Rating: 
Summary: Does this woman have a child of her own?
Review: Following the advice in this book left me, my husband and my daughter unhappy, frustrated and exhausted. It assumes that all babies are the same and should be treated as such. This author has little compassion, and leaves no room to compromise for babies who don't fit the cookie cutter mold that she endorses. Her method is cold and unfeeling, and tries to mold a baby by ignoring distress, rather trying to first understand the cause of the distress and how to minimise it. I don't agree that she is creating contented babies, rather programmed ones. I would recommend staying away from this book if you are having sleep or feeding difficulties with your infant.
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Summary: Harsh and insensitive
Review: Written by a British nurse with no children, this book shows no respect for babies or parents. It reads like it was written by one of the rejected nannies from Mary Poppins. The author treats parents as naive and ignorant with no individual needs or opinions. She treats babies as manipulative tyrants and has no regard for them as human beings. Extremely rigid schedules that baby can adhere to or cry. No flexibility for personal choice. Anti-breastfeeding --regardless of what science proves is best for baby, she appears to think it's inconvenient and unnecessary. If you believe that your baby is a human being who deserves respect and love then go check out another book, such as The No-Cry Sleep Solution or Dr Sears Baby Book or books by Dr. Leach.
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Summary: Try it before you reject it - you might be surprised
Review: With baby no. 1 I had in mind a "flexible routine" - and had an absolute disaster. He woke constantly at night, was fractious and irritable, and slept badly during the day. We tried co-sleeping, demand feeding, constant carrying and nothing made him happy. After the first month or two I was exhausted, resentful, teary, hated motherhood and had no energy to relate to or enjoy my baby. I now realise I had a true sleepfighter on my hands and he needed to be put to bed long before he actually showed visible signs of tiredness. When I finally put him onto the routines at 10 weeks we saw immediate improvement. By this time, unfortunately, various bad habits had formed and it was several months before we sorted it out completely, but when we did the transformation was complete. My irritable, demanding baby turned into a calm, cheerful, engaging little boy and suddenly I could enjoy him.With baby no. 2 I vowed to use the routines from the start, but we had some trouble keeping exactly to them, despite my previous experience with them. My daughter was basically happy, but I could see she was another sleepfighter and was waking when she was actually still very tired. I contacted Gina on her helpline and over the course of a few weeks we worked on the problem together and eventually cracked it. Some people seem to believe she is only in it for the money or something, but nothing could be further from the truth. She was warm and supportive, terribly interested in my children and very concerned to guide my daughter's progress in the gentlest way possible. In the end we had a baby sleeping much better and a mother much more rested. With two children under two, it's important for me to get rest at night and a little break during the day - something that these routines provide. I am thrilled with the book and with Gina's support of my family and can't recommend it highly enough. I find it interesting that the people most critical of this book are usually those who have never tried it. Often they seem to think that the contented babies are a coincidence - the baby would have been content anyway. My experience both times proves that this is not the case - my babies are (for whatever reason) lousy at setting their own routines and do not simply sleep when they are tired, feed when hungry etc. My job as a mother is to keep them happy, and in our case the routines have done that. Also, contrary to some views, the book is very supportive of breastfeeding (over 13 months with my son and still going with my daughter) because many people cannot handle the thought of months of frequent feeding and the routines give the mother a much-needed break. For me and many other mothers I know, we would be giving up breastfeeding if faced with the thought of an entire year(s) with a breast in our infant's mouth! Finally, people should read this book carefully. If some of the previous reviewers had done so, they would know, for instance, that the book explicitly addresses issues such as growth spurts and extra milk, does not rely on a baby "crying it out" and so on. A fantastic book from someone who has worked with more babies than any parent will ever do.
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Summary: it works
Review: We tried this book as a last resort to get our 6 month old to sleep through the night. I was against it due to the reputation for letting babies "cry" BUT that's not what its about and also with a minimal amount of crying within 2 days she sleeps from 7pm to 7am plus 2 naps WITHOUT the pacifier, so we conquered 2 problems at once. The routines seemed counter-intuitive at first (wake at 7am, back to sleep at 9am and 12.30am again), but they fitted in perfectly it seems with the natural biorhythm of a child her age. I find the feeding advice less, particularly since I'm still breastfeeding and 3 times per day only at this stage is less than what she needs (wants?). Viva Gina!!
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Summary: My friends' bible, so I thought I'd give it a try
Review: 4 of 5 friends who had babies in the last year used this book and their babies all thrived, and slept through the night very quickly. The 5th friend didn't use the book and had sleeping and eating problems from day 1. So I figured I'd give it a try. I'm in my 3rd trimester right now and preparing for my 1st baby.
I'm from the UK so I understand Ms Ford's language probably better than the average US reader!
The ideas are very good, although she is not always so clear about what she means. My husband wants to know why she always suggests making a cup of tea...
I like the idea of getting baby on a schedule from day one, despite it going against the "demand feeding" that many doctors suggest. We'll give it a try for as long as we can, and if it absolutely does not work, we'll give it up. I think the napping schedule is extremely important, but I don't think I'll be able to avoid cuddling my baby too much in the middle of the night :-)
A good book for parents - as long as you dont' take it too seriously!
