struggle.

I think you have to realize that breastfeeding really isn't just about feeding your baby and doesn't work in the same way as giving a bottle so it's hard to just put them on the same sort of routine unless that is what they chose to do.

Ps, when I say I was more relaxed with DC2, I don't mean that I found it stressful, just that I had to, by necessity, be more relaxed about timings sometimes.

I used her routines for dc1 quite successfully (didn't start til 4.5 months in though) and he bf for just over a year - he easily fell into the timings of it all but was a baby who liked to have a good/long feed
dc2 tried a bit earlier but he was having none of it and was more of a little and often feeder so just fed on demand and loosily followed the sleep timings. bf for just over a year
dc3 again a little and often bfer so just fed on demand, tried to loosily follow sleep timings but she is having none of it so we are just going with flow! still bf at 11 months sleeping 1/1.5 hrs in morn and 1/1.5 hrs early avo.
So my surmise is that it totally depends on your baby, some babies 'fit' into her routines quite easily with no stress and some don't.
but I would add that although iv nothing against her and have used her routines I wouldn't listen to her bf advice as she is not a bf specialist.
in order to establish bf successfully you need to feed on demand (pumping is not as efficient as baby)

I sort if did it with ds. But he was an amazing feeder. Fed til he was full to overflowing and then didn't ask for food for 3 hours, then wanted feeding 3 hours on the dot! I struggled to get him to nap and following her nap routine worked for him.

dd1 would never have done it, and it would have killed us both trying.

dd2 had to fit around 2 older siblings, and GF doesn't work if you have to do school runs etc!

Yes, I followed GF and breast fed and it worked very well for us - I started immediately we bought our baby home from hospital (where, incidentally, it had been hard to establish breast feeding ) - it may have been 'luck', it may have been the 'routine' - who knows?

But I rarely comment on it now as a) GF is so unpopular here and b) it was over 13 years ago and I have now moved on to teenage issues .

Incidentally, my DS was and has always been a 'fantastic' sleeper - I can honestly say I have never had a disturbed night . Perhaps I will now he is into his teenage years .

Thank you all for the advice. I did start today. Feeding times have worked out fantastic, morning nap clockwork, lunch and afternoon nap totally off schedule lol!
How did you get your babies to sleep in the day? Mine is fighter! X

I was very lucky - put DS in his cot (in his own room - which is frowned on by most mumsnetters) and he fell asleep. He was still napping when he went to playschool in the mornings, home at 1pm for lunch - slept from 2pm-4pm and then bed at 7pm. Bliss . Once or twice he actually slept from 1pm right though to the next morning.

All three my kids are GF babies. I struggled with breastfeeding ( had to switch to FF eventually but this was nothing to do with GF) - but still found working towards the routines very helpful.

All 3 were sleeping 10:30pm-7 by 6months. I have many friends for whom bf & GF worked well too.

(as an aside the difference ff made to me was mainly to relieve my own mental and physical agony!! otherwise my comparative experience was the same. When I was bf, I expressed and my husband therefore sometimes could do feeds.)

The routines are basically a structure you're aiming for, not a straitjacket which determines your every basic thought as has often been suggested.

Even with my three I worked differently within the routines, sometimes because of our circumstances (school runs etc) ; sometimes because of the baby's specific needs/temperament (dd1 eczema, struggled to bf; dd2 brilliant sleeper almost immediately; dd3 slllloooowww feeder + 2 older sibs).

Another important thing to remember is that it takes time to settle into something - so if naptime (for example) doesn't work on one or two or even three days, keep persevering.

Last thing: if you're happy that what you're doing works for you and your baby & family it helps alot to stick things out when they get tough (as they will; such is parenting).

I was not a strict Gina Ford follower but liked her advice and guidance on a few things (not everything). I used the feeding times and nap times as a guide and my bf son just fell into them anyway. I made sure he didn't fall asleep after a few minutes when feeding by blowing on his face etc. so he always got a full feed. I think if you have a baby that snacks rather than a full feed or has reflux you may struggle but my son fell into the routine without any or very little help.