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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
If you are still struggling to get your newborn to sleep through the night, still getting up throughout the night to feed the little one, or perhaps you are feeling as if no end is in sight, you need to read Gina Ford's The Contented Little Baby Book. It may be the only thing you need to bring peace back into your frazzled existence with your tiny baby, or babies.
After all, this book promises to teach parents tried and tested methods to get their baby to sleep through the night by the time they are 10 weeks old.
For parents who are craving their first night of unbroken sleep, Ford's book may be the answer.
Ford's methods conjure up the image of a strict and loving old nanny from yesteryear. Her techniques go against the grain of many currently popular parenting philosophies. For example, Ford, an experienced maternity nurse, is against demand feeding, believes in the necessity of waking a sleeping baby in order to establish a daily routine. Her philosophy may not be the norm today, but Ford is confident of her methods based on years of experience handling hundreds of babies.
Providing an hour-by-hour, week-by-week guide on how to get a new baby into a routine, the book includes feeding and sleeping schedules based on a baby's age. The Contented Little Baby Book provides so much information that it may be necessary to keep this paperback book handy for reference should you employ Ford's techniques.
Experienced parents may not benefit from Ford's methods, but first-time parents may learn a lot from her ideas, and for the discerning reader of parenting books, this one is a must have. For the reader who would like to weigh other parenting methods before adopting Ford's techniques, the following books may be of interest: The Baby Book, by William Sears, M.D. and Martha Sears, R.N.; What to Expect in the first year, by Eisenberg, Murkoff and Hathaway; and Your Baby and Child, by Penelope Leach. --Abbe Jacobson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
'Gina Ford is the Delia Smith of parenting...while Delia tells you how to make the perfect omelette, Gina Ford in her baby-care manual The Contented Little Baby Book, draws on 30 years' experience to tell you how to nurture the perfectly happy baby.', YOU Magazine .'for me she was an absolute godsend', Kate Winslet, Baby & You ."It is hard to overestimate the good she has done...How to reward this great benefactor of mankind?...My wife takes the view that only sainthood will do.", Peter Osborne, Political Editor, The Spectator .'"I devoured it (Contented Little Baby Book) in one sitting. It was hilarious. The claim that a baby of five months could be trained to sleep from 7am to 7pm made me laugh out loud. Little did I realise that this was the start of my conversion to the gospel according to St Gina. That Gina Ford would soon acquire an almost divine status in my life....I look back on my BGE (Before Gina Era) and think of how many of my babies has cried and cried as I ever more desperately struggled to get them to sleep....My only regret, of course, is that Gina did not write her book years ago, when my older children were born. I look in the mirror and wonder what a difference that would have made to the bags under my eyes. If motherhood had always been as easy as it seems this time, I might not have had five children - but 10. Maybe Ruth Kelly's secrets is that she has a copy of St Gina."', Martine Oborne, Evening Standard
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
213 of 216 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I feel the need to balance out the rather extreme reviews this book has had. As a new mum myself I heard about the book, and came on and looked at the reviews, and felt a little overwhelmed. Some say treat it like a parenting bible and follow every word and others say you shouldn't even attempt it and accuse the book of being 'cruel'.
After having had my son (who is now 7 months), I would say that this book is excellent as a starting place. If you, like me, have had advice crammed in every orifice from every person you know and need some good solid advice this book is very useful. It gives you a good sense of an 'ideal' and the confidence to put the suggestions into practice, and it's not as rigid as everyone makes out if you read it properly. On the other hand, the routines are planned down to every last detail and this can be a bit tricky considering what babies are like.
I feel the best way this book can be viewed is: read it, absorb it, then put it to one side and do what YOU feel is right. Refer to it if you get stuck, and for suggestions and guidance, but don't pressure yourself or your baby into strictly adhering to it, but don't completely disregard it. My son wouldn't wake 3 hourly despite everything I tried he would only wake after 4 and slept through the night from 5 weeks (which I am now finding isn't such a bad thing after all!!!)But I had the confidence that I knew a bit about what was going on thanks to Gina Ford.
In other words, just use your common sense and trust your instincts. Only you know what is right for you and your baby. Every baby is different.
