I am trying the GF method for the first time with my 2nd child as had no routine with the first (now 4yrs old ) and the first 2 yrs were exhausting!! Can you use the core principles of her program eg nos of feeds, total daytime sleep hrs, 7am start etc with a certain level of flexibility as to when and the exact nos of hrs for each if the baby is very sleepy baby for example and still benefit from it or do you need to stick to it 100% for it to be effective - I feel eg at the moment by fighting to keep him awake (he is 2 weeks old) when he really wants to sleep is just adding to the whole pressure of it all and feels too much - any advise would be much appreciated

I am trying the GF method for the first time with my 2nd child as had no routine with the first (now 4yrs old ) and the first 2 yrs were exhausting!! Can you use the core principles of her program eg nos of feeds, total daytime sleep hrs, 7am start etc with a certain level of flexibility as to when and the exact nos of hrs for each if the baby is very sleepy baby for example and still benefit from it or do you need to stick to it 100% for it to be effective - I feel eg at the moment by fighting to keep him awake (he is 2 weeks old) when he really wants to sleep is just adding to the whole pressure of it all and feels too much - any advise would be much appreciated

I am trying the GF method for the first time with my 2nd child as had no routine with the first (now 4yrs old ) and the first 2 yrs were exhausting!! Can you use the core principles of her program eg nos of feeds, total daytime sleep hrs, 7am start etc with a certain level of flexibility as to when and the exact nos of hrs for each if the baby is very sleepy baby for example and still benefit from it or do you need to stick to it 100% for it to be effective - I feel eg at the moment by fighting to keep him awake (he is 2 weeks old) when he really wants to sleep is just adding to the whole pressure of it all and feels too much - any advise would be much appreciated

Cheat - use her ideas to get a routine that works for you. At 2 weeks my dd was doing far more than recommended slepp - but she soon woke up! At this young age I think the regular daytime feeds are more important than the sleep.

I agree with Prufrock. ds2 was 2.5weeks early and v sleepy post CS. I did try to persuade him to stay awake a little longer than he wanted at times by changing his nappy and tickling his toes and getting out the cold wet wipes, but when he wanted to sleep he just slept through all my best efforts. Trying to keep to the feeding times and the sleep does regulate after a while. I became more persistent when at 5-6 weeks ds2 wanted to be awake all night.

Hi,

Sorry to butt in but I'm a bit confused about something too. My second baby is due on the 17th Feb. I didn't use GF the first time. Anyway, if I'm reading it correctly it says feed every 3 hourly 6am to midnight from Day One. Does this mean that if the baby then sleeps through from midnight to 6am the first week that's alright?

She talks about the importance of night feeds from week two, but these aren't mentioned in week one? I have noticed, though, that from week two she's already reduced the daytime feeds by one in week two, so the total number of feeds is the same.

However, if by some miracle the baby does sleep midnight to six from week one, isn't it a bit backward to start waking it from week two? I'd be very interested to hear your comments.

TIA Carol x

cas - can't actually remeber what GF said, but I interpreted it as never to wake the baby between midnight and 6am. It is quite usual to have long periods of sleep, especially in cs babies. We stuck to her times during the day, then fed at night whenever dd woke up. HTH

Depends I think on how you are feeding. Remeber for breastfeeding feeding on demand is the way that most people recommend.

Fergy I stuck to GF religiously from when I came out of hosp when DD was hours old. To waken her during the day I changed a nappy, or wiped her face with some cold water and cotton wool. For 10-15 mins at a time! All to keep her awake.

cas1968 yes GF does say to feed 3 hourly to build up your milk supply. I didnt feed 3 hourly on first day, but went straight into GF routine and she tells us how to increase our milk supplies. If you have the energy to get up at 6 then do so, but GF routine is so gentle on us mummies that you may prefer to go straight to her routine and use one of her suggestions for increasing your milk when you have a bit more energy.

Good luck, I do want to know how it goes.

WOuld love to hear a bfc comment on this, are there any around?

Um, now okay I admit it has been over a year since I read the book, but I seem to remember GF being quite adamant that the routines shouldn't start until the baby was at least 2 weeks old and regained all the birth weight (with my ds this wasn't until 3 weeks).

Bit concerned that some are starting routines from birth as this surely would affect breastfeeding being properly established?

