Healthy Living Books Books

Rating: - Gina knows what she is talking about
I used Gina's routines for my son and daughter. Both slept through the night at about 5 months and well before other babies I met at mothers groups etc. A lot of what she says is common sense once you consider it, 'don't rock a baby to sleep it'll expect it, put it down to sleep awake to fall asleep on its own. The tone can be a bit patronising and the routines very rigid, 'don't forget to cream his creases at 6.15' but if you adapt the routines to suit you they do work fabulously and you can enjoy some quality time once the children are in bed, sound asleep at 7pm. I also used Gina's potty training which worked within a few days. One negative comment, despite what she says (and I tried so hard), you will not get a 1 week old baby in to a routine. Leave it until they are 6 weeks and they will slip into it effortlessly.

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Rating: - DO NOT READ THIS BOOK
I strongly recommend that you do NOT read this book unless you only wanted to read it to criticise it.

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Rating: - Enough to push a sleep deprived and anxious new mother over the edge!
I bought this book with good intentions when I discovered I was pregnant with my first child. I recall reading it before my son was born and thought it had some invaluable pieces of advice with regards to a potential sleep routine. However, my son arrived and decided he was not going to sleep, as and when I (or Gina Ford) dictated to him. This book is so riged and regimented, and I so tired, anxious and nervous that I found myself becoming completely neurotic and determined to force a routine onto a 4-week old baby, that quite simply he wasn't ready or prepared to accept. I worringly became obsessed by no 'chinks' of light seeping through the curtains that i placed blankets over the windows and left them there for weeks!! I sat inside the house and became totally focused on getting my son to sleep for 30-45mins at 9.15am that the joys of being a first time mother were passing me by! This book may appeal to many, for a whole host of different reasons, but to those of you of a similar disposition to myself (twitchy and anxious) then it really is enough to push you over the edge when the rigid routine is not achieved. Each baby is unique with his or her own individual needs and this is something that Miss. Ford fails to acknowledge or advise upon in her much acclaimed book. Once I was feeling less anxious I threw this book into the bin, never to be looked at by me again!

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Rating: - Borrow a bit here and there
Like other readers I read this while pregnant and decided it wasn't for me, although I had seen it work wonders for other babies. When my daughter was two months old she wasn't gaining weight and I needed to squeeze more feeds in, so I read the book again and started following it. Not religiously though, just the bits I wanted to really! The one thing I completely agree with is the need for a good bedtime routine. If you disagree with everything else (which some folk'll find quite easy) do this. You will find it really hard with an older baby if you don't. Every baby is different (which is one of the most annoying things you'll constantly hear if your a new parent, which doesn't help anything!) and the advice won't work for everyone.

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Rating: - A guidebook
I read a number of books on bringing up baby - but I didn't approach any of them as 'this is what you must do'. Gina provides some good advice and I'm sure that her routines have worked for plenty of people. For that reason her book is useful. Every baby is different - all I wanted was a book to provide reassurance when I felt out of my depth and Gina Ford does that. Would an alternative baby guide? Probably yes, but that doesn't detract from confidence I derived as a first time Mum from this book.