Did you Gina your baby? (The Contented Little Baby Book - Gina Ford)

Member Name: fergusa

Product:	The Contented Little Baby Book - Gina Ford
Date:	22/07/09 (58 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good for new mums when you feel a bit overwhelmed.

Disadvantages: Too restrictive to use long term.

My baby boy will be one year old next week and my husband and I have been reliving our favourite memories of the last year. I have also been putting lots of things that I no longer need into storage and whilst doing this came upon this book.

It is the very well known "Contented Little Baby" book by Gina Ford. This book seems to have a Marmite following, some people love the very strict routines and advice she gives and others find it too restrictive.

I read this book cover to cover several times during the early months of my first child's life and I would have to say that during this time it was very helpful and reassuring. I had absolutely no experience with babies before I became a mum and the very strict hour by hour routines really helped give me the confidence that I hadn't forgotton to do something important.

However after a few months, I wanted to get a little more of my life back. I wanted to travel to friend's, go on day trips, spend an afternoon at the shops etc and Gina's routines really don't give you any flexibility on where and when baby can sleep.

I ended up using the book as a reference guide, basing my day loosely on the routine but adapting it to meet my and baby's needs. After all, a happy mummy makes for a happy baby.

**The layout of the book
The first section is about preparing for the baby, what equipment and clothes you will need, what you will need in the nursery. This section is helpful but does not really give anything unique.

The next few chapters discuss what will happen to your baby during the first year, how they will feed, how often and how much, how they will sleep, how often and how much and common problems like colic and hiccups.

The bulk of the book, which follows, is a detailed, hour by hour routine. There are 9 routines from the first at 2 weeks old up to the last which covers upto 12 months. These routines develop slowly, with slight variations to nap times and feed times.

There is also a small chapter on weaning. With routines (called feeding plans) for baby from four to twelve months.

**What did I like about this book?

1. It gave me confidence and structure in the early days.
2. It gives a general idea of how much sleep and milk your baby should be getting.
3. It has case studies throughout which can be a bit lighter to read than pages and pages of "you must do this and then this".
4. There is a check box at the beginning of each routine so you can easily see how the routines change without reading all the way through.

**What I didn't like
After the initial shock of having an infant to care for, I realised that actually I do know what's best for my baby. Once you get to this point, the book becomes too restrictive and at worst a bit patronising.

ISBN 0-09-188233-8
RRP £9.99
www.randomhouse.co.uk

Summary: Helped me in the early days.