Healthy Living Books Books

Rating: - Goodness - Calm down everyone!
This book is to be taken with a pinch of salt. It is not compusory to do EVERYTHING she says in the book to the letter. Every baby is different (as all you mums out there will know) and each one will have different needs. I found this book rather amusing but took from it what would work within my lifestyle (being a working mum and trying to get my child carer to stick to routines was a bit different) but the feeding and nap times if stuck to loosly, then, it does kind of work without actually trying too hard.
And to all of you who have said that Gina doesn't have any kids herself - does it really matter? Think of those of us who have older toddlers/children and listen intently to the advice of 'Supernanny' - she also doesn't have kids and does a good job. Are we not all a bit jealous of their success? They can work their magic on other peoples kids, then go home and have a good night's kip, wake refreshed in the morning and actually get to have breakfast!!!

---

Rating: - Good but shouldn't be used as a bible
I was advised to buy this book before I had my son (my first child). I read it and thought it sounded horrific. However after he was born I set about trying to follow the feeding routine and within days realised it was completely unreasonable. So my son and I settled in to our own feeding routine. However, I did find that by 'loosely' following the timetable for naps, he soon fell into a routine of sleeping which also followed with a full nights sleep.

When my daughter came along 3.5 years later I had to have a c-section and decided that as I couldn't go anywhere for 6 weeks anyway I wouldn't worry with a routine. However come week 7 and after a week of being up constantly during the night with my daughter and having my son getting up just as I was going to bed I realised that I couldn't carry on like this and picked up the book again. Like before I 'loosley' followed the sleeping patterns and within a week she was sleeping peacefully through the night with just one feed and I was starting to feel more human.

I think the trouble is these days we read these books and take them as gosple rather than taking it as advice. I've recommended this book to all my friends but not without explaining first that it needs to be used as a reference and not to follow word for word.

---

Rating: - Concepts are brilliant. Use it as a GUIDE!
If the baby sleeps well, then mum and dad also sleep well and we as parents are then able to give our baby 150% of our love and attention during the day, which can only serve as a great foundation for his self image and security and early education. Most people I know, who don't use any routine at all, have spent the last 6 months in zombie land, stuggling to get through each day and constantly begging the child to sleep. How can these tired mothers give their children QUALITY awake/play time???

Using "most" of the tecniques in this book, I had my baby sleeping through the night at 6 weeks old and he is exclusively breastfed. He also goes to sleep at all his day and night sleeps, without any fussing, crying or help from things like dummies, rocking etc. The book has enabled me to know when he will be getting tired and put him down to sleep before he gets overstimulated, hence making going to bed a happy time. He is a good sleeper, due to the many things I learnt from this book and because of this, we can then have an active social life and a happy and orderly household.

Do I use controlled crying? No. I don't have to! Going to sleep for my baby is a happy thing. If he cried for more than 5 minutes total in a day, I would take him to the doctor, thinking something was wrong!

Do I believe in demand feeding? No. I would prefer my baby, not to have to be so starving hungry that he needs to scream for his food. I prefer to feed him on a regular basis, to prevent him from getting hungry. Surely this is better than them screaming for food, right!? But of course if he is hungry, I would feed him him. Routine feeding, is just demand feeding with a maximum time limit put on it!

However if purchasing the book, you must understand that it is a "guideline" for what to work towards, not a rule book. You do not have to stick to the times strictly with military precision! You are the parent who knows your child best and can think for yourself. You need to be a "parent" and make decisions every day on whether something is working or not. Also, you are ALLOWED to adjust and tweak the routines to suit your child and family. And if one day doesn't go to plan, don't think you are a failure, just try again the next day. It will eventually fall into place and you will then benefit from the hard work put in, in the early days, by having a fantastic baby who every says is "so content, I wish my baby was like yours!".

---

Rating: - Excellent purchase for all mums
I have found this book invaluable. My baby visibly thrived from having the security of a routine. I also gained immense confidence knowing my baby was getting well fed and appropriate amounts of sleep. Helpful tips are given throughout to ensure you are aware of your babies changing development and giving them appropriate toys to stimulate them. Getting a good night of sleep very early on was a bonus too!!!!

If you use the routines sensibly and adapt them to fit your babies needs as well as your own then they are great.

I found the website that you can join to accompany the book just BRILLIANT too for support and advice from other mums.

---

Rating: - Some like it; some hate it - it's not the way for us
I read this book in late pregnancy as a firm believer that routines are good and reassuring for children. I still believe this. I found this book singularly unhelpful for my baby girl. She never went 4 hours between feeds - or even 3 for many months. It has been said that the routines advocated in the book are supposed to be flexible - but it certainly doesn't come over that way. The best thing i ever did was forget the book, observe my baby's own needs and patterns and work with them. She was much more content that way - and that's what I would advocate to any new mum. Small babies cry for a reason and current research suggests that being responsive to this makes for a much happier child and adult. Don't let this book get in the way of your time with your baby. Cuddle your baby when they need it; feed your baby when they need it. My child sleeps very well these days (and did so from about 3 months old apart from the usual issues with teething, illness, separation anxiety phase )and she was demand fed. In addition, due to a traumatic birth experience, I didn't bond with my child for a while - this book was distancing me further and I really think would have done us both more harm than good.

My baby is extremely happy, content and sociable but according to this book I have produced so many rods for my back I could go into business. Your baby is not an automaton - give them what they need when they need it - not when a book says. I find it very worrying that it suggests a new baby could be left to cry intentionally even for 10 minutes. Not for me - not when every fibre in my being tells me it's wrong