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Original poster

Gina Ford routine+going back to work

12 replies

hunmummy · 26/07/2004 10:02

My son is nine months old, and he is due to start in a nursery in a few weeks' time.
He is on the Gina Ford routine, eats and sleeps well. I would need some ideas how other mums and babies managed to align the GF routine and nursery.

OP posts:

Ghosty · 26/07/2004 10:15

Hi hunmummy ...
I was lucky in that DS's nursery's policy was that for the first year they would fit in with the baby's routine and then after the baby turns one he/she had to fit in with thier routine.
GF actually works well with most nurseries I think as the usual routine is an early lunch at midday followed by a nap ... which is exactly what Auntie Gina likes her babies to do.
I used to pick up DS at 5pm and although they said he had had tea, it was only really a little sandwich and some fruit so I always gave him a bit more to eat when he got home.
Strangely I never used to be able to get him to sleep without being in a dark room at home but for some reason at nursery he could sleep for two hours in a bright room with other babies making noise, crying out etc ... never worked out why ....

bunnyrabbit · 26/07/2004 13:10

My DS is nearly 11 months and went to nursery at 7 1/2 months.

We have to get him up at 6.20 ao he has a bottle at home and then Breakfast at nursery. He doesn't seem to mind, and I now follow the same routine at weekends. They do seem to feed them a lot at nursery though. He has a snack (toast) at 9ish and then lunch at 12.30. I have asked them not to feed his tea until later than the other babies (4.30) as we don't have time when we get in before he falls asleep. He does have fingerfood at 3.30 though as it seems cruel to make him watch the others eat.

He has a morning sleep and a lunch sleep, if a bit later than he would normally 'cos he is sooo nosey and there is lots going on.

In fact, lately he has decided not to have as much sleep at all, even though he is put in the cot, but he doesn't seem to suffer for it. Our only problem is we don't get home till 6.15 in the evenings, so it's bath, bottle, cuddles, story then bed pretty quickly.

I think having been a GF baby for so long it doesn't really matter what happens during the day now, he always sleeps well at night and seems to eat just about anyting that's put in front of him.

I have stipulated to the nursry that he is only allowed water to drink and now sugary foods at all, not even jam. So they probably all think I'm nasty

Sorry, bit of along answer, but basically what I'm trying to say is, I'm sure your DS will be fine... it'll be you that'll get stressed! For some things you have to go with the flow. I'm sure you'll work it out.

Original poster

hunmummy · 26/07/2004 15:19

Thanks for the answers, yes, I think I am more worried and stressed than he will be.
What I still can't decide is when would be the best time to take him to nursery in the morning.
My DH will take him to nursery in the mornings, he just has to drip him before 9.30am the latest. I will collect him at 4.30pm.

His nap time is between 8.30-9.30, he has lunch at 11.30, and falls asleep straight after lunch. It'd be too late for my DH to take him to nursery after his morning nap. I am afraid that if my baba is taken to nursey ust before his morning nap, he won't sleep, as there'll be way too many interesting things to see.

OP posts:

bunnyrabbit · 26/07/2004 15:57

What time do you get him up? Will he last till 9.00? I think if he's tired enough he will sleep, but there's only one way you're gonna find out...

As they get older they do last longer anyway so it won't be such an issue. It always amazes me that when DS is at home he has his sleep at 9, yet at nursery it's sometimes over an hour later.

Original poster

hunmummy · 26/07/2004 16:15

bunnyrabbit- he usually is awake at 6.45, and is rubbing his eyes by half eight... I know, we'll just have to experiment and see...I'm just worried that my happy, funny, contented, cute, all-round-perfect baby will change and turn into this little sleepy horror in nursery. :-(

Please tell me that nursery and socializing with other kids will actually make him even more happy and cute.

OP posts:

handbagaddiction · 26/07/2004 16:47

Didn't do Gina - but dd was in a routine before she started nursery at 7 months. I too was paranoid about everything being unsettled and about whether nursery would carry on where I'd left off, etc. etc. To be honest, although they tried to follow DD's routine where possible, I'm not convinced that they did everything they should have done. After all - they have 11 other babies to look after so it's no great surprise!! On the positive front though - I don't think dd has suffered at all. She is now 10 months and in a nutshell - sleeps more at home than she does in nursery (even though they have their own darkened sleep room) but eats stacks more at nursery than she ever does at home. She also finds it no problem to slip back into our weekend routine... where lunch and tea-times are often a good hour later than nursery times. As long as you are consistent with her in the mornings and at bed-times, I think they just learn to go with the flow in between as they get older.

Main thing to realise is that sleep and eating will take a while to settle down and even now can still get disrupted. I still think you have a right as a mother to be assertive about what you want the nursery staff to do - but you also have to be realistic about what the nursery can achieve given the need to juggle all the other babies too - for example, our nursery refused to do later tea-time (currently 3:30) for dd as it would have opened up the floodgates for everyone else asking for different meal-times too - so now she justs gets yoghurt and rusk/celery/pepper, etc when she gets home at 6:00pm to tied her over until bed-time (7:00pm) bottle.

IMO the benefits that they get from being in a sociable, stimulating environment will far outweigh any small short term adjustments they have to make in food/sleep times.

Original poster

hunmummy · 26/07/2004 17:01

Thank you Handbagaddiction.
I'll come back in September to give an update on how my DS and I get on. Hopefully by then I'll be a 'routined' working mum too. :-)

OP posts:

bunnyrabbit · 27/07/2004 08:50

Totally agree with handbagaddiction... and my happy, chirping, gorgeous little angel is still as happy and gorgeous as ever, only I'd swear he's even louder!!!!

poppins · 14/08/2004 01:01

message withdrawn

ginababe · 14/08/2004 08:33

message withdrawn

phatcat · 14/08/2004 14:12

poppins - you're making a lot of generalisations there. I don't want to diss your experience but I really can't believe that ALL nursery nurses chat all day as soon as your back is turned.

Are there really some nurseries that have web cams?

cuppy · 14/08/2004 21:15

Poppins I think your comments are unfair to all nursery nurses who do a fantastic job. You have tared every nn with the sane brush and that is unfair.
I dont want to go on about my own experience again but I never used to 'chat all day' the minute my parents left their babies with me.
And as for doing and saying what we wish - you are wrong. Each child was an individual and we respected the way the parents wanted to bring them up and followed those wishes as far as we could within the nursey.
If you really dont want to alarm mums on here then I think you need to think before you post. For example, instead of declaring ALL nurseries and nursery nurses are not what they seem, just state that about the ones YOUVE worked in.

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