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Gina Ford CLB routine

Hi



our little oscar is just over 2 weeks old, and we are having real trouble settling him in his bed etc - i know its still early, but we would like to get into a routine as soon as possible.



I have heard about gina ford's clb routine and wondered if anyone had tried it? was it successful? how long did it take for your baby to 'get the hang of it'? did you follow it by the book? or adapt it slightly? If you considered it and decided not to follow it, why did you decide that and what did you do instead?



thanks

Replies

  • Hi - I read Gina Ford when I was pregnant and decided straight away not to follow it. I jsut found it far too rigid - I am sure if you stuck to it rigidly it would work - and I know plenty of people who swear by it. For me though, it was just far too restrictive.



    I am not the best person to answer re. routines as my LO is 4 months old and doesn't sleep through the night - which alot of the set routines would see as something wrong. I do dip in to gina ford and the baby whisperer but I am mainly just led by my LO.



    What problems are you having with LO? Maybe some of the ladies on here could help without you having to look to a rigid routine?



  • Im the same as Sungglenush - I didn't like how regimented Gina Ford's routine is...... there was no way that I was going to leave my DS screaming for a feed for an hour if he was wanting a bottle 3 hours after his last one...



    I have taken little bits out of her book which has helped get DS into some sort of routine (he's done it himself to be honest)



    one thing GF says in the book is that a baby sleeps better between 10pm and 6am if they get a good sleep between 7pm and 10pm.....



    DS is just over 3 months old and he is sleeping from 7pm to 7am......



    I personally think that 'mummy knows best'.... not Gina Ford !!!!!



    DLAM xxx
  • Thanks for your opinions.



    Our main problem is that he just won't settle in his bed. I spend about half an hr breast feeding him-he always falls asleep and I'm sure he isn't taking enough food in (I try waking him, but it only wakes him for a couple of sucks then he is back to sleep). He then suffers from bad wind pains despite winding him for up to 1 hr (we have tried infacol and now on dentinox). When we manage to calm him down, he starts to fall asleep on us but as soon as he goes in his own bed he wakes and screams/won't settle till he's picked up. We usually have fewer problems in the morning, and it seems to get progressively worse (I assume as he gets overtired) until after his 3am feed. I understand that newborns are demanding and need attention and cuddles, and i am not expecting him to sleep through or anything, but him not settling in his own bed is getting worse (he was fine in there to begin with) and I dont want to get myself stuck in a situation where he won't sleep by himself at all if that makes sense?
  • Be reassured that they tend to go through phases - i remember Logan going through a sell of refusin to sleep in his basket - but it did pass image In the meantime, have a look at gina ford and baby whisperer - it might give u some ideas?

  • We used the routine from 9 weeks - to be honest any earlier I think is too soon.



    However, I think that if you want to use something then this one is really good. There will be aspects of it that won't work for you, but I believe the most important parts ar establishing good naptimes and a bedtime routine. The rest is flexible.

    Even now at 1yr old we still follow the lunchtime nap and bedtime routine.



    Have you tried swaddling him before you put him in his bed and then transfering?



    Give the book a read, but keep in mind that its just a guide xxx
  • Well the Gina Ford way worked a treat for us, i would recommend it to anyone and everyone. A lot of people take great offence to her, never been able to understand why..



    I had my son in her routine right from when we got him out of hospital, and by routine i mean the feeding and sleeping timings. I dont necessarily put him to sleep in his cot for every nap. It depends where we are and what we are doing and if he doesnt want to sleep then he doesnt sleep! If he is hungry 15 minutes before his feed is due then i feed him! If we wakes up an hour early then i just adjust the timings accordingly.



    I think people take her way to seriously, you dont have to follow it rigidly by the book, but take out of it the important bits.



    She explains the importance of sleep during the day, how much sleep baby should be getting depending on their age etc...and i really like her bedtime routine, bath and bottle etc. I think its really helpful and helped me understand his needs, as i didnt have a clue at the start, being a 1st time mum.



    It really helps me too because i know when he is hungry and when he is tired. I know how much sleep he should be getting a day and during the night. I might just be lucky but he never screams for no reason and i'm sure its because he's been in a routine from the start.



    I would definitely have a read of the book and see what you think...



    xxx
  • Hi,



    I have always really been led by my LO and fallen into our own routines. I have found that these will alter overtime anyway as they go through different stages etc.



    My LO would never settle when he was put in his basket, and would fall back to sleep as soon as he was picked up. I went through about 7 weeks of no sleep because of this - then one day I put him to sleep on his side rather than his back (this isn't recommended by HV's though) and he slept great. He just didn't like sleeping on his back. He is now 5 months and has just started to be able to sleep on his back. He was / is EBF and suffered with really bad wind, which didn't help - I think sleeping on his side helped with this.



