Customer Reviews
An essential guide to all you need to know about sleep and babies! - By: Elizabeth Byrne, 15 May 2008 
This book provides a detailed step by step guide to understanding sleep & babies. It may seem obvious that the two go hand in hand but in my experience as a mother, sleep (or lack of sleep) is the key issue in being able to function effectively & being able to deal with alll the day to day issues thrown at you by the little darlings. The book is divided, chapter by chapter on an age-related basis from birth to 3 years. The opening chapter gives a useful introduction to sleep & an overview of aspects which might effect it such as feeding, as well as discussing where babies sleep, how much they need at different ages, potential problems & much more. It also includes an overview of the routines which are a key feature of alll of Gina Fords guides. A very useful chapter discussing solutions for sleepless night follows this, & includes a very detailed section on 'controlled crying' techniques, an area which is often misinterpreted by people about what it means & how it is done. The book then goes on to explore the sleeping patterns of young babies through to toddlers with each chapter encompassing a 6 month period. The chapters are clearly broken down into sections including the routine expected at that age & specific age related issues. Many detailed case studies are included which I feel is the strength of the book & helps it to be easily related to ones own specific questions. The case studies assist in moving the tone away from that of a purely instructive book on sleep & helping it to be very user-friendly. I have learned a lot about sleep & it has helped to clarify my thoughts about how to deal with sleep issues as they arose. It is not necessary to be following Gina Fords routines precisely to find this book useful as there are many helpful hints, tips & wise insights to alll aspects of sleep which are of huge value to anyone interested in establishing good sleeping routines in the early years.
Straight forward and straight talking - By: Emma J, 29 Dec 2007 This is a great book for simple straight forward understanding of sleep. Thanks to this book my little girl who is 9 months has been sleeping through the night (7pm - 7.30am) for months, sleeps 3 hours during the day & is rarely overtired. The case studies are reallly helpful as is the blend of advice from Gina Ford & other sleep experts. I have recommended this book to many others & passed mine on to a friend who is struggling with her little boy who is up several times a night at 18months old. If you value your & your little ones sleep this book is for you!
Sleep....and how to get it! - By: Mrs. Louisa Swann, 04 Dec 2007 I've followed the CLB routines with both my daughters (now aged 1yr & 5yrs)and wouldn't have it any other way! Many people comment on how happy & contented they are & a lot of that must be due to the amount of solid sleep they both get.
I found the book a very useful addition to the CLB book, as it covers so much information on sleep in more detail than could be afforded in the CLB.
It covers how much sleep you should expect your baby/toddler to need, from birth to 3 years old (and the importance of a routine).
As the book is split into 6 chapters, you can quickly go to the section that's applicable to your babies age.
As with the other Gina Ford books, it contains many detailed case studies of when things have gone wrong. It is very comforting to read how other people get things wrong too, but that the problems can be corrected!
As a parent, one of the most frustrating things is the fact that just as you get used to a certain routine with your baby...they go & change it! Because babies needs are ever-changing, it is so handy to have this book to dip back into for reassurance.
Well worth a read!
Thank you Gina! - By: Mrs. L. Emason, 24 Nov 2007 I bought this book when my second daughter was 3 weeks old, she's now just turned 4 months & is sleeping through the night, settling herself for day naps & is one of the most contented little babies I have the pleasure of knowing. Gina Ford reallly comes in for some stick, it's such a shame, her routines are brilliant & it's obvious how much she loves babies. I think the problem is that people take her routines too literallly, you have to use your common sense & tailor them to your baby - for example my daughter at 4 months is still having an early evening catnap of 30-45 minutes, she can't make it through till 7pm otherwise whereas Gina advises to drop it around three months. Her basis for good sleep is a 7 to 7 routine with babies main, most longest sleep at lunchtime. As your baby gets older you graduallly reduce the length of the naps either side of the lunchtime nap until you are just left with one nap - reallly that;s it. You just tweak it to fit your baby's needs, some need more sleep, some less.
Thank you again Gina - you are a lifesaver!
Really Helpful - Excellent resource - By: sweetpea, 19 Nov 2007 I found this book very useful, well laid out & more to the point the advice it contained reallly worked. The approach is common sense & not at alll about leaving babies to cry as is often misreported. I liked the case studies & found the sleeping & feeding timetables/structure lifesaving. I also found the booked well researched & feel that there is a lot of support from other sources to support Gina Ford's way of doing things. All in alll I'd recommend this book to any parent & it is an invaluable companion to the Contented Little Baby Book or can be used as a stand alone resource to help the sleep deprived regain some degree of sanity!
