Gina Ford's 'The New Contented Little Baby Book' Review

I'm one of those people who prides themselves on being pretty organised. I like things to be put away in specific places. I keep important paperwork together so that should we need it it's easy to locate. In essence I am the exact opposite of my husband who would happily live in a state of disarray! I knew having a baby would throw my organised existence a little but figured that if I could establish a routine for baby from the word go then things may be a little more smooth sailing. A number of friends of mine had read and successfully followed Gina Ford's guide and one was kind enough to send me a copy of this book.

As I entered the last stages of my pregnancy and was so big that moving became an impossible undertaking, I sat (like beached whale) on the sofa and began reading this book cover to cover. What I read appealed. Routine is the thing that is key in Ford's thinking and as someone who generally likes routine in her life this seemed to tick all the right boxes.

Ford talks of the importance of establishing set feed times, for instance, as opposed to reaching for the bottle as soon as baby cries . Feeding on demand is not, in Ford's mind, the way to go. Another golden rule to follow, if you want to adopt Ford's tried and tested method, is that first feed of the day should always be by 7am. And when baby first comes home and there is the dreaded middle of the night feed, Ford recommends baby should be fed with as little interaction from mum as possible. The idea being that baby learns that this is feed time, not play time or indeed cuddle time, and once milk is drunk and baby is burped its back to bed!

When it come to how much your little un should be fed as it grows, Ford has produced a handy guide which allows you to have an idea of what the average baby is taking at each stage. Handily she provides a routine for both breast and bottle fed babies so mums following each choice can benefit from her guide. Nap times are also structured into Ford's recommended feeding schedule too. Ford advocates baby always being put to sleep in a darkened room so that when it comes to wake him/her it is a case of signalling 'time to wake up baby' by opening the blinds, pulling back the blankets etc.

Ford's suggested routines also take into account when baby starts to be weaned (although she also has a book dedicated to this subject – 'The Contented Little Book of Weaning' ) giving mums handy advice in terms of what to offer from the early stages and how often.

I do agree with Ford that the key to having a contented baby is to introduce from the very early days some sense of structure. And I definitely took on board her advice when it came to routined feeds. Lily has always feed every three hours, although as she has grown and now takes bigger feeds we can now stretch the break between three and a half and four hours.

I have never been tempted to feed on demand, particularly as I now know that often Lily's cries are for anything but food. Yes she sometimes does cry for her feed (especially at the moment as I think she is on the verge of being ready to wean and so seems to be getting hungry more often) but more often than not the cry is because she is due a nap and is desperately fighting it! Or she is simply craving a bit of stimulation.

We do, as Ford advises, ensure that Lily's last feed of the day – currently her 10.30pm feed – is done with the minimum amount of communication. We dress her for bed, even put her in her sleeping bad and then my husband (who tends to do this feed) will give her the bottle without any chatting or background noise. We also dim the lights.

I would be lying if I said that I have followed Ford's routine to the letter because I haven't. While it has been a helpful insight, the truth of the matter is that I have adopted a routine that works for me and more importantly works for Lily. And while her structured feeds suggested by Ford have doubtless helped for us to establish other routines, these 'Contented Little Baby' routines!

Lily, for instance, will at this stage in her development always have a little power nap after she has been fed. She is comfortable with this; so am I! She will invariably also have a longer nap in the afternoon and then one between her penultimate and last feed. I am conscious not to allow too much day sleep and if need be would rouse Lily but she seems to know when enough is enough and it certainly doesn't affect her ability to sleep at night as she happily goes from 11pm (after her 10.30 sleep feed) through till 7am-ish.

I know Ford would say it was a big no no but some of these daytime naps take place downstairs, not in her crib. She seems happy to doze in her car seat and again my priority is Lily's happiness. If trying to settle her in her crib unsettles her I then have a tired and crying baby on my hands. That's not to say I am not trying to establish a routine where sleep means getting into her crib. I am, but I think it will work more successfully for me when Lily is in her own room and that won't be for a couple of months yet.

Lily has never been a big feeder either. She will happily feed at structured points but won't take big feeds. Like any mum I have worried whether she should be taking more and my worries weren't made any easier in Lily's first month when looking at Ford's suggested feeding chart. She wasn't taking anywhere near Ford's recommendations and though she is keen to stress that these suggestions are based on an average baby's needs you can't help to question why your little un isn't as hungry as the chart suggests. 

If I have learnt anything with regards Lily's milk intake it's that the most important thing is to keep an eye on her weight. Lily has continued to put on the right amount of weight at every visit to the baby clinic. She is satisfied with the size of feeds she is drinking and simply wouldn't take any more even if offered. Compared to other babies I guess she is just not a very hungry baby but she is thriving and that's priority. 

I have had many friends who swear by Ford's tried and tested methods. They have been able to establish all of the suggested routines successfully. One friend said she hardly ever heard her baby cry in the first year. Now that's a contented baby! Another managed to get her little un sleeping through the night at 12 weeks thanks to this book and her little girl, now at 9 months, still follows a structured nap and feed schedule.

I was initially surprised that Ford's routines hadn't been more successful for me considering organisation and structure have always been important to me personally. Perhaps that is the point. What works for me may not for my daughter. She is, after all, a person in her own rights and while I can help guide her she will inevitably dictate a little to me. At the end of the day, the overriding comment made about Lily whenever anyone sees her is 'she seems so content' and so we must be doing something right!!