How to get a 1 month old baby into the Gina Ford routine? Post Reply

[clapham_mum]

Hi mums,

Our baby boy is currently 1 month old and I tried to get him into the Gina Ford routine as from when he was born. However, I gave up as it made me soooo nervous: he wasn't hungry when the book told he "should be", I couldn't keep him awake when I had to (following the rules) etc. Furthermore, my baby was far much hungry than the book suggested (I'm bottlefeeding) and so trying to get him into the routine drove me crazy...

He is now 1 month old and gets 6 bottlefeeds per 24 hour (of which 1 during the night), which is the same amount of feeds Gina suggests in her routine. However, the times of feeding vary every day...sometimes he's hungry after 2 hours, sometimes it's only after 4 hours. As I also have a toddler running around, it would be so handy if I could get the baby into a routine, so I can plan the activities with my toddler a bit more; now I'm sometimes waiting to go out until the baby is hungry... I don't want to force the baby to have a bottle as he already gets more milk than he should have at his age, I don't want to overfeed him.

Anyone any ideas/suggestions on how I could get my baby into a routine?

Thank you! x

[mummyof1]

You either love Gina or not like Marmite - personally worked for me - so i suggest that you do try again - try not to get too fixated on her timings - but do try to start the day with her timings - this will help with toddler too. Then if you are doing the 7 - 7.30 bottle this should give you some time in the mornings when you can get out and about. If he is taking lots of milk then maybe make sure out and about in hrs 2- 3 so even if crying you can try and distract in the buggy etc. Much easier to deal with crying if outside i found.
The other piece of advice i have is not to be fixated with the sleep always in the cot. I found this too restrictive for me to be in for 3 hours each afternoon but this may work for you.


Good Luck

[dandelion53]

My advice would be to get out and about with your toddler anyway and take your baby's milk with you - I'm not sure why you have to wait at home to feed the baby?
Personally I don't see much value to doing Gina strictly when you already have a toddler as the older child's routine/day tends to lead what you're doing anyway. This helps get the baby into a loose routine anyway. Your toddler's day and bedtime will shape your baby's day too...
That's what has been easier for me... If Gina was stressing you out a month ago, it still will now unless you just adapt the timings to your own and your toddler's life (in my opinion, this is what most people do and she has managed to sell books about the natural routine that most children have and most people just pick and choose the bits that suit them. Hardly anyone manages to stick to her book completely for any length of time or with subsequent children - but that's a separate point I guess!!)

[darlingbabs1]

I have a maternity nurse at the moment for no.2 and she is doing Gina with my baby (2 weeks). She says that you can give as much milk as the baby needs in the day feeds. I think the idea is to feed him/her up as much as poss in the day so that the night feed becomes less and less important over time, especially at the split feed at 5pm/6.15pm. Also, and you may hate this idea, we let ours have a dummy when he is gnarly between feeds (but not to go to sleep), as it keeps him awake enough to stare at his play gym or at us and whats going on around him but also satisfies his need to suck. She says that we will get rid of this in a few weeks time as Im not keen to have a dummy dependent baby but she suggests that some babies will cry just because they want to suck something (not hunger) and it certainly seems to be the case with ours.

[Boobelle]

Forget Gina, trust your instinct and enjoy your baby.

[mims]

All babies are different, just as all adults are - you wouldn't expect everyone you know to eat and sleep at the same time, so why people expect Gina Ford to work with every single baby just baffles me ..

Ime, the people who claim Gina worked for them are probably the people whose babies would naturally have fallen into that routine anyway, but they let someone who's never met their baby take all the credit!

I work with parents and see so much stress and anxiety caused by parents trying to shoehorn their individual baby into a one-size-fits-all approach. For some babies it's never going to work and you'll be constantly fighting against your baby which is a recipe for all-round misery.

The advice a previous poster gave about letting your toddler's routine set the pace makes a lot of sense. You don't need to be watching the clock, watch your children instead as a baby can't tell the time, they just work on tummy-time.

If you want to use an evidence-based approach, try Baby Sense by Megan Faure (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Babysense-Secre ... 704&sr=8-1).

Good luck - and look after yourself as well - this stage is hard enough without giving yourself added sources of stress

[MVCC]

I did Gina reallys strictly with number 1 and loved it, less strictly so with number 2 (6 months) as he was different but also as you just need some flexibility with two.
I found with feeding, where Gina gives a range for the feeding time, it sometimes helped (and still helps after lunchtime sleep) to wait until the back end of the time frame. For example, Gina says "awake and feeding no later than 2:30pm", and feed no later than 3:15pm. As my little one takes his bottle in 10 mins, I will wait until just after 3pm to give him that bottle. That way, he is more hungry (but not screaming) when he gets it, and can get to tea at 5pm more easily. Also, it means I can get him up at 2:15pm and head out with both children immediately. I then feed the little one when we get to our destination. I expect this may work best with bottle feeding.
Also, you really shouldn't worry about overfeeding. Your baby will know how much to take - don't hold back if they want more as they will only want more later (and in the night). Pack it in, was our motto!
Finally, don't worry about the sleeps. My golden rules were (1) follow Gina where poss; (2) if that isn't working, following her max sleep per day and not after 5pm. So, my second one would quite often sleep less at lunch and then have an afternoon snooze (most often in the pram) long after Gina recommended it was dropped.
Hope this helps. Good luck.

[momormum]

Everyone has definitely had different experiences, but I would just suggest to not worry yourself too much as your baby is still so young. For me, the Gina system started to really kick in around 3 months and has worked a treat since. I wasn't 100% strict with it, but just using it as a guide for sleep and feed times was really helpful as I didn't have a clue what to expect. I also found Gina's weaning books much less regimented and very useful in the beginning. Take care! x

[suelewisantenatal]

I suggest you contact Vicki Scott -vicki@newbabycompany.com tel 0207 751 1152 who does a great Baby Confidence course where you lead the baby not the baby leading you .It is not as strict and much easier to follow than Gina Ford,who has some good ideas .
Good Luck
Sue Lewis -contact me on 020 8946 8561 if you want Post natal classes (with chat and advice and nannies included )

[lawrence]

Awwwww..1month still to young for routine,just follow the normal few hours feeds really....untill he grow a bit,my children started proper routine just when they were2months old....and were sleeping from midnight til 6am..on a good feed...at midnight.
Just follow your insticts...sometimes u cant rely so much on books,some children need more food then others...again depends on what milk you are using.Im just trying to tell you simple approach...and go with your instict,maybe im oldfashioned but1month dear me to young.
Good luck.xx

[mum_of_one]

I followed The Sensational Baby Sleep Plan by Alison Scott Wright which offers babies a simple routine for feeds and sleep which is much more easy to follow than Gina. Baby slept through from 13 weeks! Good luck .

[susiep23]

exactly what mims said .

Take any parts from what u have read, advised by a friend or whatever and make them work for you dont be told by one said person that this is best for you're baby. A good mix of you're own instinct and a little advise from you're mum/friend, book to go with what works for you, you're baby and toddler is good. Im sure most mums will be doing a great/yet demanding job without the added pressure of a book demanding timings for everything. Dont beat you're self up if dosnt work for you most parenting/ looking after children is trial and error for those little individuals