I hope this review is helpful to you.
After having had my son (who is now 7 months), I would say that this book is excellent as a starting place. If you, like me, have had advice crammed in every orifice from every person you know and need some good solid advice this book is very useful. It gives you a good sense of an 'ideal' and the confidence to put the suggestions into practice, and it's not as rigid as everyone makes out if you read it properly. On the other hand, the routines are planned down to every last detail and this can be a bit tricky considering what babies are like.
I feel the best way this book can be viewed is: read it, absorb it, then put it to one side and do what YOU feel is right. Refer to it if you get stuck, and for suggestions and guidance, but don't pressure yourself or your baby into strictly adhering to it, but don't completely disregard it. My son wouldn't wake 3 hourly despite everything I tried he would only wake after 4 and slept through the night from 5 weeks (which I am now finding isn't such a bad thing after all!!!)But I had the confidence that I knew a bit about what was going on thanks to Gina Ford.
In other words, just use your common sense and trust your instincts. Only you know what is right for you and your baby. Every baby is different.
I hope this review is helpful to you.
347 of 362 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Bottom line: Are you a control freak? (be honest)If so, then this is the book for you. If not, then give it a miss.
I did not read this book with my first, who was a nightmare baby sleepwise, but was eager to avoid that fate with my second so I did buy and read it then. I found her general baby care advice very sound and helpful and wished I had read at least that first section with my first. As for the much discussed routines, I think that she has based them on what has worked with lots of babies and therefore they will work fine for lots of babies.
You have to take the book with a grain of salt and choose to use as much of the routine as works for you and your baby. I liked to dip into it every week or two and get an idea of how Gina thought things would be changing for my baby and then make up my own plan based on my baby's needs as well as the rest of the family's.
I have to say that I would often put him to bed thinking he wasn't tired, but give it a try because Gina said to and then find him out cold in seconds, so I do think she knows a thing or two about typical baby rhythms. However all babies are not typical, her routines are virtually impossible if you have an older toddler to manage as well, and if you are a go with the flow kind of mum you may find you don'e enjoy being a slave to a routine.
On the other hand, I think many new mums (especially type A ones) feel completely lost when they bring a new baby home. They have no experience with babies, and very high expectations of themselves. Finding themselves confronted with a whole new job, one which is far more important than anything they have done before and yet for which they are entirely unprepared, can bring on panic and depression (to say nothing of the effects of sleep deprivation and hormone upheaval.) This book can be a solid anchor for a new mum who feels out of control and overwhelmed. It tells you how to care for the baby, what to do with it all day, how to structure your new life, how to take care of yourself, and how to feel confident you are doing things more or less right. Once you feel like you have a grip on things, you can throw it away, or use whatever parts of it are working for you.
It is important to realize with this book that it is for the MUM, not the baby. Most babies will be fine on this routine, on another routine, or on no routine at all as long as they are kept warm, dry, fed and loved. A happy mum (and dad) are a great plus for your baby, so if you think you are the type of person who will need some structure and guidance to keep you sane, then by all means buy this book and give it a try. If you think you want to use your instincts and be free to go with the flow, then this isn't for you.
I did not read this book with my first, who was a nightmare baby sleepwise, but was eager to avoid that fate with my second so I did buy and read it then. I found her general baby care advice very sound and helpful and wished I had read at least that first section with my first. As for the much discussed routines, I think that she has based them on what has worked with lots of babies and therefore they will work fine for lots of babies.
You have to take the book with a grain of salt and choose to use as much of the routine as works for you and your baby. I liked to dip into it every week or two and get an idea of how Gina thought things would be changing for my baby and then make up my own plan based on my baby's needs as well as the rest of the family's.
I have to say that I would often put him to bed thinking he wasn't tired, but give it a try because Gina said to and then find him out cold in seconds, so I do think she knows a thing or two about typical baby rhythms. However all babies are not typical, her routines are virtually impossible if you have an older toddler to manage as well, and if you are a go with the flow kind of mum you may find you don'e enjoy being a slave to a routine.
