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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

gina ford routine. help!!

61 replies

jodie1984 · 30/08/2005 16:06

hi my 8wk old ds has been on the gina ford routine for 1wk it is going well except for the 2.30 feed, he is not interested at all which throws the rest of the day out.
any suggestions welcome.

OP posts:
stacijc · 30/08/2005 16:17

apart from chuck the book in the bin and start again by what ur baby wants???

i know her routines have been the saviour of ppl but personally i think that they are a tad on the strict side.

Mum2girls · 30/08/2005 16:20

Agree with stacijc - babies are designed for a one-style-suits-all. He's very young, can't you just go with the flow?

LittleMissNaughty · 30/08/2005 16:22

I think 8 weeks is a bit young to get the baby into a routine. I waited until about 3 months. At this age, you really need to let them dictate when they want to be fed.

Original poster
jodie1984 · 30/08/2005 16:22

i was doing that but all he did was cry all the time!! i have a partner but he isnt very helpfull, i was soo tired i wanted to try anything and everything

OP posts:
stacijc · 30/08/2005 16:27

ds1 settled very quickly but ds2 took ages and ages to settle. hes still not in a proper routine and hes 5 months. It gets easier tho as you adjust i promise.
theres no point making the rest of the day miserable because babs didn't want to be fed at 2

Nik72 · 30/08/2005 16:30

No practical advice but don't feel bad about using GF if it suits you & your baby. I used it from 3 months but didn't follow it strictly, just took ideas from it that seemed to suit dd & ignored the bits that didn't (like getting up at 7am!!!).

Original poster
jodie1984 · 30/08/2005 16:33

so i should feed him when he is hungry and put him to bed when he is tired???
should i wake him if he has slep for a long time during the day????
it quite alkward i live with my partners mum and dad 3 of us are in the 1 room and we cant really use the living room as it is too noisey (they have 4 parrots!!!!)
he is also addicted to a dummy is that a bad thing??
sorry for all the questions but i want to do it right.

OP posts:
mumtosomeone · 30/08/2005 16:38

my opinion..go with what your baby wants..does Gina Ford know your baby personally?
Who wants text book children!!
Throw away the book, relax and enjoy your baby, he will settle into his own little routine in time!

mumtosomeone · 30/08/2005 16:39

feed him when he his hungry change him when he is dirty/wet. Let him sleep when he is tired!!

LittleMissNaughty · 30/08/2005 16:45

Why don't you try and call Gina Ford? There is a number at the back of the book.

WigWamBam · 30/08/2005 16:49

Jodie, the problem with text books is that your ds can't read them so doesn't know when he's next meant to perform. You can't force a baby to eat if he's not hungry, and you can't force him to sleep if he's not tired - no matter how necessary the books tell you it is.

Feed him when he's hungry, let him sleep when he's tired, let him play when he's alert and lively, and you'll soon find a routine that suits him and you. Don't worry about him being "addicted" to a dummy it at this stage - he's only little and the dummy gives him comfort when you can't.

You sound so stressed by trying to "get it right" and be the "perfect" mother that you're not enjoying him as much as you could. Relax ... this is such a short stage of his life and there's no point running yourself ragged to try and make it "perfect".

Original poster
jodie1984 · 30/08/2005 16:52

thankyou all soo much, you dont understand how grateful i am to just have someone listen.
hes just having a play on his mat and then we're going for a walk before his bath.
i really do mean it thankyou.

OP posts:
Nickyfen · 30/08/2005 17:31

Hi, I used Gina Ford but very loosely, as i found it very restricting....my ds refused to sleep as long as she suggested in the afternoons, was 2.5 hours between feeds instead of 3 etc etc. my advise is - her routines do work - so stick with it, but realise that your baby also has his own opinion on what he wants to do, so just try and relax and go with it a bit

RachD · 30/08/2005 17:52

Don't give up on GF Jodie.
I did a rough version of it and it worked like a treat.
Some people like routines and think they are good for babies, some do not.

But if it is basically working for you, and then goes a bit sque-wiffy, do not panic.

Just adapt a little bit and your lovely ds will sort it out for you.

Keep going my love !!

icklelulu · 30/08/2005 19:18

My DS used to cry alot at that age and seemed permanatly attatched to my boob or asleep! I never woke him up if he was asleep for a long time because they will wake when ready & feed when they r hungry! Basically they do whatever they want whenever they want!!!This time of crying and constant hunger will pass and u will wonder where the time has gone. It is good when they start to get into things as they can then amuse themselves so dont seem to cry so much, thats wot I found with my DS anyway!
Goodluck Im sure you're doing a great job

Feffi · 30/08/2005 19:22

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

bakedpotato · 30/08/2005 19:36

Jodie, I'm a big fan of GF... but then I am an organisational nut. I am also prepared to sell my soul for a good night's sleep and as little crying as possible.
But even I would agree that babies are much more elastic than GF gives them credit for (eg both of my babies have needed a fair bit more daytime sleep than GF advises). You're still in the tough stage, but each week will get easier, honest, and in fact it sounds as if things have already started to get easier for you since starting on the routine. Don't be distressed if DS busts the schedule now and again. It really won't have much of a knock-on as long as you stick to the basics.

stramash · 30/08/2005 22:39

Jodie - I started GF with dd1 at about 8 weeks because despite constant feeding she just screamed all the time ( in retrospect she was knackered but I just kept trying to feed her when she was really tired). The useful bits I took from it were that a small baby will usually get tired after 2 hours of being awake and that it's helpful if babies can go to sleep without the "wrong" sleep associations.Also used it with dd2 and found it helpful. That said, neither of them fed at the exact times she suggested, would never sleep for 2 hours at lunchtime ( i didn't try to force them)and were cuddled to sleep if they wouldn't settle themselves after about 10 minutes.The routine is not the be all and end all ( the point is to make having a baby easier) and there is no point in getting yourself and your ds stressed about sticking rigidly to timings etc at such an early age. I would take what you want from it and adapt it - each day will be different and they really are tiny for a very short time. Sounds like you're doing fine & in tricky circumstances too. Good Luck!

xstitchmum · 30/08/2005 23:09

you know I would go with your own routine and see how it goes, I prefer feeding by demand, its hard at first but when you get the hang of it...so does baby and you soon naturally develop your own feeding routine.

RachD · 30/08/2005 23:13

Most of your routine is just fine.
No need to swing completely in the other direction.
Just a bit of adjustment, is needed.

mummyoffour · 30/08/2005 23:30

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

RachD · 30/08/2005 23:34

Jodie said that the GF routine was working very well, apart from the one glitch.

So if something is basically working well, just needs a bit of adjustment, thats hardly mathematical.

mummyoffour · 30/08/2005 23:38

well the GF routine to me certainly sounds like hard work and if we have to talk about our little ones feeding routines in such a manner then yes it does sound mathmaticial to me.

RachD · 30/08/2005 23:45

Have you read it ?
Do you know anything about it at all ?
Or are you just passing comment on something you know nothing about ?

Structured routine may not be ideal to you.
But it works for many, many people.

How do you explain that ?
Are you suggesting that they are deliberatly making life hard work for themselves, on purpose ?

RachD · 30/08/2005 23:48

The post started with a Jodie saying that routine was basically working for her.
She was happy with it.
But there was a glitch.

Yet lots of mn's post saying no routine, no routine.

Did they not read her question properly ??