Gina Ford Contented Baby book

[newmumofone]

Munaz,

I didn't really think about the chart relating to expressed or formula, I just took it as a guide. Sometimes she took less, sometimes she gobbled it all up we gave her an extra 25mls which she rarely finished. So I guess I would say she had between 80-120ml at the 10pm feed. Of course you never really know how much they are taking on the breast. I just watched that she didn't need longer than an hour during the day as the nurse said that was way too long. After a month or so she was feeding in 40 mins, then 30, and now she polishes off a bottle in about 5 minutes!

We were lucky and never had a problem with her nappies, she digested after every feed before the next and was always well, but that is a good indicator (as the prevoius poster said) of what they're getting. They definitely all take different amounts. By about 2-3 months she was having a lunch bottle that was 250ml, where as a friend's daughter same age was only taking 125ml, and a mothers group friend's son was taking 350ml.

If you offer enough, the baby will hopefully take what they need and if you have a guide to start you can increase or decrease as needed. As CLB says, always feed a hungry baby. There's no need to try to continue to feed a baby who isn't taking it, if they're not hungry they're not hungry.

One extra point I just remembered that I would urge everyone - get BPA free bottles! I had to order Avent ones online as they weren't available in stores, but other brands are. Many other western countries ban BPA bottles - Australia has crap labelling, food and safety standards.

[MummaSue]

I've been very interested to read the opinions on this book.

I am due my first baby in 3 weeks and was recommended this book by one of the Drs that I work with - he and his wife swear by it and have 3 of the most well behaved and happy children that I have ever met (important to note they are no longer babies).

Anyway, I got this book and it TERRIFIED me. It just seems so rigid. I will be taking some strategies from it but will be leaving others out.

Thanks for a very interesting thread!
Sue x

[newmumofone]

Hi Sue,

As you may have read on this thread, there are lots of strong opinions about CLB. It is written in a very curt tone, but nothing is to be taken from that except that Ford can be a little clinical. Having said that, she talks about decades of experience in nannying and developing the routines based on much research.

In my experience, and that of my sisters, friends and mothers' group friends, it is a sucess. However, I would say that for me it was most sucessful when I followed as much as possible of the routines. My daughter (now 9 months and still perfect!) slept more than the routines allowed, but I still woke her up on time, it just meant she went to sleep earlier than stated when she needed. I never had a problem with her hunger, the routines preempted her hunger, and she has never cried for food and when she's full she stops. She was in fact better at feeding than the routines suggest and started dropping feeds earlier than the book suggests.

I didn't need to express as much as the book suggests as I had a great supply, but I'm sure my supply was a result of starting off 3 hourly as she suggests. My body worked like clockwork. I expressed if I had too much, particularly at the 10pm feed, but not every night.

So the book is rigid and perhaps clinical, but it does work and it does give you a contented little baby. I found that the routines enabled me to have quality play and cuddle time with her, as we were both always rested and happy. One of my three sisters who didn't follow CLB unfortunately has not had such an experience with hers. Everyone is different though.

Good luck, any day now!

[Bathsheba]

Sue: Just one observation My mother is a nurse and raised me with strict routines and a no-nonsense approach similar to Ms Fords. I was a very well behaved child too. I learnt early that if i had a problem it was better to keep quiet and not bother the adults with it. I learnt to fit in with them and never expected them to fit in with my needs. I never woke my parents at night. I remember lying in my bed cold some nights because I needed a blanket but i shivered instead of daring to enter my parents bedroom at night. What a good girl I was. When my parents separated and my mother's new boyfriend started treating me inappropriatly I never said a word because it would upset my parents and you shouldn't do that.

Confident kids who have been raised gently are not as convenient as children rasied more strictly but i can assure you that they grow up safer with their confidence to tell adults to stop doing things that are not in their best interests. Please dont aim to have convenient children. It often comes at the price of trust.

[newmumofone]

I choose not to ever criticise (either passively or aggressively) other posts, but that last one is just silly. You can't seriously be aligning other mothers' choices to raise their babies in a certain way with the tragedy you have endured as a child? I am sorry for what you have suffered, but to suggest that because my child sleeps from 7 to 7 at present means that I won't ever let her come into our bed when sick, upset etc is nothing short of unfounded and unfair judgment.

I am disturbed and offended at your passive suggestion. I'm quite happy to leave this post as it clearly upsets you when I post MY experiences, but others are asking me questions and I'm happy to support them.

I have never said that my daughter is well behaved, I think that is a ridiculous concept for an infant/baby. She is contented, that is, she is nearly always happy, laughing, clapping, crawling, chasing the dogs, and generally playful. I also never said anything about being quiet, she talks and babbles at the top of her voice for all waking hours. Much to our enjoyment and the strangers she engages when we're out. There are exceptions of course, she had a cold last week, grew 4 teeth the week before and had conjunctivitis the week before that. Overall she is an absolute joy, and I choose to share that with other posters.

I have also never used the word convenient.

Once again, in MY experience, CLB is a great way to raise a contented little baby. I'm sure there are others too.

[Starfish]

New mum - I think that Bath was referring to Sue's comment about her dr's obedient children, not to you. I think she was saying "well behaved children may not necessarily be happy but you might not know this" Not "all well behaved children have problems". Also, you write about how well CLB worked for you, but from what I gather (I have only ever read excerpts of the book, so can't really comment), you seem to have taken the bits of the routines that worked for you and ignored the bits that didn't work (e.g. your baby going to bed earlier than stated). I think that this is the most sensible apporach to take - read widely and do the things that work and ignore the ones that don't. Don't forget to mention this when recommending CLB to others.

Sue - if the book scares you, other posters have suggested other books and other apporaches. Everyone is different. Personally I don't like routines, therefore would not consciously try an approach that is based on them. My daughter was a contented baby too, and she was demand fed and we co-slept (still do) - so do what works for you. Don't feel the need to do something "recommended" by someone else as everyone is different and what works for one may not work for another.