Hi Everyone,

Just wondering if anyone has heard or knows about Gina Ford and her ideas on aby routines ??

I have heard alot about her and heard she is quite anal but it works and the parents who have used her have happy contented babies who have great routines. But just wondering if anyone else had any thoughts or ideas as i know this method is not for everyone !!

Anyone else used her or thinking of using her ?? my lo is lovely and sleeping well but just getting to the stage where she hatesbeing put down therefore ei am getting nothing done !! she is very smart and knows how to play me already !!!

Im so confused as you can probably tell any ideas !!! x

Hi Carly,

we have been following the gina ford routine for just over a week now adn it is working well.
basically mia gets up and fed by 7am. then i dress her and take her downstairs where she has a play for an hour.
at 9am she is taken back up to her room and put down for a nap for 45minutes. at 10.45 i go and wake her up and bring her back down. 11am she has her next feed.
she then plays on her gym mat/swing for an hour before going back to her cot for a sleep. she usually sleeps til 2pm....then i get her back up and playtime until 3pm when she has her next feed.
After her 3pm feed we go for a nice walk and then its play time again for her until 5.30.
5.30 she is getting ready for her bath and massage. 6.30ish she has another wriggle on her play mat and then has her final feed at 6.30pm before being put to bed at 7pm.
She is then left in her room and only given another feed if she wakes up wanting one. Sometimes she might do this at 11pm...sometimes she does still wake wanting a feed at 4am. She has had one night where she has slept through.

i too was having trouble with mia not wanting to go down for a sleep. she would be quiet happy in my arms sleeping...but of course then i wasnt getting anything done myself. Ive found using this pattern i can myself get things done that i need to. and once she has had her naps she is quite happy to then play on her own while i get more stuff done....the ironing pile is always there!! lol.

obviously on the days that we are out of the house this pattern goes out of the window....but she soon gets back into the routine when we get back in the house.
x

Hey,

Thanks for the reply, my little 1 is Mia too Mia Grace. How old is you lo ?

I am so confused on this as i also posted this on the baby forum for some advice with older children and 1 told me basically that a baby is not a diary entry and she got nothing done at this age sobasically grin and bear it. Which i thought once i had read it i agreed but i then went out today with a friend who knows me really well and i was chatting about this situation to her and she said because i am the way i am i just can't leave housework, anal i know.

Now Mia is my first priority an of course comes before any jobs etc but is there a happy medium ?? Now she is such a good baby i dont want to upset her but my understanding is that the earlier you start the better is that right ??

You sound really positive about it were you really sure about it before you started and how have you done with the controlled crying ?

Sorry for all the questions i'm just so confused !!!

I hope both you and your little Mia are ok x

Mia is 9 weeks tomorrow.
I am like you in that i hate an untidy house, so Mia being settled into a pattern is brilliant for me as she gets everything she needs and i get to get my housework done. I've usually managed to do the housework before she gets back up after her morning sleep (10:45am). So then im happy to spend the day playing with her and generally relaxing.
I find the routine brilliant....Mia fell into it very quick and was doing alot of it naturally anyway...she fell into feeding every 4 hours of her own accord.
I wasnt sure about it when i started but after reading the book i wanted to give it ago. i do believe that it is good for babies to have a routine. i didnt want to get to a point where i was suddenly introducing new things to her when she was older and could understand more. This way it is the norm for her from the start.
With the crying...we are quite lucky that Mia only cries when she is hungry or needs a nappy changed. once these are done she is a happy little girl.

I would prob say not to put too much emphasis on the gina ford method itself but to maybe just read it, take the bits you think may work and see how you go. Adapt it to how you think Mia will cope.
I was finding that Mia would not sleep in her basket in the day but was quite happy to sleep in my arms....so i let her fall asleep in my arms and then put her down for her nap, if she woke up i would hold her til she dropped off again and put her back down...it took a few days but she soon became happy with being put down to sleep. She now happilly goes in her room for her naps rather than sleeping downstairs like she used to....sorry not sure im making sense.