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Summary: Better do what she says - or else!
Review: Although this book contains lots of great advice, the author's tone is somewhat "matronly" and can be a little grinding. I think this book would work better if it wasn't all written in the 1st person. Another minor gripe is the inconsistancy of her treatment of "experts". Sometimes she'll start a sentence along the lines of "Although some 'experts' recommend... I find that", whilst at other times she will say "Studies show that..." and use the information to support her view. I guess if you are (un)lucky enough not to have any fussy relatives around to tell you how to bring up your baby, this book will make sure you don't miss out on that joyful experience. I'm sure she knows what's worked for her, but we found a lot of her advice to be impractical to our personal situation. Worth a read though - so head to the library... :)
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Summary: Idont believe it
Review: This book is sad. As a Mom of three all demand fed,all of whom slept through the night by 3 months, I was saddened by this book which treats children like infantine tyrants. As a nurse who worked in a high dependency paediatric unit where demand feeding was the norm, i find this book very harsh. This book is flawed for various reasons, a) the author has no children, b) it is going to cause problem for children later on. My Aunt followed the type of regime suugested by Ford on her first born, he was the most difficult baby ever; and is a very insecure adult. Her other children were allowed to set their own agenda , and were much more contented babies, and adults. My 2 year old was allowed to set his own agenda, and now at 6pm he comes and asks to go to bed.To leave a child to cry its self to sleep is cruel.Buy a book written by a parent, someone who has been there,done that,and worn the teeshirt.
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Summary: WHAT A JOKE!
Review: I cannot believe that people actually have recommended this book! I am currently doing research into babies and sleep and had been told about this book by a friend who had a few friends who had tried it and liked it. Wow. I could not believe my eyes when I flipped to one of the routine pages. She has everthing laid out to the minute...Heaven forbid if your baby should fuss in the evening and put you behind by 15 minutes...and research does show us that the early evening tends to be when a baby is the fussiest. I do believe that routines are beneficial to babies but this is just way too overdone and ridiculous in this book! I have no doubt this book worked for some people, I have a feeling any book may have worked for them as they may have babies who are what we call "self-soothers". The author has the gaul in her introduction to comment that the other literature out there ( which goes against many of her ideas) is based on reasearch and studies and medical information as opposed to her opinions and experience which we should feel is far superior. She claims that doctors can tell youi to feed on demand as they don't have to be at work by 9 a.m. and can sleep when they need to apparently. Hmmmmm....as a doctor I wish I could have a day that started at 9 a.m.!! There are proven medical reasons why breastfeeding on demand is best, these aren't theories. The job is to figure out if your baby is actually hungry, needs attention, or something else. Babies also experience growth spurts where they will cluster feed for a day or so...this is to increase your milk supply for their growth...this book doesn't account for that at all.Some babies will also "cluster" before bed as a way to "stock-up" so that they will sleep better. This book does not account for that FACT either. Another fact is that every baby is an individual, each parent is an individual, we are all different.Applying such a blanket, unforgiving rountine on us is not healthy and just sets one up for failure or frustration over why it isn't working.This book throws what we know as fact out the window and just gives her strict routine. If I had followed this with my newborn I would never have seen the light of day! Instead we were able to go to movies, out for dinner, go hiking, spend time with family....and my baby is a "contented baby".
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Summary: good for parents and good for babies
Review: I have been a devotee of Gina's since two months after my daughter was born in August 2000. I bought this book and the follow-up "From Contented Baby to Confident Child," having heard about it from an English friend. You can read an amusing and heated debate between Gina-lovers and Gina-haters on that site. I'm delighted to see that she is now published in the US. While the tone of the writing can be a little off-putting (starchy, bossy, English Nanny etc.), it is worth ignoring that superficial irritation as the wisdom she provides is precious. With a very complicated lifestyle, I was unable to follow the routines to the letter, but worked at it and always kept it in mind as an underlying plan. The closer I managed to keep to it, the happier and more contented we all were. My baby changed overnight and took to the schedule as though it was her natural way of existing as soon as I tried it. And I never let her cry inconsolably. A couple of minutes "crying down" is and always has been the rare and maximum crying time. If not, there are other things to be done. There is nothing cruel and unloving about this approach. Read the book!
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Summary: Happy kiwi parents
Review: We were given the book when our daughter was 4 weeks old and had being following the "on demand" approach. What a nightmare trying to work out what our baby wanted as first time parents. Our antenatal classes were dead against the routine approach but didn't give us much idea about life ahead or how to cope with a tired crying baby. This BOOK IS THE BEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD as it gives practical advice which makes sense. You may think of it as restrictive but you can change it to suit yourself and gives you ideas of what she has found to work. We don't follow it to the letter but use it as an idea and modified it to suit ourselves. I refer to the book all the time and now she has started solids, Gina's ideas have helped no end. At my antenatal class morning teas everyone is amashed at how well she sleeps(at night and day), eats well and is so happy. When you thing about it you are in a routine yourself everyday and are happier when you have slept well and aren't hungry. I have to say 5 1/2 months on can't thank the book enough and are happy kiwi parents who have a happy contented baby girl.
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