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Sleep

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Original poster

Gina Ford Contented Little Baby - please can I have your opinions/experiences

87 replies

Jack2601 · 04/04/2009 16:23

I have posted another thread on here very recently due to nightmare night times and touched on this, but thought I would start a new one as am desperate for replies.

After almost losing the plot this morning after a week of little/no sleep due to DS not settling at all between 7pm and 7am I have decided that I am going to give the Gina Ford routine a bash.

My DS is 10 weeks old (although 3 corrected) because he was 7 wks prem. He has gained weight brilliantly and now weighs around 7lb (getting him weighed 'officially' on Tuesday). I am going to start at the 2-3 weeks old baby routine due to corrected age and I would really like to hear your experiences or opinions. I know that it is not for every baby, but I am so shattered I want to at least give it a try.

Thanks for reading.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

suwoo · 04/04/2009 16:28

It works for some parents/babies and not for others.........

princessmel · 04/04/2009 16:31

Just reading it made me angry and stressed.
Not natural imo. Or fair on the baby.
I have heard of people who've made it work but I didn't agree with most of what she says.

slayerette · 04/04/2009 16:31

You may find that due to the history between MN and Ms Ford, you may not get many replies...

Original poster

Jack2601 · 04/04/2009 16:34

Sorry, I wasn't aware of the history, is Ms Ford not a popular choice - but it wasn't just happy/lovely stories I was after - honest opinions/experiences no matter how bad they are will be useful at the minute!!

OP posts:

ruty · 04/04/2009 16:34

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

Sorry.

Right. MN has experience many difficulties in Gina Ford discussions, she threatened to sue MN because many people on here stridently disagreed with her methods.

ruty · 04/04/2009 16:36

sorry you're having sleep problems, but 10 weeks is terribly small. Have you tried co sleeping? Are you breastfeeding or bottle feeding? Could he have wind/colic? Hope someone more helpful comes along.

Ohforfoxsake · 04/04/2009 16:40

It depends on the sort of person you are. If you like routine, then yes, it can be a good thing.

I think the value of the Contented Baby book is that it is very prescriptive. They say babies don't come with a manual, but this meets that need (if that is indeed what you do need).

I used it very successfully for DC1. I took what I needed from it, mainly focusing on feeding times and found the sleep followed. I've continued to work around feed times for each subsequent child, and we still follow a similar routine for meal and bed times 7 years on (although we would anyway, 8, 12 and 5 are reasonable times).

When I first picked it up I put it down and branded it not for me. Weeks later when sleep deprivation got to me and I was questioning my ability to cope I turned to it, and it helped me.

But its not well liked on here. Well, she isn't. Its a long story...

JollyPirate · 04/04/2009 16:40

Have a good read through the book and routines. It's not for everyone - only you can decide if it seems right for you. I have seen GF work brilliantly for people but equally I have seen it drive others to despair because they cannot fit their baby into the routine.
Does your little one settle well during the day? Do you have other children? If you have no other children I'd favour trying to sleep when your baby does.
There is absolutely noharm in giving the GF routines a try - you might love them and it might work brilliantly for you. On the other hand don't beat yourself up if it doesn't fit in with your baby - just move on and try something else.

ruty · 04/04/2009 16:42

yes it probably works very well for the adults involved. [gags self]

Celery · 04/04/2009 16:42

I think that loosely basing your baby's feeding and sleeping times around her routines can sometimes help. This is what I did with my first baby - he was the kind of baby that needed a routine, and I was a clueless first time mother who needed a bit of guidance. I largely ignored most of what she wrote, and just followed her timings, very loosely, adjusting to suit.

I did not, however, have a cup of tea and slice of toast at 7.45am, change the draw sheet, express using a hospital strength pump, black the room out totally or any else like that - just used the feed/sleep times as guidance.

Original poster

Jack2601 · 04/04/2009 16:45

Blimey - can't believe she tried to sue, everyone is entitled to an opinion!!

Sorry for lack of info - I truly am knackered!!

He is FF (breast milk didn't come in at all despite expressing until they were blue!!).
His feeds are okay and quite regular (3/4 hourly) and I am not expecting him to sleep straight through at all yet, that is not what I am hoping for, but he is totally unsettled from the minute we try and put him down at 7pm all the way through the night really. We have tried allsorts, rocking/offering extra feeds/dummy/shushing/cuddles/burping. The signs don't point to colic - at the moment he just seems to be a baby who doesn't want to sleep in the hours of darkness!! I was hoping/wondering whether GF routine could maybe assist with structuring his naps so he sleeps better/settles at night between feeds.

OP posts:

smee · 04/04/2009 16:48

DON'T even open the book. From what you've said no way will he fit into the GF rigidity routine and if you try you could easily make him more stressed. If he's struggling and crochety you might find nothing will work until he develops a bit more. Hard to hear, but I wish someone had told me not to try and fix things with my DS. Hold him lots, go with what he needs and wants for now and try and stay calm/ as unstressed as you can possibly be. Also grab as much sleep and help for yourself as you can. He'll get better in time - feels like an age when you're in it I know, but just hang on in there.

foxytocin · 04/04/2009 16:49

i empathise with the difficulty you are having with your newborn but 3 wks old is too young to put any baby on a routine.

these early days are about staying in - in dressing gown all day if need be - and simply let everything you do revolve around your baby.

