Anyone tried the Contented little baby thing?

run_Forrest_run

Hi Folks,
We bought that (in)famous book by Gina Ford..the contented little baby book...some say it is inhumane etc..others swear by it. Now our little one is very good at nights (4 weeks old) but it would be good to get her into a routine, especially for day naps and feeding etc..does anyone have any opinions on this book ??

davidoco

I would recommend that book. We used it for the very good practical guidance on feeding, swaddling, temperature etc but didn't stick rigidly to the times she set, just were guided by them.

That stuff about no eye contact and dim lights at night sounds harsh but after a week spending an extra two hours trying to resettle a young baby you'll soon see her point.

Our girl was sleeping 10.30/11.00pm to 7.00 am at five or six weeks which is the holy grail of baby rearing in my opinion. Lack of sleep makes both parents vvvvery cranky and decision-making becomes a battleground.

My wife was breastfeeding but she did express milk so that I could give the last & middle of the night feed which meant the feed was quicker. If there wasn’t enough from the expressing we just gave formula.

All that stuff that Ford goes into about expressing, give x from one breast and x from the other, start on this one etc etc wasn't followed to the letter, we just went with our own instincts on the feeding and also we weren't afraid to give top ups of formula if she didn't seem satisfied.

0lordy

Got it, read it, but used it as a guideline rather than sticking to it rigidly. Thought it a little too extreme, but then again we didn't have too much bother with sleepless nights, so didn't follow it to the letter.

Would recommend at least reading it, I believe you will get something good out of it, and every little bit helps!

run_Forrest_run

yeah,well we bought it and my partner tried it on our daughter when she was 5 days old (first day home) but it was stressing everyone out and we decided to leave it until week 6 (next friday) and then implement it..in the past 5 weeks our baby has settled into her own routine and she is sleeping up to 6.5-7 hours straight in the night but we think the book could help us out with feeding routines as you guys mentioned. Also we would like to get her into a routine for naps during the day etc..

I'm glad you guys said that ye take pieces from the book and not stick to it 100% because I was thinking the same thing...I mean the book doesn't take into account the need for flexibility for example when you are in someone else's house for a night (visiting grandparents etc..).

Wish me luck!

Hobbes

Having read portions of the book, anyone who thinks this book is good would be better off getting a puppy instead of a child.

run_Forrest_run

I see where you're coming from Hobbes...a lot of it seems fairly crude...as I said, we haven't tried any of it out as our little one seemed to have fitted into a nice nighttime routine...down at 10 and sleeps thru till 6...she is only 5 weeks old and I am only praying that things won't take a sudden!!

Hobbes

Babies more or less settle into a pattern, however this book seems to imply that it is better to starve your child to get some peace then to feed them when they are hungry.

There is a difference between a child that doesn't cry because its content and because it knows it won't do any good.

My son used to wake every 4 hours for food. We both took turns so that we would both get a good nights sleep in turn. Also after a few months just skipped the night bottle and gave him water until the morning. He slept all the way through after that.

Zaph0d

This is a book that gives you an excuse to be cruel to your child to give yourself an easy life. 'The Contented Little Parent Book'. It gives some relief to people finding it difficult to balance work and homelife. Well, maybe you don't need such a big car. Maybe you don't need two incomes. My parents never had a foreign holiday but my mother was always there.

Parents get very touchy if their parenting style is criticised but we can't all be right.

run_Forrest_run

Zaph0d wrote:

This is a book that gives you an excuse to be cruel to your child to give yourself an easy life. 'The Contented Little Parent Book'. It gives some relief to people finding it difficult to balance work and homelife. Well, maybe you don't need such a big car. Maybe you don't need two incomes. My parents never had a foreign holiday but my mother was always there.

Parents get very touchy if their parenting style is criticised but we can't all be right.

Spot one Zaph0d...unfortunately you are right...a lot of parents want to have children but also want to have the career, the high paying job and the lifestyle...all on their terms! mind you, with the cost of living and house prices these days it is almost impossible to stay at home!

TempestSabre

All that book is saying is stick to a regular routine. Which is common sense. I don't see what cruel about it, unless you try it and it doesn't work and you persist regardless. Golum style parenting isn't always a good thing either. This book didn't work for us. I can't remember now what worked and what didn't. I do know that all the babies/parents in my circle of friends noone had the exact same experience. So noone used the exact same methods on their babies.

Theres an awful lot of parents who can't survive on one salary and don't have a high flying lifestyle either. So its disingenuous to make a sweeping generalisation about both parents working.

Slutmonkey57b

Zaph0d wrote:

This is a book that gives you an excuse to be cruel to your child to give yourself an easy life. 'The Contented Little Parent Book'. It gives some relief to people finding it difficult to balance work and homelife. Well, maybe you don't need such a big car. Maybe you don't need two incomes. My parents never had a foreign holiday but my mother was always there.

Parents get very touchy if their parenting style is criticised but we can't all be right.

Perhaps so. On the other hand, houses and rent weren't so expensive when you were a kid either. Having a routine for babies isn't cruel - it's beneficial. Babies like routine.

Nevyn

All children need routine it brings order and security to thier world.

run_Forrest_run

TempestSabre wrote:

All that book is saying is stick to a regular routine. Which is common sense. I don't see what cruel about it, unless you try it and it doesn't work and you persist regardless. Golum style parenting isn't always a good thing either. This book didn't work for us. I can't remember now what worked and what didn't. I do know that all the babies/parents in my circle of friends noone had the exact same experience. So noone used the exact same methods on their babies.

Theres an awful lot of parents who can't survive on one salary and don't have a high flying lifestyle either. So its disingenuous to make a sweeping generalisation about both parents working.

I am one of those people where both partners work and we have a child...these days it is almost impossible to do it on one salary so don't get me wrong. It's just that there are people out there who are on very good money where one salary would suffice but they just don't want to spend all day cooped up with a child...in my opinion, if we could afford it I would happily stay at home and mind the little one....no bother. child rearing is more important than career progression....but in saying that I will be using a creche unfortunately.

CamGirl

Another one who passionatelly hates the book:D Being a first-time mother it did nothing but depress me that I'm not doing a good job...

You'll get very different oppionons on this one, it's one of these books you either love or hate! I'd rather follow some of the softer approaches ("Baby whisperer", "No cry sleep solution", etc) but it really depends on your parenting style;)