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

Sleep

Join our Sleep forum for tips on creating a sleep routine for your baby or toddler. Need more advice on your childs development? Sign up to our Ages and Stages newsletter here.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

Gina Ford routine - just two hours later?

27 replies

MummyMorgan2102 · 02/04/2011 18:24

Hi guys
I'm interested in getting my baby (3months) into a routine.
She does what she wants through the day and we bath her around 9 and we all go up to bed at 10:30, and she's out by 11/1130.
She wakes up at 7, has a change and feed then her and I sleep through till about 10/11!

In order for my husband and I to get some more alone time together, we wanted her to sleep earlier, so I got the GF book. However I really REALLY don't want to get up at 7 - as you can see I like to get up around 10, I've been trying this for a few days and I'm exhausted and want to go to bed so much earlier, so Brandon and I still dont get decent alone time.

Can I do the Gina Ford routine but just make it 9-9 rather than 7-7?

Her book quite strict about starting the day at 7 but if I did this I'll go nuts.

Please help

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Lavitabellissima · 02/04/2011 18:30

I'd get used to waking up at 7, routine or not

10am - bit lazy imho

Lavitabellissima · 02/04/2011 18:39

You might want to bump this thread in an hour or so because all militant GFers will be doing bath & bed now

I tried GF but prefer to be a bit more flexible about napping & feeding times. Only things I stock to are up at 7, bed at 7.

puffylovett · 02/04/2011 18:40

Your baby hasn't read gina ford. go with the 9-9 or just follow her lead. A 3 month old sleeping 11-6 or7 is amazing IMO!! Stick with what you are doing :)

QueenBathsheba · 02/04/2011 18:41

I would get up at 7 and get used to it. It's getting lighter earlier and your baby might soon be wanting to stay awake for longer, you might not be able to maintain that 8-10am nap for much longer!

Plus at some point you will want to venture out more in search of company and activities, what then, only attend afternoon toddler groups, you might be there on your own

smellsofsick · 02/04/2011 18:47

We're a sort of GF household but like her not, 7 kind of works for getting your evenings back in any case and a 7am start is going to be about right for school. Of course, you can change things when you feel ready but I reckon 7 to 7 is a helpful time to aim for. My LO is currently doing 7 to 10.30, then 3, then 7 at 15 weeks.

It is a bit knackering but that's kind if what you signed up for with babies!

SardineQueen · 02/04/2011 18:48

I can see what you're after but I don't think it's going to work! Children and babies seem to like to get up at 7, is what I have learnt. Or sometimes earlier. Not later, IME!

When DD1 was 3 months she used to wake around 6.30/7 and I'd bring her into bed for a feed and we'd doze together until 10/11 (fair enough when you're up every few hours in the night IMO!) so I don't think that bit is lazy.

What I do think is that if you put her to bed at 9 and manage to get her to sleep at around that time she will simply wake up 2 hours earlier and you'll dtart getting a 5am alarm call!!!!

SardineQueen · 02/04/2011 18:49

DD1 went 7-7 reliably at 6 months, DD2 at 12 months - they do all get there in the end

LoopyLoopsChupaChups · 02/04/2011 18:50

Not GF, although we tried it and it did help, DD sleeps 9-9.

matana · 02/04/2011 19:28

Don't get me started on Gina Ford. DS is miserable when i force him to do anything he's not ready for and in the early days i was always making this mistake. If i listen to him, follow his lead (he invariably gets into a good pattern all on his own) he's happy and content and so am i. That doesn't mean he runs our household. DH and i have lovely evenings with each other without fail and we do have a bedtime routine and always have, but daytimes we play more by ear. Babies have jabs, illness, growth spurts and teething to contend with, all of which throws 'routine' out. My advice would be follow your baby's lead and provide a bit more structure when she signals she's ready.

But yes, i do think 9-9 might be a bit ambitious!

Zimm · 02/04/2011 20:14

My DD did 8.30 -9.30 at 3 months, with 1 or 2 nights feeds. At seven months she now gets up at 6.30-7.00. I'm afraid others are prob right - you are going to have to learn to enjoy early starts sooner or later!

cariboo · 02/04/2011 20:19

Dare I believe my eyes? How quickly time passes!

SofaSal · 02/04/2011 22:18

I did Gina with my first and because of DHs job it didn't make sense to do 7am-7pm days so we did 8.30am-8.30pm days instead. It really made no difference really, DD certainly didn't seem to mind, she knew no difference. It only meant that the lunchtime nap wasn't really when everyone else's DC were having their naps so made socialising in the afternoon tricky.