Have just checked - GF has a routine for a baby of a week, and there is nothing that says do not start until then,with the implication you start as soon as you can. Nothing about birthweight.

Babies normally need to wake in the night. I would ask a lot of Qs about a new baby who was going several hours. If everything is fine, then I would still be concerned...a one-off sleepathon is no big deal, but generally, successful bf is established by frequent, effective feeds, and that normally precludes any long stretches asleep. Waking a baby to feed is sometimes important - when babies sleep too long and feed too little, they lack the energy to wake. I have counselled many women who thought/were told their babies were 'good' because they didn't wake up....and their babies have ended up in a crisis situation.

GF does say to wake them at 10 and then they tend to wake in the night also. No where does she say it is a good thing to let them sleep.

The night feed gets dropped only when the baby is ready, hence the importance of following her routine closely throughout the day to make sure the baby gets enough milk.

The idea of a longer spell at night is - I thought - to let the mothers rest, and so ensure a good milk supply.

Right got to go and wake baby who is sneaking a non-scheduled nap and should be feeding right now.

That's odd - my book only has routines from 2 weeks onwards and recommends (on p85) while discussing the night feeds "A newborn baby should never be allowed to go longer than three to four hours between feeds during the day, and no longer than four to five hours during the night. Once your baby has regained his birth weight and has a regular weight gain of 6-8oz each week, you can wait until he wakes in the night."

Mine is copyright 1999 would be interested to hear which edition you have.

Mine copyright 2002 - come on get with it GeorginaA - you are so last season!!

Bah, grin.

Sorry, reread my previous post and it came across more abruptly than I intended! Hope no offence was taken.

My book starts with a routine for a BF baby at week one, so I started on the routine then too.

I didnt do feeding from 6 as we didnt need it, baby was gaining weight daily. After the 10/11pm feed I did another feed when baby woke up, usually around 3. (If you look at GF 1st and 2nd week routines they are practically 3 hourly anyhow - give or take)

If a baby is prem there is no way you should follow GF routine until they are at an acceptable weight and feeding well.

Hi,

Thanks for so many replies!! I have the 2002 version which says (for breastfeeding):

p45 "During the first few days, between 6am and midnight, wake your baby every three hours for short feeds..........All my mothers who establish three-hourly feeds in the hospital find that by the end of the first week a pattern has emerged, and then very quickly they can adapt their baby's feeding pattern to my first routine."

P126 has a Routine for a breastfeeding baby at one week, which suggests feed times of 7am, 10-11.15am, 2pm, 5pm, 6.15pm, 10-11.15pm, plus a nightfeed at either 2.30am or 3.30am depending on the baby's birth weight.

Hope this is of interest. It's not surprising we are all confused if GF has changed her mind too - lol!

Ok so this isn't what you are talking about at the moment but...

My favourite line in a's books is "settle the drowsy baby" - where do you get one of them from.

Despite my sarcasm I found her book invaluable as a new mum as I didn't have a clue what I was meant to be doing when.

When I do have a second baby I doubt I would follow her routines except for from time to time if I thought that things were going a bit awry with my own homegrown routines since I think I let her routine dominate to the detriment of me enjoying my baby.

I was so relieved to find this site. I am a first time mum. I have a 10wk old daughter and have been following the routines since she was about 3 wks old. A friend living in the UK recommended the book to me (I am in Australia - where I don't seem to be able to find many people using it) - hence my relief.

My problem is that we moved states when she was about 7wks and she has been out of routine ever since. I wake her at 7 every morning and the morning goes ok, however she cannot stay awake longer than about an hour and a half at the most - not the 2hrs - and then only wants to sleep for 45 mins to an hour - which means she wants to feed even earlier - so the rest of the day does not follow the routines. I have been letting her sleep and feed whenever she likes, but trying to keep as close as possible to the routines. I manage to settle her about 7-8pm then wake her for the 10pm feed and she sleeps through until 7-7.30.

Has anyone else experienced this? Generally she is happy but can get very unsettled in the afternoon early evening. Should I leave her to continue on this way or is there anyway to get her back on track with Gina's routine?
Sorry a bit long winded.

Unfortunately her lunch time nap is the 45 mins - 1 hour at the most - then she wants to be up feeding again!!