Gina Ford Contented little baby book

[wiltshire]

Anyone on here used the advice on this book. I found reading it interesting but wondered if it works.

Hi Wiltshire - Go to "Search Board" at the top of this screen. Type in "Gina Ford or GF" and you'll find a huge amount of differing opinions. It really is a love-hate thing.

Personally, I think it's a great book and ds has really clicked into the routines. He pretty much did as GF predicts and now sleeps 7pm - 8am every night without fail. His weight gain has been phenomenal and he's still breastfed at 10 months.

By sticking to the expressing times, I could now feed several other maternity units' worth of babies as well as ds and all his friends.

A lot of people adapt the routines and advice to fit their lives, but I didn't have a scooby about babycare so i stuck to the routines like glue and found I've got sooo much more freedom than a lot of the other non-routine mums I know.

Good Luck!

I wouldn't have known how to look after my baby without it. I stuck to the breast feeding times and the nap times but never went in for the expressing or the wrapping(?). Eventually I gave up the everday bath too, but whenever my schedule gets out of wack I suffer for it and work hard to get it back. My DS slept through at 4.5 months with no hassles even though exclusively breast fed which I think is pretty good. I've escaped a lot of the hassles that I see other new mums go through and think that the day time naps are the absolute key to a contented baby and sane mum. I think if I didn't follow the book I probably would have tried to feed him everytime he cried instead of understanding that there are other reasons why babies cry.

I found this book when ds1 was 3 months old, and never looked back after that. Didn't stick to everything rigidly, but it gave me much more confidence that I was doing the right things. It has a very strong 'Mum knows best' theme, and gives you the confidence to persevere with things like putting your baby down for a nap in his bed rather than rocking him to sleep, etc, which in the end, makes things a lot easier for you. Have recommended it to lots of people, but it doesn't suit everyone.

Its great. I wouldn't have had a clue with my first and it became my bible! I think you could drive yourself a bit mad with the strict nap times but it is certainly a fantastic basis for looking after a baby and teaching it gently to sleep through and feed in a routine.

Having never heard of Gina Ford till I joined this site I was really sceptical about her. Although I have never used her methods, I have seen through mumsnet, how well they work. From reading various threads (some contentious!), I think that her methods are really helpful to the mums who need some kind of guidance on how to manage a baby. Those who are prepared to be a bit flexible seem to get on best. I have read some things that sound as though the mum is tying herself in knots trying to get an unco-operative baby to conform.
I exclusively breastfed my 4 babies. The first one slept through the night at 9 weeks. The third it was not until 8 months. I did not find it to be a great hardship and fed whenever they wanted it. I was so laid back about breastfeeding that I was practically horizontal However, many mums are not so fortunate and benefit from her routines if the baby conforms. I do not like the guidance about giving a bottle at 10pm and expressing instead - can't see any point to that. The baby may well get more at the breast that out of a bottle and I definately don't like the advice to give formula.
I think it works for some, but not for others. If it is not working then do not get hung up on it is basically what I am trying to say.

I think like all books you should take bits from it rather than sticking to it rigidly (I can't see how anyone can without going bonkers!)

The bits I found useful were the feeding and sleeping times, though you try getting a 2wk old baby to eat when it's not hungry and sleep when it's not tired! The answer I think is not to get frustrated if it's not all plain sailing as GF makes out is should be.

My dd for example never napped in the morning and for a while not in the afternoon either. I do think that babies find their own routine, but it does help to put them to bed at roughly the same time every night I think.

I agreewith all those who say take bits of the book on board such as ensuring a young baby gets to sleep regularly. I have read another book recently that suggests GF CLB Book should be renamed GF Contented little parent Book but then a happy parent should promote a happy home and child(ren). I certainly could not stick to any real routine with small babies let alone GF's.

Two people have recently recommended this book to me so I've just bought it. Both said it helped with first babies, so as a first time mum I'm happy to take advice.

But as SamboM says, take the advice you want, and don't get worried if your baby doesn't do what it's supposed to. After all, it's not like the baby can read!!

I read the book and although it has a lot of salient advice, I knew once I had read it that it wasn't for me. Instead of placing my baby in a rigid routine, I have endeavoured to bring him up to be flexible, which helps enormously if you want to have a life outside the home....thats just my view. I know lots of people who swear by it and lots who swear about it! Read it and decide!

Message withdrawn

Didn't have it with dd but have ended up by trial and error doing exactly what she says (mostly). Have now bought a copy for the bump so we can bypass all the mistakes we made with dd and get straight onto the programme!

I agree with many - just take the key hints to getting in a routine particularly for establishing day and night routine. I learnt the hard way by sticking too rigidly to it at the beginning rather than listening to my baby's needs. Particularly important in growth spurts!

A different perspective. I tried it - I really did. But my dd was NOT interested in the routines at all and there was NO way I could make her do them. She was happy enough in the routine that she was figuring out for herself, but the tone of the book made me feel very inadequate about my own abilities as a mother, as GF is very baack and white abou ther own routines. As it happens I was suffering from undiagnosed PND when I tried it, and after a couple of days trying to fit dd into this routine I was carried away by the men in white coats (literally) to hospital for a month, as it had turned me into a gibbering idiot. Dh came home from work (he suspected something) to find me sitting on the floor of dd's room (I had dragged her cot through, cos the book said so) and crying my eyes out while she screamed in the cot because she 'should' have been sleeping, it was 2 hrs after she had got up!
I know that this is unusual. but it does go to show that this routine is fine for some people and not for others. In hospital the midwives very gently led me back into a feeding on demand schedule and I went on to feed dd until I got pregnant with ds. I expressed for Scotland and people regulalry commented on how 'content' dd was - I hated that, I thought they thought I was doing the routine!
The routine worries me for other mothers with PND, as it can make you feel awful if yours is one of the babies for whom it doesnt work. I was more laid back with ds and let him find his own routine in the midst of dd's demands as well, and will do the same with No3 due in December. My PND with ds was mild in comparison and I was able to stay at home, as I hope I will be next time.
If it works - then great, go with it. If it doesn't - bin it! Don't take any of it too seriously!

Thank you all for your advice. I am 29 wks and this is my first baby. I think the main things I want out of having my child is for my child to be content and for me to get enough sleep. I am like said bear with v.sore head if not rested. I suppose like all ftm I am walking into this with head full of ideals. Of which none will work. Oh well c'est la vie.

wiltshire, do a search as suggested and get the full picture, good luck!