Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Food/recipes

For related content, visit our food content hub.

Flip

Original poster

Has anyone had a Gina Ford consultation?

16 replies

Bridgetjonesasamum · 01/05/2012 08:42

Hi I was wondering if anyone had had a one to one consultation with Gina Ford and what it was like. My dd is 19 months and barely eating anything, she's v skinny and tall. She has lots of energy and is developmentally fine but she has been quite irritable recently and isn't sleeping well. I try and relax about it but I do give her alternatives. However my husband is a lot more stressed and it's creating a lot of tension between us - there's a lot of pressure from the in laws who seem to have all had perfect toddlers without strong characters, and who eat and sleep well. I worry about the long term impact of the pressure and lack of nutrition/low weight gain. I'm also 7 months pregnant and would like to try to improve things for her before no 2 arrives. I've looked at a few specialists and Gina Ford has offered to help over the phone (obv at a cost). I need to know what dd needs to eat to be healthy, how to try to introduce new things, what to do when she eats nothing for days/how to get her to sleep thro then, and for my husband to hear this (he's not good at reading any of the books or advice online!)

OP posts:

RillaBlythe · 01/05/2012 08:49

have you been in touch with your sure start centre? Ours offers a nutritionist there.

DaisySteiner · 01/05/2012 08:49

Yes I did, about 10 years ago now It was awful, really terrible advice and I wish I'd saved myself the money and my baby the heartache. This was for a very young baby, maybe it would be different for an older child. When you say 'specialist', bear in mind that what GF has is experience, which I'm not knocking, but afaik she has no training whatsoever. WRT the sleeping, she will tell you to leave her to cry at some stage. If you're happy to do that then fair enough, but be aware that it is likely to form a fair bit of her 'advice'.

TBH I think you'd be far better posting on MN and asking for advice. I know all the different opinions can be confusing, but at least it's free and you can pick and choose what works for you. Have a read of something by Tanya Byron too, I really like the advice she gives.

BloooCowWonders · 01/05/2012 09:57

Agree that you get huge amounts of free advice here on MM. I really don't think shelling out loads of money for GF is a good idea. I've heard health visitors (good ones I respect) say that she's responsible for more PND than any other thing.
Op, please don't think about getting things 'fixed' before your new baby arrives. It seems that your family is particularly unsupportive of your situation. There must be lots of ideas for dealing with that (post in relationships) as wellas getting advice (behaviour/ development) about your daughter

SeventhEverything · 01/05/2012 10:00

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

JiltedJohnsJulie · 02/05/2012 10:13

Poor you, sounds like you've really got it tough. I haven't had a GF consultation for 2 reasons (and this is just my personal preference), GF hasn't had children and not all of her information is evidence based. There is lots of help on eating and sleep on MN, but if I was going to pay I a Consultant I would prefer to choose one who was a parent and gave out evidence based information.

As for your DDs eating, get this book and get your DH to read it too. If he's so stressed out about it and wants change then he should be doing something about it too and this book is a good start.

You could also try giving her 6 small meals a day instead of 3 big ones. It sounds like a bit of a faff but a few friends have tried it and found their DC eat more during the day and sleep better at night.

When you say she doesn't sleep well, how often does she wake? Is it really a problem or is DH's reaction causing the stress? You may want to get this book too. We used it with DS and it helped loads.

Dr Sears has got some great evidence based information on sleep too. Have a look at foods that help you sleep, how much sleep does my child need?, best bedtime snacks, this one is fab and will probably be helpful for your new LO too 31 ways to get your baby to sleep and stay asleep and finally have a read of this, and get DH to read it too before you part with any hard earned cash .

JiltedJohnsJulie · 02/05/2012 10:17

Agree with second on Dr Tanya Byron too. She's fab .

HuggyPomBear · 03/05/2012 23:15

There are a 2 famous child experts in the press a fair bit who both look like they need to follow their nutritional advice and the lady you are thinking of approaching is one of them....

What do you generally make your DD food wise? When she does not eat, could you give her a haliborange supplement so she's getting the vitamins? Does she have milk or formula?

What's your mealtime routine? How does your DD fit into this? Does she help you cook? My DD is the same age and I'd be happy to share some successful recipes with you if you like.

JiltedJohnsJulie · 04/05/2012 12:10

There are a 2 famous child experts in the press a fair bit who both look like they need to follow their nutritional advice and the lady you are thinking of approaching is one of them.... not seen a recent picture of GF but know who you are referring too with the other one. Always makes me laugh when she is offering nutritional advice on the telly. Perhaps her house hasn't got a mirror?

HuggyPomBear · 04/05/2012 12:15

Or she does not see herself on tv. Mind you, the camera does add 10lbs [saucer of milk for me].

lisad123 · 04/05/2012 12:17

Save yourself the money and ask on here

ReallyTired · 04/05/2012 12:20

Please, there are far better qualified people that you could approach. That are a lot cheaper. If you are going to pay to see some then surely a qualified child nutrionist is a better bet or maybe pay for a specialist sleep clinic.

Have you asked your own health visitor or the children? There is quite a lot out there that is free.

JiltedJohnsJulie · 04/05/2012 12:38

How are you getting on now Bridget?

cantmakecarrotcake · 06/05/2012 19:41

Agree with JJJ that the 'My Child Won't Eat' book is worth getting.

My 15 month DD is a terrible eater and although the book doesn't address the range of foods a child will eat, it does help you relax about how much they eat. If you're offering food (with alternatives she likes) then she's going to eat what she wants/needs. Speaking from experience that's a really hard thing to accept, but it also points out in the book that from 1 yr babies can eat less than they used to as they're not growing at such a fast rate.

The irritablility and sleep thing combined with low appetite usually turns out to be a cold or ear infection coming in our house.

Some children will always be small or skinny. It's how they're programmed. Don't let other peoples' expectations pressurise you into thinking your DD isn't normal. She's normal for her and that's all that matters. You'll stress everyone out trying to change her.

Hope it all works out and you enjoy the rest of your pregnancy.

Newmummy9 · 08/05/2019 15:59

I know this is too late for hr current poster but I was searching for this before I booked a consultation. Anyway, I have now had a consultation- have mixed feelings. Happy to answer any questions from anyone thinking of booking one

llamawearingasombrero · 15/05/2019 19:05

Please don't ask Gina. I thought she vanished years ago . Not to sound mean or anything but maybe your child just does not like your food? 🤔

CottonSock · 05/06/2019 17:05

Gina Ford won't be able to make your child eat. Ask your hv for referral to nutrition instead if worried.

Flip