On the other hand, I think many new mums (especially type A ones) feel completely lost when they bring a new baby home. They have no experience with babies, and very high expectations of themselves. Finding themselves confronted with a whole new job, one which is far more important than anything they have done before and yet for which they are entirely unprepared, can bring on panic and depression (to say nothing of the effects of sleep deprivation and hormone upheaval.) This book can be a solid anchor for a new mum who feels out of control and overwhelmed. It tells you how to care for the baby, what to do with it all day, how to structure your new life, how to take care of yourself, and how to feel confident you are doing things more or less right. Once you feel like you have a grip on things, you can throw it away, or use whatever parts of it are working for you.
It is important to realize with this book that it is for the MUM, not the baby. Most babies will be fine on this routine, on another routine, or on no routine at all as long as they are kept warm, dry, fed and loved. A happy mum (and dad) are a great plus for your baby, so if you think you are the type of person who will need some structure and guidance to keep you sane, then by all means buy this book and give it a try. If you think you want to use your instincts and be free to go with the flow, then this isn't for you.
101 of 110 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I read this book from cover to cover (several times)when i was expecting and loosely implemented it when my daughter was born and have to say have found it absolutely invaluable in raising my little girl who is now 9 months. I think the trick is to follow it, but not to the letter (also to read the book thoroughly and really 'know' it). Most of what Gina advocates is absolute common sense. Yes..it is very rigid if you stick to it 100% but we didn't do that. We took Gina's basics and based our schedule on her ideas. I didn't even try to get my daughter into any kind of routine for the first 4 weeks or so but then (based on Gina's routines)i helped her gently find a pattern of eating and sleeping that suited both her and me. She was sleeping 11-7 by ten weeks and was sleeping 7-7 by 5 months.(she's bottle fed and weaned at 5 months). She is now 9 months old and she always has been, still is and hopefully will continue to be a very contented happy little baby. I really believe this is mostly down to the routines we've followed and the way in which i've applied Gina's theories. She's thrived on a routine...She is happy, bubbly and only ever really cries when she is tired or hungry. I have never had to leave her to cry it out...if you read the book correctly Gina does not advocate that. I was a first time very anxious mum in need of abit of support and a push in the right direction. Gina gave us that and i am now the proud, confident mum of a wonderful baby...it worked for us!! Buy it..and read it before the baby's born!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Easy to read
My friend recommended it, I've still to give birth but I wanted to be prepared. Its very easy to read and the info is laid out and repeated enough for you to remember it. Read more
Published 3 days ago by blueberrywig
love her!
I love Gina ford! my baby has been sleeping through since 6 weeks thanks to her routines and tips! It's amazing, excellent guidance when you're totally unaware of what to do after... Read more
Published 5 days ago by Mamfar7
Please consider the latest evidence
Anybody considering getting this book or applying its principles should please be aware of the latest research by Wendy Middlemiss which showed that the levels of cortisol... Read more
Published 6 days ago by Umdolofia
against all scientific evidence (and cruel too)
you don't have to read too far into this book to see the inaccuracies. some are simple ones, like breastmilk can only be stored for 24 hrs, some are just ridiculous- because SHE... Read more
Published 9 days ago by Ms. M. R. Cole
It could work for you
I was given an earlier edition of this book while pregnant, I flicked through it and threw it to one side thinking it wasn't much use. Read more
Published 19 days ago by Lydia
Fab book. Offended by some of the negative reviews.
I bought this book when I was pregnant but never read it. When my little girl was 4 weeks old, I was exhausted. Read more
Published 1 month ago by MrsWilk
Brilliant !
Highly recommend this book....so much so bought for a friend who is expecting her first child. So many good tips in this book
Published 1 month ago by Michelle
Excellent Advice
So far my wife and I have found the advice, tips and schedules to be working with our little baby boy. Read more
Published 3 months ago by ImAaDaddy001
Great book to understand baby routines but not strictly follow
I wanted to have a good sample baby routine for my 2 months old baby and know whether she is getting enough sleep for he age. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Gerachka
needs to be read to make opinions
I ordered this book as i wanted to use it for the routines but it wont work with mothers who breastfeed etc and i found it to be too strict and quite confusing. Read more
Published 3 months ago by kate
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