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Parenting

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Original poster

Anyone tried Gina Ford?

52 replies

VixiTrix · 09/12/2012 23:26

Hello!!

Has anyone out there tried Gina Ford routines? They are quite rigid but I was thinking about adapting them a bit but still following the principles. Has anyone's else done that and how long did it take for your little ones to get used to it?

Vixi

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

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TheDailyWail · 09/12/2012 23:37

Yes, I do believe that it is quite possible that someone, possibly quite a few people have tried her method before.

I hope that answers your question.

Tolly81 · 10/12/2012 00:21

No - I just thought life is too short to spend time with a new baby clock watching. Also, there is now mounting medical evidence that rigid routines (especially feeding to a schedule) actually make babies cry more - the British Medical Journal published a review on excessive crying in infants and found that feeding to schedule rather than on demand (breast or formula fed) causes increased crying. If you are breast feeding then feeding to a schedule is an absolute no no as will affect your supply.
I think most of these routine type books give you unrealistic ideas about how early you can expect babies to be sleeping through - young babies should be waking up at night pretty often to feed. You'll find that if you don't feed to schedule the rest of the schedule goes out the window!

SaintNiChaolas · 10/12/2012 00:23

Gosh, no!

I flicked through her book, but when I saw she wanted me to wake PFB after 3/4 hour sleep in the day, i think I said "Fuck that!" quite loudly in the middle of WAterstones, and skammed it back on the shelf, sharpish.

Never looked back.

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lisad123 · 10/12/2012 00:25

You aren't allowed to mention her name on here, she is known as "she who cannot be named".

Be prepared for this post to kick off or be quickly deleted

lisad123 · 10/12/2012 00:28

For those that don't know, miss GF tried to sue MN due to comments made by posters which she didn't like.

here

SaintNiChaolas · 10/12/2012 00:29

That photo never fails to raise a grin form me, lisad.

lisad123 · 10/12/2012 00:32

For fear of getting sued I can't suggest what she looks like in that picture but will say she might get a job in criminal minds as an un sub

ChristmasInTheSnowsBest · 10/12/2012 00:41

i tried with dc1 and spent a tearful week battling with him and sleep deprivation. all 3 dcs have survived without her routines. They just made for a very tired and stressed mum and baby delete me incase GF is lurking. I have nothing worth suing for

Narked · 10/12/2012 01:14

You can mention her. No-one's going to go ballistic.

SaintNiChaolas · 10/12/2012 01:33

Very good, Narked.

Narked · 10/12/2012 01:35

HughFearnlyShittingFuck · 10/12/2012 01:36

lol at the un sub

Startail · 10/12/2012 01:36

One of my nct group got a GF type routine to work for her, but she is an organised routine liking sort of person.

l´m not. DD1 isn't either.

DD2 might be with a different Mother except for wanting to BF all day.

HughFearnlyShittingFuck · 10/12/2012 01:38

MN is like a boat - don't rocket

OperaGirl · 10/12/2012 02:22

Yes our DD is on an adapted GF routine and has been from very young. I don't let her cry without comforting her and we do use rocking and other sleep props, which she says she's against. I also don't agree with her view on doing everything to the exact minute. I found that that having the same routine for her every day helped us as well as her and I credit this to her sleeping through the night , 7.30pm to 7am every night bar 5 from 8 weeks old and she's 6 months next week. I think the key is to adapt the book to suit you and your family. Another key thing is that if she was hungry or needed a nap I let her and we broke the routine for that feed or nap but then went straight back onto it for the next part of the routine. Listen to your gut, if it feels right for you give it a try.

Tolly81 · 10/12/2012 02:52

Remember GF never actually had any children of her own which was kind of the nail in the coffin for me - bad enough telling people what to do with their kids if you've had them, even worse if you haven't! She was a nanny for mums who went back to work with very young babies
I believe. There's nothing wrong with having a rout it of routine - day is for playtime, night is for sleeping etc. But it really is unrealistic to expect very young babies to sleep through and completely incompatible with breastfeeding. These books are basically shamelessly anti breastfeeding. Personally, I'd love to take GF on . I'd love to hear what she has to say about the British Medical Journal review. Gina - are you there love???