Once DHs job changed we switched back to 7am-7pm days which we are still on now really.

sotough · 03/04/2011 09:41

i don't know a single mother who gets up at 10am....! in fact i don't know any who get up at 9am. those days are behind you - if not now, then very soon; and from then on, pretty much until your baby is a teenager, when you'll be battling to get them out of bed, not into it. an 8am to 8pm routine might be a bit more realistic, though as others have said, i suspect you'll have to accept 7am starts, and believe me, unless you're very lucky, and your baby continues to be an amazing sleeper, you may even start thinking that 7am is pretty civilized!

Grabaspoon · 03/04/2011 09:46

My friend managed to do 8-8 on the GF, and it works well for all the family - they now have another and everyone is happy with the 8am starts and the "later" bedtime.

TBH you are going to have to decide whether you want alone time at night or a lie in :)

beela · 03/04/2011 11:46

Does anyone (apart from the babies) really WANT to get up at 7am??

I think you may have to choose between time in the evenings and a lie-in. Good luck in finding a routine that suits you all though.

Lightofthemoon · 03/04/2011 21:02

Count your blessings, I dream of the luxury of a 7am lie in!

rr16 · 03/04/2011 21:15

Go with what your baby wants for the time being, I reckon.

You might not be so lucky in the coming weeks/months, my ds was a fantastic sleeper in the early months then eveything went to pot and he started waking every 2 hours and up for the day at 5am... I look back and can't believe I could lie in beyond 7am!!!

candleshoe · 03/04/2011 21:18

My twins were Gina babies and it was bloody hard but they slept 7 -7 from 4.5 months. My DD was a Gina baby too - she slept 7 - 7 from 2 months ...
BRILLIANT!

Stick with it and follow the rules - you honestly won't regret it.

candleshoe · 03/04/2011 21:21

P.S. I think you are dreaming if you think you're going to be able to carry on having lazy late mornings!

Up at 10 am ????

edwardcullensotherwoman · 03/04/2011 21:44

My DS is 3 and we are still getting up around 9am (he will sometimes sleep through to 10pm, but tends to save that for when he's in a blacked-out room at my mums now

I did GF from the day we were home from hospital until around 18 months. We tried 7-7 but DS was having none of it, so we changed to 9-9, and have done ever since. He was sleeping through 9-9 from around 9 weeks. He now goes to bed between 8 and 8.30, and wakes around 8.30, plays for a bit then comes in to get us for breakfast around 9am.

We are going to be bringing bedtime/getting up forward soon as he's starting school in 6-8 weeks, but it's been great so far.

I think if you can, you might as well make the most of being able to get up a bit later while you have the chance! (I also found GF's idea of complete blackout blinds brilliant - I bought velcro ones from Easyblinds on the internet; it's a piece of blackout material which attaches to a velcro strip around the window, blocking all light out until you take it off. Really easy and effective.)

Good luck!

BsshBossh · 04/04/2011 13:55

My DD was textbook Gina and 7 to 7. But we did 7 to 7 because that's when DH had to get up and get ready for work - DD would have woken at 7 anyway with his noise. When I then went back to work, a 7am wake up was essential. The long evenings with DH were/are blissful.

However, 9 to 9 should work too - your baby is getting 12 hours night time sleep. What you may have problems with is when you and baby want to start going to morning activities, or when (if) you go back to work and need to wake earlier, or when your DD starts teething and early waking at 7, 6, 5am , or when the lighter mornings and dawn chorus start waking your DD earlier despite blackout blinds (been there, done that!), or when your DD starts going to nursery and school.

7 to 7 broadly works well in the UK because of school/activities/work perhaps even natural body clock rhythms.

But go with what you think works best for you all . Just keep one eye on the near future when earlier starts may become necessary and get your DD used to going to sleep earlier.

BsshBossh · 04/04/2011 14:02

Beela: "Does anyone (apart from the babies) really WANT to get up at 7am??"

I am a natural morning person and am always wide awake a good half hour or more before DD and DH so yes, I like being up by 7am ready to start a busy day. I remember waking at 6am as a teen - by choice - well before my parents were up. I used to do yoga .

But I am a little unusual in this .

CappuccinoCarrie · 04/04/2011 14:11

As has been said its a trade off, you can't have your evenings and your lie-ins. But also when you want to start going to groups, if your day doesn't start til 10 am you'll miss the morning groups, and your baby will nap all afternoon (instead of after lunch) so you'll miss the afternoon groups!
Also once you wean you'll want to have breakfast/lunch/dinner at 'normal' times rather than 2 hours later than the rest of the world, so tbh moving to a 7-7ish routine really will be better in the long run.

Bratfink · 04/04/2011 14:18

DS and I always lazed around in bed until 10 ish. he's now nearly 2 and rarely up before 8.30, more often 9-9.30ish. he's in bed by 7.30 or 8 in the evenings.

it works well for us

although we never did 'routine' i am not a routiney kind of person, just followed his lead, and luckily he seeems to have inherited my lazy bone

beela · 04/04/2011 18:28

BsshBossh - fair enough

Flip

1 2

Swipe left for the next trending thread