Healthy Living Books Books

Rating: - lifesaver
As a new and first time mother, I found this book an absolute life saver. For the first few weeks of motherhood I didn't know what to do regarding feeding, sleeping etc etc. Someone recommended this book and although it's not for everyone, a routine is what me and my baby now depend on.
To be able to read about and understand the patterns of a babies waking, feeding and sleeping needs, in simple terms was reassuring and enlightening.
I wouldn't be without my Gina Ford book and would highly recommend it.

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Rating: - Can be damaging to you and your baby
Please be careful with this book. It is misleading and could be damaging to the health of you and your baby.

I followed the books' advice for my first child who was born 9 weeks ago. Having now found my feet as a father, I can comment on my experience of this book.

This book is dangerous for 2 reasons...

You are a new parent. Your life has made a momentous change. You suddenly have enormous responsibility with a steep learning curve. Because this is so new to you, you are highly impressionable. You want to do the best for your baby so you seek advice. You hear of a bestselling book and it promises a contented baby, sleep filled nights, successful breastfeeding and everything else you could hope for as a new parent. Apparently, it is a "tried and tested" method used on "hundreds" of babies "all" of whom became contented little babies. It sounds like a miracle, so you buy the book.

The book does contain plenty of good advice, the crux of which is that a routine is beneficial for both the baby and the parents. Much of the books' content is common knowledge, which it combines with some of the authors own experience plus a detailed breakdown of self-developed routines. While some of the content of the book is controversial, what makes the book dangerous is not WHAT she says but HOW she says it. She writes with total conviction, asserting her regimented approach. She writes as if she an all-knowing guru, imparting her discoveries on you. Follow her and you and your baby will become happy. Stray from the routine and you're in trouble. That's how you feel when you read it.

You can become fearful of not following her approach to the exact word (and it is very exact). Even though our baby followed the routine closely most of the time, I was on edge, watching the clock, which created stress for both myself and my wife. After week 4 it became too much. This "method" just wasn't right. Our mind was occupied with meeting the requirements of the routine. Our eyes were watching the minutes of the clock. We would refer back to the book throughout the day as if it were an instruction manual.

But worse than that... we forced our baby to stay awake when she was "supposed" to be awake (even though she was sleepy). We did not make eye contact or talk to her when we put her to bed in the evenings. We let her cry for up to 10 minutes when she was "supposed" to sleep. These are recommendations prescribed in the book. Since dropping the book 5 weeks ago, we have let her sleep when she obviously wants to sleep. We talk to her when we put her to bed and we make eye contact. We have learned to read her body language and when we put her to bed, she does not cry. If she does cry, we soon know what is wrong and she settles happily thereafter. She sleeps for up to 9 hours unbroken at night and she hardly cries at all.

Which leads to my greatest criticism of the book...

This book is dangerous not just because of HOW it says what it says, but also because of what it does NOT say. It does not foster love, compassion or bonding with your baby. It does not help develop your natural parental instincts. It's just a prescriptive process for raising a child - not your child - a child. A big chunk of what you need to learn is missing from this book. In fact, love, bonding, play, laughter, talking and smiling are hardly mentioned at all in this book. Yet you are led to believe that if you follow this book, all will be well. This is not the case.

Finally, be aware that the author of this book is a clever businesswoman. She knows how to sell books. She knows how to grab headlines. It is these marketing skills that have helped make the book a bestseller. While the book does have its merits, remember that the author is a nanny - she has never been a mother and therefore cannot offer you all you need to learn.

I'm glad that we read the book and we continue to practice our own adapted routine for our daughter. But if you decide to read the book, do not take its advice as gospel. Read other books too including the outstanding Birth and Beyond and Raising Babies and Secrets of the Baby Whisperer. And remember that all the skills you need are already within you, you just need to discover and nurture them. Books help, but nothing beats your natural instinct.

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Rating: - Essential reading for first time Mothers
I had my first baby just under a year ago and bought this book before she was born, upon recommendation from my friends. It was fantastic. I didn't have a clue about what to do with a baby and Gina Ford's advice proved invaluable.
The guides to feeding, bed time and just general routine are essential to help your baby settle into their home life. Some aspects of the book can seem a little contradictory at times, and the way my husband and I got around that was not to get too bogged down by lists of what to do and not to do. You have to remember to listen to your baby and respond with help from this book.
My daughter slept right through the night from three weeks old and hasn't had a disturbed nights sleep yet! I know I was very lucky, but I feel the advice this book offered really did help me to be a contented Parent too.

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Rating: - unbelievably helpful. It works
This book is so misunderstood. It is a guide for mums, to help them get their babies sleeping through the night and eating well. There are many wonderful books on stimulating your baby, and bonding with your baby, which I read and loved, but when it comes to helping your baby develop good sleeping and eating habits, NOTHING COMES CLOSE.
Following Gina Ford's routines can be hard work, but then that's motherhood, but if you do follow the routines carefully, and get back on track when things go wrong (which of course they do) your baby will eat with gusto and sleep through the night very quickly. There's no way I would have persisted with Gina Ford's routines if my baby had been unhappy, but within a week of starting them she was the happiest little soul I have ever seen and has stayed that way. Truly the most content baby. In fact, when i returned to work the nanny had been looking after her for 9 days before she even saw her cry.
So yes, this book kept me sane (after all, I am the one who wanted my baby to sleep through the night, my baby probably couldn't care less if she was seeping all day) but my little girl thrived on it too.
I honestly think it gets such a hard time because people expect it to be something it's not. And it's not written in the cosy, sentimental, sweet way most baby books are, which is a little disconcerting at first, but that absolutely does NOT mean it's baby-unfriendly. Quite the opposite, most CLB babies I meet are very very content. This is a step-by-step practical guide which works, and i rather loved it for being unrepentant in tone about that fact

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Rating: - This book should carry a serious warning
If there was an option for zero stars then I would have gone for that one. This book is archaic and involves strict routines, black out blinds and mothers who wear aprons all day. I read this book before my first child was born and thought it seemed great. Then, upon the birth of my baby reality hit me. I did not want an inflexible routine of strict sleep in the day, I did not want to abandon my child when it cried ie. not picking the baby up and providing security and love, I did not want to not make eye contact in the night with my baby, I did not want to do the same thing at the same time every single day and most importantly, I never wanted to undertake the practice of controlled crying.

I am a firm believer in Attachment Parenting and from experience I know that young baby's respond to love, attachment and the warmth of a parent. My little boy sleeps in our bed every night, he is 9 months old and feeds at night, he falls asleep every night at the breast, he sleeps when he wants to and is a beautifully contented and happy child.

I don't think it is a wise move to take parenting advice from a person who has never had a child of her own. Beware...