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Original poster

Gina Ford followers??

23 replies

Louise85 · 16/03/2013 16:36

I know she is not the most popular for some people, but followed routine for dd, and at nearly 3 she still sleeps 7-7 (and has done since 5/6 mnths old), so want to follow it with ds (now 8 weeks), but finding it hard with dummy,school run etc.....so anyone out there that has followed her routines for 2nd/3rd child??

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

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user12785 · 16/03/2013 16:37

Um, I think posts about her are banned on here...

Original poster

Louise85 · 16/03/2013 16:38

oh dear...

OP posts:

ScillyCow · 16/03/2013 16:39

Louise, you may find that your second baby needs something different - not least to fit in with your differently-shaped family!

Probably the sleeping had nothing to do with GF. I have DTs, followed their own routine - at 3 months one was sleeping 8 - 7, the other didn't do that until 8 months.

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SueDunome · 16/03/2013 17:15

Well obviously you need to lock yourself and your dcs in the house and not go anywhere at all (forget school) so that you can follow the routine.

Alternatively, you could just go with the flow and I'm sure your baby will soon fit in happily with your family life.

Congratulations and enjoy your family. Life's too short for strict routines.

Original poster

Louise85 · 16/03/2013 20:23

Yup, you are probably all right - been going with the flow for a while and its not killing me, so will just carry on like we are for a while...

OP posts:

MatalanMadness · 16/03/2013 20:30

I followed GF for both of mine, it saved my sanity. I bought this book and whilst had to do it more loosely than I did it the first time it worked well for me.

Going with the flow might work for some, but it doesn't work for others, just like everything else in life there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

For me, roughly following a routine was great, I certainly didn't lock myself and my babies in the house SueDunome

akaemmafrost · 16/03/2013 20:40

I don't think they're banned, just very closely monitored .

Roseformeplease · 16/03/2013 20:44

Sorry, really hate these inflexible routines that are about the mother's needs, rather than the baby's. We just did what worked and what worked changed all the time, with each child being different.

Chocolateporridge · 16/03/2013 20:44

I think she has a "Contented Baby & Toddler" book out, I loved her "Contented Little Baby" book, like you, it saved my sanity, so I would get the second book if I ever have another dc. I think the routines are slightly adapted.

Jamdoughnutfiend · 16/03/2013 20:47

I used the contented baby and toddler book with my 2nd after doing it with DD1, was fantastic and worked jut as well for DD2 - really recommend!

MatalanMadness · 16/03/2013 20:58

Roseforme That's just it though, you did what worked for you, GF is what worked for me. It changed all the time too, the routine naturally evolves as baby grows and also once you find what works for you for the current phase/stage you can tweak the routine to suit your family best.

Surely the most important thing is for each family to find what works for them. For some that's attachment parenting, for others it's going with the flow, for others it's a routine. Does it matter?

debbie1412 · 17/03/2013 07:45

4 more weeks and you'll see a routine develop of its own. We are now 19 wks and dc2 is going down by 7.30. Things naturally sorted itself out from 12 wks x

MrsShrek3 · 17/03/2013 07:50

shit you're brave posting a thread with GF in the title on here

CitrusyOne · 17/03/2013 07:57

We do a bedtime routine only for dd and have done since she was about three weeks old. Bath, feed, bed. It's settled down to start at about 6:30pm, although if we know she's tired we'll start earlier and there's no panic if we start later. At first it took her a while to settle to sleep, and there were nights she was still awake at 11pm. Other nights she would cluster feed (she's ebf) and would miss bathtime altogether. We vowed we'd just start afresh the next night and see how things went. Within about three weeks she was asleep by 7:30-8:00 reliably.

She still wakes a couple of times in the night for feeds, and I have no issue with that at all, but she generally wakes for the day somewhere between 7am and 8:30am.

I don't do any kind of routine at all in the daytime- I'm led by her- well, and me if there's something I want to do, but she eats when she's hungry, sleeps when she's tired and plays when she wants to. Oh, and I express milk when I want to as well

KLou111 · 17/03/2013 20:48

Louise, there are some suggestions in her Contented toddler book with regards how to cope with a baby and a toddler. HTH x

Snowfedup · 18/03/2013 12:39

If you look on baby centre website there is a gf forum with lots of helpful advice and none of the snidey comments !

Original poster

Louise85 · 18/03/2013 20:16

Thanks everyone - I am a routine freak, love them and think kids thirve on them as well...will look into the baby centre website, but things are going well :-)

OP posts:

bbface · 19/03/2013 08:43

i am always a bit baffled by GF threads.
GF advocates seem open minded, non critical, basically nice.
Anti GF seem critical, superior and snide.

probably due to sleep deprivation!!

OP, i suggest you buy the gf baby and toddler book. as i write this, my newborn is breastfeeding whilst i flick through it. Her routine worked like a dream for my first, and at 2.7 he still sleeps 7 to 8 and we are all so happy and chilled for it.
good luck xx

patandjess · 21/03/2013 13:24

bbface - quite!

I've followed GF (with a few tweaks) for all 3 of mine (youngest now 5 months) and it has worked every time. There is nothing worse than a crying baby and you don't know whether he/she is crying due to tiredness, hunger or something else. A routine cuts out the guesswork. You do have to be a bit flexible with 2nd and 3rd babies if you have school/nursery runs, and accept that the daytime sleeps can go a bit awry... But you should find that if you follow the feeding and sleeping times as much as you can, your baby will end up pretty chilled and flexible anyway. Even if I have a really random day due to school runs/parties/play dates etc. I find that the baby still sleeps through because he is so used to doing it. If you are used to following the routine then you should find common sense will tell you what to do if you have to tweak. Good luck!

CoteDAzur · 21/03/2013 13:30

bbface - If you were on MN back in 2006 (or possibly even read any newspapers around that time), you would know why there is so much negativity towards the GF name around here.

Lindy123 · 22/03/2013 18:22

My friend the mother of twins was told to follow GF by her health visitor when she was not coping with the whole Breast feeding of twins and them not sleeping and gaining weight etc. It saved her sanity. She recommended it to me as my DD screamed for a week after leaving hospital. I think it's a tricky one as the books are written in such a rigid way they could cause issues. I followed it in such a way that it worked but wasn't super rigid. My DD then slept from 7 til 7 from 10 weeks. My son was different, he slept for a week when he came home from hospital and was an angel. I followed Gina Ford's philosophy but bent it round to me and my family. It worked for us but I used a common sense aspect to it. It's not for everyone but I think it's not good that comments are made about her not being postable on this site. It's a site for all views is it not? Read the book and take what suits you out of it. Leave what doesn't.
My kids sleep like babies, never wake up at night unless they are ill....Eat pretty much everything and I put a lot of that down to GF. Same with my friend whose twins are now 12....

Brices · 22/03/2013 18:30

bbface made me smile won't be able to read Gina Ford bashing threads without thinking of your comments, rings true

MortifiedAdams · 22/03/2013 18:32

GF worked for us too. DD totally clicked with a routine from day one and I.never left her to cry or chained myself to the house.

I intend to.do.it again with future babies if they are also happy to be in a routine. I intended on getting the book about toddler and baby and if ttcing is successful then ill be on Amazon quick sharp.

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