Where are you trying to put your baby to sleep from 7 - 7?

Original poster

Jack2601 · 04/04/2009 16:53

Sorry foxytocin if I wasn't clear, he is 10 weeks old (3 corrected due to being prem).

He is in his nusery (in a moses basked, inside his cot) during the night. We spent the first few weeks with him in our room in Moses basket but he seemed to hate that even more!

OP posts:

HappyBump · 04/04/2009 16:55

I couldn't personally "do" the Gina Ford routine. I can see that for the mum there are lots of benefits. The one thing that is great is that there are some sort of guidelines so you can get an idea of how many hours typically a baby sleeps, etc. To be honest it would have driven me mad ... and I couldn't leave my little one to cry at such a young age and I am not organised enough to do the schedule thing. However, I know lots of my friends who it worked for.
I am probably not the best example to get your baby sleeping 7-7 because mine even at 16months rarely does that, although he is doing a lot better than he did. I think that every mother is different and every baby is different. Good luck, I hope you find what works for you. Best piece of advice given to me was "Just remember, when you think you have it sussed it will change"

slayerette · 04/04/2009 16:56

Why not do what Celery suggested and use the nap/feed times as a guide (but don't try to follow it to the letter) and see if that helps?

There are so many differing opinions on routines - I had a routine for DS but was flexible - we went out when I wanted/needed to and he slept in his pram rather than in his cot (a no-no in GF if I recall) and I would feed on demand. I did use controlled crying to get him to settle himself at bedtime though and that worked after a couple of days.

My sister on the other hand had a very strict routine to the extent that when her baby began to wake at 6 am rather than sleeping until 7, sister left her to cry in her cot for the hour so that she would learn not to do that. For me personally, that would have been too much - DS only ever cried for 10 mins or so before settling at bedtime.

donnie · 04/04/2009 16:56

just don't mention the Lebanon....

frasersmummy · 04/04/2009 16:57

I read GF and thought blimey how am I ever going to get out of the house ever again???

but like others have said it might work for you

I thnk it just takes a newborn time to sort day from night ..perhaps a swing would help??

our second hand basic swing at £30 was the best baby buy we made!!!

poppy34 · 04/04/2009 17:02

I'm with frasersmummy - I couldn't even get through the book so knew it wouldn't work for me. that said I do know others who swear by it and loved it - it really does

If you are looking for a lighter less prescriptive version can I suggest rachel waddilove? it is based on getting your child into a routine but a more flexible one - I found the suggested routines more helpful and actually did manage to get dd into something approximating the routine. Although what you could do is make sure you're taking them out each day to see daylight and start a bathtime /bed routine (they won't go to bed yet and I thought that this was futile -which it was at 3 weeks- but slowly over the next few months dd did get idea that it was time to stop messing around/having short naps and time for longer sleep).

and agree that 3 weeks little - it wasn't until something like 8 weeks that it began to be possible to see what dd was up to (and to be clear she set teh routine -not me).

poppy34 · 04/04/2009 17:03

sorry pressed enter to quick- it really does depend on the person.

ruty · 04/04/2009 17:04

oh gawd i just realised i mis-read- he is 3 weeks really? He is so small. I do sympathise with your knackered-ness i realy do, but there are other ways. How about carrying him around in a sling?I had terribly times with ds when he refused to sleep until 2am each night, and it wasn't until we co slept that he settled and slept for any length of time [this is safe as long as you follow safety guidelines] Routines are not a bad thing but enforcing them at all costs and allowing a baby that small to cry on his own, not making eye contact when feeding etc may be...er...[computer cuts out]

moondog · 04/04/2009 17:07

He is a baby, not a machine and a very tiny baby.His needs need to come first, not yours. Babies are not designed to be controlled and timed. Plenty of time for that when he is older.

conniedescending · 04/04/2009 17:08

people didn't just disagree with her views they were extremely negative and made personal comments about Gina Ford.

I think her book is great and has 'worked' for my 4. We don't have sleep problems etc and mine all slept through 7-7 by 5mths- 6mths without then being left to cry it out (common misconception is that you leave babies to cry - you DO NOT).

The book reads as quite prescriptive but it is a guide and the timings are there purely as a basic. If ypu decide to go ahead with the GF routine then start at the first stage rather than the one that is age appropriate.

poppy34 · 04/04/2009 17:09

re coping with the nighttimes -have you got an ipod - i loaded mine up with podcasts/stories/quiet music and also found a decent radio station (found radio 5 quite informative at 3 in the morning plus was lucky as olympics were on, caught up wtih sky plus) - once I gave into the night times and tried to veg out/catch up in day (a sling is hugely helpful) it seemd to make it easier . Also by giving into it, I seemed to get more attuned to dd so it became easier to figure out what worked for her in terms of sleeping/eating etc (ie she was always ravenous in teh evening so needed constant feeding in excess of anything any book etc said...)

conniedescending · 04/04/2009 17:10

moondog: it goes without saying that baby does come first - even in the Gina Ford routine..........MN is so prejudiced on this issue

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