Product Description

This book could be your salvation! A quote from the "Daily Telegraph", but this cry could equally have come from the thousands of mothers who have put Gina Ford's kind but firm routines into practice and put some calm back into their lives. Sleep-starved nights, inconsolable crying, feeding on demand - stories that make the prospect of bringing a tiny baby home for the first time daunting for any proud new parent. Fully updated and with helpful input from clients, readers and mothers who simply love her routines, "The New Contented Little Baby Book" gives reassuring and practical advice to new parents that works from one of the UK's most respected and most talked about maternity nurses. Her secret is simple and amazing - a strategy developed through years of research and experience. When put into practice, 'Gina babies': sleep through the night from an early age; feed regularly and well from either breast or bottle; and are less likely to suffer from colic. And parents are calm and contented too!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #181 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
If you are still struggling to get your newborn to sleep through the night, still getting up throughout the night to feed the little one, or perhaps you are feeling as if no end is in sight, you need to read Gina Ford's The Contented Little Baby Book. It may be the only thing you need to bring peace back into your frazzled existence with your tiny baby, or babies.

After all, this book promises to teach parents tried and tested methods to get their baby to sleep through the night by the time they are 10 weeks old.

For parents who are craving their first night of unbroken sleep, Ford's book may be the answer.

Ford's methods conjure up the image of a strict and loving old nanny from yesteryear. Her techniques go against the grain of many currently popular parenting philosophies. For example, Ford, an experienced maternity nurse, is against demand feeding, believes in the necessity of waking a sleeping baby in order to establish a daily routine. Her philosophy may not be the norm today, but Ford is confident of her methods based on years of experience handling hundreds of babies.

Providing an hour-by-hour, week-by-week guide on how to get a new baby into a routine, the book includes feeding and sleeping schedules based on a baby's age. The Contented Little Baby Book provides so much information that it may be necessary to keep this paperback book handy for reference should you employ Ford's techniques.

Experienced parents may not benefit from Ford's methods, but first-time parents may learn a lot from her ideas, and for the discerning reader of parenting books, this one is a must have. For the reader who would like to weigh other parenting methods before adopting Ford's techniques, the following books may be of interest: The Baby Book, by William Sears, M.D. and Martha Sears, R.N.; What to Expect in the first year, by Eisenberg, Murkoff and Hathaway; and Your Baby and Child, by Penelope Leach. --Abbe Jacobson

Review
'Gina Ford is the Delia Smith of parenting...while Delia tells you how to make the perfect omelette, Gina Ford in her baby-care manual The Contented Little Baby Book, draws on 30 years' experience to tell you how to nurture the perfectly happy baby.', YOU Magazine .'for me she was an absolute godsend', Kate Winslet, Baby & You ."It is hard to overestimate the good she has done...How to reward this great benefactor of mankind?...My wife takes the view that only sainthood will do.", Peter Osborne, Political Editor, The Spectator .'"I devoured it (Contented Little Baby Book) in one sitting. It was hilarious. The claim that a baby of five months could be trained to sleep from 7am to 7pm made me laugh out loud. Little did I realise that this was the start of my conversion to the gospel according to St Gina. That Gina Ford would soon acquire an almost divine status in my life....I look back on my BGE (Before Gina Era) and think of how many of my babies has cried and cried as I ever more desperately struggled to get them to sleep....My only regret, of course, is that Gina did not write her book years ago, when my older children were born. I look in the mirror and wonder what a difference that would have made to the bags under my eyes. If motherhood had always been as easy as it seems this time, I might not have had five children - but 10. Maybe Ruth Kelly's secrets is that she has a copy of St Gina."', Martine Oborne, Evening Standard

You Magazine (Mail on Sunday)
`Gina Ford is the Delia Smith of parenting...'

Customer Reviews

Fantastic
This book and Gina's approach are by far the most thoughtful and most understanding of a babies needs i.e good sleep means good feeding means good sleep. It is not and never intends to be prescriptive and looking through many of these reviews I am disapointed that the reviewers are not able to see that Gina is giving a system to meet your babies needs - she assumes that you know how to cuddle and love your baby so obviously does not give you a time to day to do it!! I for one needed to be reminded to take care of myself and really appreciated Gina's advice on diet to support breast feeding and having breakfast! I am consistently amazed by the level of feeling around Gina's structured approach as I know my daughter, my many nieces and nephews have thrived on it. I incidently have never left my daughter to cry so I am trying to dispel some of the anti Gina myths that are always bandied about so if you are about to be a parent please please do not be put off by some of these reviews, I honestly beleive that some people are not informed enough to review this book and therefore have a limited knowledge of Gina's philosopy.
Morgan.

Life Saver
This book is clearly written in an accessible easy to read style and just makes total sense! Gina understands the natural rhythms of babies and her routines work! My son has had a tricky start in life, yet now he eats, sleeps and plays well - all down to the genius of this book! Everyone comments on what a contented baby he is - even his consultants. Since being able to get him into the routines, he as never been happier. Having predictability and structure in his life helps him know where he is up to and feel secure and helps family life. Though we stick carefully to the routines most of the time, we adapt them for special occasions and holidays, but once over, he is immediately back on track. He is adaptable because he gets so much quality sleep each night and day to recharge him. Knowing what will happen throughout the day just takes the guess work away and I know that his needs will be met day in day out! I can't praise it highly enough!

Praise for Gina
I have 3 sons aged 5,2 and 1 and all have been raised the CLB way.

If you would like structure to your day and learn to understand your babys basic needs then give this book a go.

The book is presented in simple and easy to understand terms - most likely because Gina Ford knows that new mums dont have time to sift through the waffle and just want to be told how to do what needs doing.

My children all settled into the routine well and have fantastic sleeping habits ( all sleeping 12 hours per night from 18 weeks) and good eating habits.

I rarely felt anxious or stressed when they were babies, even with 16 months between my last two, because they were calm and content.
Despite what others may say the routine works with babys natural habits and forms the foundation for excellent sleeping and feeding patterns. The routine helped me establish a good milk supply when breastfeeding and helped me avoid the hours on end spend feeding like some of my friends. I was able to enjoy my new baby and understand his needs.

I cannot reccomend this book enough and so many of my friends also swear by this book.