OperaGirl · 10/12/2012 03:33

Just wanted to add that DD is exclusively breastfed and that i've not only had no issues with milk supply whilst on the GF routines but my DD has stayed in the 75% for weight. We started a loose routine at 4 weeks. I recorded all her naps and feeds during this time and then adapted GF to fit the pattern that emerged from this. As I said, DD slept through from 8 weeks, with me having no supply issues at all and she's a happy, very health little girl.

notcitrus · 10/12/2012 04:31

Some babies will roughly follow her routines from the start. Mine didn't, and where GF really falls down is it doesn't say what to do if you put your baby down for a nap say and they just cry - it's implied you let them scream a full hour or more which I wasn't doing. Also no tips on how to wake a fast asleep baby - ds was impossible to wake and even nursery still report at age 4 he's fallen asleep despite poking every 5 mins.

I chucked it across the room in tears when ds was 3 weeks, decided to just cart him where I went and feed and change as needed and never looked back. SIL found her v useful with her ds, but later her dd had other ideas. All the women I met at baby weighing or in breastfeeding rooms in tears were trying to follow it and felt like failures - I suggested not following it and all 6 over a year looked hugely relieved.

It's useful just for the sample routine charts for older babies and toddlers, but the rest of it needs huge disclaimers on it, explanation that it does mean leaving a baby to cry for hours which is against medical advice, and generally the tone taken that if your baby doesn't sleep etc it's your fault is just horrible.

Fairylea · 10/12/2012 06:06

I followed it with dd now aged nine and thought it was amazing - she was sleeping 7-7 from about 9 weeks. I also had terrible pnd and didn't have a clue what to do with a baby in all honesty so I found the routine comforting.

But when I had ds 6 months ago he literally would not settle for the set naps at all.. he went a record 12 hours at 6 week's with NO daytime sleep despite me trying everything! I then realised it wasn't going to work.... ! I think it works for certain types of very easy going babies.

However, some of it I have taken onboard. I never let ds sleep more than 3 hours in total during the day and I have a very set bedtime.routine..bath, bottle by the bed ...bblacked out room, no talking at night etc.

Ds slept through 5-5 (he's decided 5 is bedtime... groan!) from about 9 weeks.

Never had sleep regressions etc.

Fairylea · 10/12/2012 06:08

I'm also not too sure it matters that she doesn't have her own children... lots of midwives etc don't and we still trust them. Same with supernanny for example.

Rosa · 10/12/2012 06:12

I was given it read it and binned it..Diddn't even offer to pass on. I liked the Baby whisperer better and although diddn't stick to it exactly I found it much more logical and adaptable. Tracey ????

JakeBullet · 10/12/2012 06:16

HughFearnleySittingDuck "MN is like a boat, don't rocket"

Genius

To the OP, I was given a copy of this book in pregnancy and thought I'd try it (gives hollow laugh), I am the most disorganised person ever and just could not follow or even adapt it. Then again DS had huge feeding issues which made a difference.

I have been a HV and have heard mothers absolutely swear by it and say it saved their sanity. I have also seen mothers in the depths of despair; not from PND but because they could not get their baby to follow the routine.

I'd say if you are going to do it then adapt it to suit your baby and you. If it works for you both then great. If it doesn't work for you then remember it just doesn't suit your baby and move on....it's not you or your baby that failed, the routine simply didn't suit you.

BellaOfTheBalls · 10/12/2012 06:16

I was given it and after 4 days of tears (mine & DS1's) my DH made me throw it out.

Turns out I'm better at attachment parenting anyway.

toomuchchristmaspudding · 10/12/2012 06:19

I have been following the advice of she who cannot be named and it has worked brilliantly. The trick is, to use the bits that apply to you, but ditch the rest. The best tip was to ensure that you empty the breast when you are feeding, rather than letting your baby graze all day. Also, to institute a good routine. We are a bit slack with this, but always ensure that DD is in bed for 9 pm. We don't do controlled crying as I think it's cruel, but when she used to cry we would put a dummy in her mouth, pat her, sing to her, play Classic FM... anything really, but we would not get her out of her cot.

She gradually dropped one night feed, then the other, and now sleeps from 9 pm to 8 am.

Oh, and one thing I did was to give her a big bottle of Hungry Baby formula before putting her to bed at night, and this helped her sleep, I believe. She is breastfed the rest of the time.

Glittertwins · 10/12/2012 06:31

Yes for ideas but no to strict following otherwise I would have lost my sanity and never got out the house ie just as toomuch has said above. When I read the bit about when I should have breakfast I just laughed and said "yeah right!"

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