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The Contented Little Baby Book

Author: Gina Ford
Publisher: Vermilion
Category: Book

List Price: ~~Ł8.99~~
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Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

607 reviews
Sales Rank: 26603

Media: Paperback
Pages: 176

ISBN: 0091869145
EAN: 9780091869144
ASIN: 0091869145

Publication Date: July 1, 1999
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: This book is in stock and will ship within 24 hours from our warehouse in the UK.

Also Available In:

•	Paperback - The New Contented Little Baby Book
•	Paperback - The New Contented Little Baby Book: The Secret to Calm and Confident Parenting

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•	Secrets of the Baby Whisperer: How to Calm, Connect and Communicate with Your Baby
•	The Contented Baby's First Year: A Month-by-month Guide to Your Baby's Development
•	What to Expect the First Year (What to Expect)
•	The Contented Little Baby Book Of Weaning
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Editorial Reviews:

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

Customer Reviews: Read 602 more reviews...

3 out of 5 stars

Love it or hate it July 12, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

I found this book to be badly written and quite difficult to follow. The same points could be communicated using half as much paper and the author seems to spend an awful lot of time blowing her own trumpet.
Don't let this put you off though, the underlying theory of the book is a good one but it is not presented simply. I perservered and found that by referring back to certain parts it made a little more sense.
I almost wore myself to a frazzle trying to implement the routines exactly as laid out in the book when I got straight out of hospital and in the end I adjusted and simplifed the routines a little, wrote them on the noticeboard (so my husband knew what was going on!) and everything just clicked.
My little boy has almost completely dropped his night feed at 8 weeks and was sleeping five to seven hours pretty much from ten days old.

The most valuable tip in the early days was to express in the morning so my husband could do the 11pm feed, allowing me to have a bath and get to bed around 9pm.

My advice would be to read the book, and take some of the ideas and fit them into YOUR routine, otherwise its pretty difficult to even leave the house as every minute is accounted for.
Good luck.

5 out of 5 stars

An absolute godsend July 10, 2008
I bought this book when my baby was 8 weeks old and was very sleep deprived. I was very sceptical about it and was convinced it wasn't going to work but I have to say it did. I followed the routines for feeding but adapted the more strict bits to suit myself and my baby. The result was (and still is!) a very happy contented baby who at 12 weeks slept through the night. Getting those evenings back is priceless! I am proud to admit to being a control freak and found the book an absolute godsend. I would recommend it to all new mums who have no clue about what they are doing!!I am now using Gina's book for weaning which again has proved an absolute success.

5 out of 5 stars

Try it and see-thank you for our happy, contented baby! July 7, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

We bought the 'Baby Whisperer' when pregnant with our 10 week old daughter and loved the idea of an 'easy' routine which was led by baby and was not rigid. We were particularly interested in the self soothing as we wanted our daughter to learn to do this fairly quickly as we had seen too many frazzled parents rocking/singing/pacing their babies to sleep. Our little one was a baby who showed no signs of tiredness until she was totally 'overtired' and we just could NOT seem to preempt her. I developed PND and was so worried that she would not sleep on her own and we would be constantly having the soothe her. I had heard alot about Gina through NCT lessons and other friends and knew that the book was either love it or hate it but decided to give it a go. Within one day She was a changed girl...instead of waiting for a yawn (which never came!) we placed her in her moses basket at the 'correct' time with some nature sounds and fully swaddled and she drifted off into a happy and long sleep! Hooray!

We do not follw Gina to the letter as our little one needs a bit more sleep than suggested for her age but it has worked miricles for us as we now have a lovely evening, a lovely 2 hour break in the day and she has been sleeping through the night from 7 weeks old. I must admit that I love a routine myself and it has really helped me relax as it is like being told what to do. It wouldn't work if you are a more 'take it as it comes' person.

I am so proud of our contented baby and often have comments like 'you are so lucky' and 'isn't she an easy baby' but they were not around pre-gina when she was overtired and fractous!

I would reccommend trying the book and seeing...it can't hurt (just ignore the breast feeding advice as it is quite complicated when it doesn't have to be-I don't express) if you take the 'bossy' tone with a pinch of salt.

5 out of 5 stars

Sensible easy to follow guidelines (not rules!) for a contented baby! June 25, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

I think when some people read the book they mistakenly perceive the book as a set of rules that must be followed to the letter. It isn't. It's a simple and clear set of guidelines that helps your baby to find a natural and balanced rhythm.

We followed the book carefully with our little one and it wasn't a case of rigid timelines in the slightest. We have a very happy, healthy, contented baby who from the age of 6ms year was sleeping (happily) from 7pm to 7am. She knows her meal times (yes the Gina Ford weaning book is also fabulous) and the difference between a lighter day time nap and night time sleep.

By following these simple guidelines you can ensure you have a contented baby.

I would also recommend the Contented Baby website which provides lots of useful advice, tips, on feeding, sleeping, development, recipes for weaning and also a useful forum for posting questions and discussing topics with other parents.

1 out of 5 stars

Avoid this book. June 23, 2008
6 out of 7 found this review helpful

We bought this book on the advice of my sister, we were new parents and needed a little help with regards to feeding and sleeping etc. We could not belive our eyes when we read it however, this book is nothing more than set of strict authoritarian rules on how to live your entire life.
I mean it even gives you advice on how to use your own washing machine for goodness sake, when to get out of bed, when to eat, what is this woman on? A massive power trip as far as i can see!

Our midwife took one look at this book when she came to our house and said burn it, this book apparantly gives her many problems in her day to day job. She said Gina Ford is nothing more than a nanny and has never even had her own children, or hadnt when she wrote this.

Our son has found his own routine, and is very happy and contended without the ludicrous advice of this book.

A friend at work is living his life according to this book at the moment and is one of the most stressed individuals i know right now, it may not be purely this book but it cant be helping him or his family. Being a parent isnt just about having a contended baby, it's about having a happy and contended family.

The stress of being a new parent can be difficult enough without having to suddenly set your life around this books strict rules and regulations. If you need help speak to your family, friends, midwife, health worker, doctor, neighbours but seriously do not buy this book.