    I couldn't believe that that was all it was that was preventing him from sleeping in his moses basket!



    Good Luck - don't be too hard on yourself, I found I was that obsessed with routines etc I got so stressed out and wasn't enjoying my baby. Now I just go with the flow... image
  • Awww, 2 weeks is tiny. He's probably just feeling really lonely and insecure when you put him in his cot. Babies that young still think that you and them are the same person, and they don't understand that when you put them down you'll come back, they just think part of them is missing.



    Have you tried giving him a comforter - my DD had one that I think is called a Kusky - basically anything, even a muslin cloth, but keep it on you overnight or over the course of a day so it picks up your smell, I used to tuck hers in my bra! Give it to him when you put him down and see if being able to still smell you comforts him enough to go to sleep.



    If not, rocking and cuddling and shushing to sleep is perfectly ok. I promise. It doesn't 'spoil' them - just do what he needs, he will learn to self settle in his own time.



    Oh, and I loathe Gina Ford!
  • We took elements of Gina Ford routine from about 8 or 9 weeks and like bedshrimp says just used our common sense to adapt the guides to our wee one - most people who rant on about Gina Ford have never actually sat and read the book, in my experience - she does NOT recommend leaving a small baby to cry, although she does recommend aiming for a feeding routine she is very clear throughout that babies should always be fed inbetween times if they are hungry. She is not about getting babies to sleep through before they are physically ready and she is clear about that in several places in her book too - however like bedshrimp we found our DD fell into the routine very well and became very contented and settled almost immediately because her sleep needs and feed needs were anticipated and met so well - of course we slightly adapted it to fit her needs as required and didn't feel we 'had' to follow it every day to the letter eg if at groups and so on but it provides a good basis for getting a good amount of sleep in each day - something else she recommends. I would borrow a copy out the library and read it, see what you think. If you want to ask me anything, just give me a shout! HTH
  • I read the CLB book and it did teach me things that I didn't know before. I wasn't giving my son enough time for naps, I would only put him down when he was actually asleep whereas when I started putting him down for naps every 3 hours he was a changed baby. He'd have been about 5 weeks then. I also took the 3 hourly routine idea, as we had nothing in place and I felt a bit like I was in limbo. I wasn't very good at 'reading' my baby, I kept fretting that I was doing it wrong, and letting him feed, then cuddle, then down for a nap, then start it all over again really worked.



    It can't hurt to read it - take from it what you need x x x
  • Hi, just wanted to reassure you, I could have written your problems myself at 2 weeks and like you I didn't want to get her into bad habits cuddling her to sleep and really didn't want her in our bed. She had colic quite badly and would scream at night draw her feet up etc. She would cuddle on us and drop off and be wide awake as soon as we put her down. Even tried putting the basket matress on our lap and putting the whole lot down and she still woke up no idea how she knew. She would only settle alone on her tummy but i didn't want to leave her on her own that way. We tried a dummy she just spat it out. We had night after night of pacing and popping dummy back in stroking her cheek. She is now 9 weeks and seems to have turned a corner. Colic is gone and she settles alone. I chatted to my HV and she assured me that cuddling them as young as 2 weeks would not cause any long term bad habits so I did a bit of both. It will get better. I was at the end of my teather for weeks, but you just need to go with whatever gets you and your baby through the day and night xx
  • all 'bad habits' can be undone, he sounds perfectly fine for 2 weeks honestly make the most of all the wee cuddles etc as it won't be long until he is too big to be rocked to sleep. My DS2 was in no sort of routine until he was bout 6/7 months before this age they are just so young, he was bf too when he cried he got the boob, he slept when he wanted to, it will all come in time. That's not to say its very tiring etc etc but he just wants his mummy - they are so cute!! I want another new born!!! lol
  • i was wondering this too as my 12 week old i think needs routine so was guna join the gina ford forum.

    But think i will but book first



  • I've also read the CLB book and I really liked it, I don't understand why people have such a problem with her... I think she's misunderstood as she never actually says you should leave your baby to cry, it's just a guide and the minute detail she provides help some mums who need that stricter routine to keep their sanity.



    My daughter's 18 weeks and feeds 3 hourly during the day then sleeps 10-12 hours at night, going to bed at 7pm with a bath/feed/bed routine but other than that we don't have set times for things; she naps (in her cot) when I see she's tired and if she's a bit hungry before 3 hours then I'll feed her. xx
  • mrs kp

    Just ordered her book do u think a 3 month old that has been used to sleeping on us except for nighttimes get in2 routine?



    Does it give helpful ideas to get them to sleep as this is why weve ended up doing this as he refused to go dwn.



    XX
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