Customer Reviews

From Contented Baby to Confident Child

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4 star:		(0)
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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I couldn't disagree more with the first customer review of this book. Not only would I highly recommend Gina's Contented Little Baby book, but this one as well. As a result of following her advice my baby girl has slept through the night since she was 8 weeks old, she is also one of the most contented babies I know (it's something that a lot of people comment on about her). She knows exactly when to expect food (in turn I know when to get it prepared by) and sleep - and as a result I have never had to resort to controlled crying. The only things my child has to worry about is how much playing she can cram into one day and how many cuddles!! Gina is a star, without her my first baby experience would have been far more arduous. I couldn't recommend her more. Everyone I know how has tried out her theories has been been overwhelmed by just how accurate she is.

I had no idea of how to parent once I had my first child. He was a real trial--very fussy and he cried a lot. Being a new mother, I was a wreck and exhausted. I had no idea of what kind of a schedule would work. I had read MANY books and was still lost. Out of desperation one rainy day a friend suggested Gina's book and I went right out to get it. I devoured it and tried her methods. THEY WORKED!! I did not stick to the schedule in a rigid way, but followed it as closely as possible and had amazing results. My son is a happy 21 month old today and sleeps through the night. The key is REGULAR ROUTINE... they need to know what to expect. Thanks Gina, you saved my sanity.

I had no idea when my baby was born how long to let him sleep or how much he needed. I had no idea either if I should hold him for a certain length of time or when to put him to bed. We had a rough couple of weeks and then I discovered that I had bought this book and had saved it. We got onto a routine and *poof* my baby was happy and liked the predictable day he knew he would have with the schedule. It also allowed me to have nap or productive times during the day. We have had to modify a bit, but sticking to the schedule for the most part has been such a blessing. He goes down to sleep without a fight and I have been thrilled with the results of this book! This has also helped me so much with feeding information and other general baby questions I have had. Gina has answered a lot of specific questions that I had as a first time mom.

I am stunned to see the negative reviews of this book, but I can understand their frustration: this book is a schedule book. What all the doctors who gave negative reviews missed to realize is that this book does much more than just teach you how to feed your baby: it gives you a schedule that you can establish and thus get some order into your day. First time moms feel that they never know exactly what they should do and that's the reason I liked this book. Yes, it is strict. No, you don't have to follow it exactly. But if you follow it somewhat, your baby will be happy and you will be happy. It is as simple as that. If the baby wakes up an extra time at night, just feed him/her, no fuss. The daytime routine is very important and it worked perfectly.

To those reviewers who study baby sleep patterns, here is an actual fact: I didn't find out about this book till my baby was 2 months old. He was already sleeping in the schedule that the book laid out, all on his own (so Gina's schedule is not unnatural and forced on babies), except for the evening crying (8PM to 10PM) which ALL OTHER parenting books written by doctors (I had 3 books) told me that "it is what they do, it will pass, they have this fussiness". Only Gina's book told me "he is over-tired". So there you go, practical experience fixed our problem. So much for all the sleep studies.

Although I do not follow her advice to the letter in terms of timing (ie sometimes the nap is 30 minutes this way or that), I do keep to the food schedule. Our little one does rise at 7am on most days. If she does not, I don't wake her up, but it is rare that she sleeps longer than 7.25am. I O+LOVE this book, it has helped make everything so easy,a nd I get to take a nap or work when baby naps!

Just as the first book, this book is extremely helpful with general advice on the care of the child. Things like this
- making sure baby eats regularly and what types of food.
- Making sure baby sleeps enough and how much, how often and when.
- How to put baby to sleep without difficulty
- Tips on everything from clothing to making sure the house is child safe
- TROUBLESHOOTING sections are the best!!!



This book has chapters that describe why a baby might have regressed into waking in the night after sleeping through for months. Chapters about unexplained fussyness, refusal of food, "seperation anxiety" and "colic" - which seems ot be a myth of undiagnosed conditions/overtired overstimulated babies.

It is excellent on sleep issues and food issues in general terms.

All I can say is, that friends of ours have to walk for ½ hour with the stroller for their kids to fall asleep and have a nap in the afternoon if they are lucky. Their kids wake up at the first stream of sunlight at 5am.

Our baby naps like clockwork alone in her dark nursery, so that we can rest or work or do whatever we please. She has slept through the night solidly for 12 hours at a time from 4 months onwards (and sometimes before that) and is always happy (7pm - 7am). Most babies are cranky because they are either hungry, overtired or bored and we always know which one it is. Our baby also does not use a dummy or a security blanket and hardly ever cries more than a few minutes. She plays happily alone and enjoys attention in spurts, before occupying herself again. I HIGHLY recommend this book, best of all, the chapters are short and concise, it is small and handy. Just don't take her schedules to the letter - if it's 5 minutes later - who cares - it's life. The sleep advice is worth it's weight in gold (ie dark nursery) and what you can't use, discard, just like everything.

Yipes! I found this book downright frightening. Avoid!

This is NOT a book for most parents. This is for parents who feel that they must put their child on a strict schedule no matter what their needs are. Ford implies that any deviation from her schedule will result in failure (as many of her "scenarios" show). She also makes it clear that she believes only her method will result in a happy/contented baby. In addtion, the book implies that you cannot breastfeed successfully because you're almost guaranteed a low supply problem unless you follow her guidelines (which involve expressing milk & feeding from a bottle at night).

I can guarantee that this is not the only way to successfully raise a child...and I can also guarantee that you CAN breastfeed successfully without ever pumping or feeding from a bottle.

Some of the information in the last chapters of the book are useful, such as dealing with tantrums and potty training. But anything related to feeding & sleeping are presented as "absolutes" from which you cannot deviate for risk of failure.

If you choose to read this book or Ford's first book "The Contented Little Baby Book", please insert some common sense and listen to your baby/toddler. There ARE ways to have a routine (of sorts at least) without resorting to "controlled crying" and waking baby out of a sound sleep at specific times. In addition, there are other authors out there presenting similar parenting methods who at least give you the option to customize the plan to meet their family's needs.