Like i say, dont feel you have to follow the routine exactly how it says, and there will be days that you cant follow it due to you going out etc, but definitely pick the parts you like and set your own little routine for Mia to follow.

I have a Mia Francesca.....she was nearly Mia Grace though!!
x

Hi ya again,

Thanks for your reply its really helpful because they are around the same age and you seem really positive which can only be a good thing for you and Mia.

I was just wondering does Mia still sleep in your room or have you put her in her room ? you may have already said in your last email my memory is useless !! As Mia is still in our room at the moment my partner has said he will have to prepare his self for that as he is not ready but what evers best. But as i write Mia is still up about to drop off for the night so first thing i need to work on is the earlier bed time.

I think babies are happier with a routine and structure too and gives them time grow and take in all the new things they have learnt.

I really think i am gonna give it ago but go through the book and take out what i need and as you say adapt it, i think i will try your technique with the day naps too although i think tomorrow will be hard as my mum is over and spoils her all day.

You sound like your doing really well with it all and Mia sounds really happy and content too. Thanks so much for the advice too i'll let you know tomorrow i'll probably have thousands more questions sorry i keep taking up your time like this.

Hope you and Mia are ok today xxx

Hi carly...

yeah Mia is now in her own room in her cotbed. we did this mainly because she was getting too big for the moses basket, so when she was stretching or wringgling she was waking herself up by hitting the sides. She sleeps much better in her cot bed.

Before we put her in there for the night, i was putting her in it for her daytime naps, that way she wouldnt be so shocked as to where she was at night. She took to it really well and aswell as Mia sleeping alot better, so do me and my other half.

it is definitely harder to follow any kind of routine when people are around...especially grandparents. we went to stay with my parents the other weekend and her routine went out the window becuase people wanted to fuss over her. but as soon as she was back home she fell back into it.

dont worry about the questions i dont mind. have fun.
x

Hi ya, Im gate crashing from baby forum!

I just thought id let you know that I followed the GF routine from 1 week old with Joshua who will be 1 yr old next week and it worked really well for us.

I found that as a first time mum it gave me a really good structure/routine to follow as I was so worried he wasnt going to gwt enough feed or maybe i would forget to do something etc. We NEVER followed any of the strict bits ie no eye contact at night feed etc litterally the timings of feeding and sleeping and as i say it worked for us. From 9 weeks old Joshua was sleeping form 7pm to 10pm a feed and then back down till 7am.

I know that alot of people disagree with the book and argue that a baby is supposed to wake during the night but i didnt follow the routine for that reason i did it so i felt settled as a mum and joshua just happened to be a happy contented baby as well!

Now he has 2 naps a day of about 45mins each, has his breakfast at 8am, lunch at 12pm and dinner at 5pm, he has 2 small bottles a day 1 in the morning and 1 before bed at 645pm. Were not restricted at all we go out all the time cos he's such a flexible baby, I would deffo use the book again when we have another one, and if it works again great if it doensnt it doesnt you've not lost anything by trying it.

Good luck xxx

Hey again,

Well i think it is going to be good for us for a few things and i can't wait to start it now but there is only 1 thing from 5 weeks mia has been sleeping around 9.30-10pm - 6-7am so that i dont want to affect so i think i am going to lower her bed time gradually as well as putting her in her room so its not such a massive change for her.

I have gotta go and see the HV today to get her weighed and will ask her for any advice but think that the answers on here have been great and have made me feel so much more confident so thank you for that.

The hot weather is over also so think that may help settle as she wont be so hot and bothered and thirsty !!

I will keep you updated with hopefully good news

Hopefully speak to you soon x

good luck with it then,
im not always as frequent logging on here but will check back and too for any updates, but if you are on facebook at all you can add me if you like...its delyth jones and the pic at the moment is of me and OH pulling a funny face while having a kiss LOL.... think i have a white top on.
speak soon x