I too "stumbled" upon this book 4 years ago when my daughter was born. I bought it thinking it was a "helpful little hints" type of book because it was so small compared to the others. I read it one afternoon while my then-baby was napping and it was my first parental epiphany! As soon as my husband got home I told him to look through it and we agreed to start trying Ms. Ford's plan. By day 4, she was sleeping 7-7. We never looked back. Everyone would tell me she was the best baby and was always so happy. I would hear "What do you mean she sleeps from 7 to 7? How did you do that???" I would laugh and tell them about the book. To date, I have given away at least 35 copies of her book. I had to order 9 at one time because I had so many friends who were pregnant at once. I have a friend's mom who runs a day-care. She orders it for every new parent that enrolls their baby there. She also follows the plan in the daycare itself! She teases my that I have done more for "her" kids then she has in 20 years of caring for them.

I have had friends with twins use the book to great success as well and I'm convinced that Ms. Ford is an angel in disguise! It really is a common sense approach and no--you don't have to stick to the plan by the minute but I hate seeing my friends who keep their babies and kids up to 9 or 10 pm every night! For those who say this isn't real life or I don't want this schedule--my friend's husband doesn't get home until 7pm each night. So she resisted using the schedule for obvious reasons. I told her to adapt it and shift everything by an hour. She did and has never looked back.

I am so excited that she has written a new book. When my daughter turned 18 months and started resisting naps I searched in vain to try and find Ms. Ford and anything else she had written.

Again, the book is not lengthy nor complicated. It takes all of about an hour to read. Try it--it just may save your sanity!

I know this sounds like an info-mercial but it was really amazing the difference that the scheduling in the book made with my son and me. In just 3 nights we went from him waking/feeding 4-8 times per night to him sleeping from 7pm-7am with one feeding from 10-10:30pm. I cannot believe it!! I normally read reviews on Amazon but have never written one myself but I was so happy with the results of this book I wanted to encourage other parents to buy it.


Great points in the book:

1. The great thing about the book is that you can start immediately to follow her suggested routines from day 1, you don't need to read the whole book first. The book is not a theoretical one stating "every baby is different" or "feed on demand" etc. Gina has a very practical `how to" approach at one week, 2-4 weeks...all the way to 4-6 months. 6-8 months etc up to one year. Gina recommends starting solids at 4 months, but because I waited until he was 5 months old to introduce solids and I just received the book, I started my son on the 4-5 month "routine" even though he is almost 6 months old.


2. The other great thing about the book is that it addresses eating and sleeping issues. I was unsure how to wean my son from being swaddled. Swaddling worked well for us but I knew it was getting time to wean him from it but I was unsure how to do this. Every time I tried to do this (only one arm etc) he would flail his arms and could not get to sleep. The book shows how to very tightly tuck sheet/blanket around the crib and when to start doing a half-swaddle to help them learn to fall asleep.


3. She addresses both bottle feeding and breastfeeding in her routines


4. There is specific directions (suggestions?) for introducing solids and for weaning your baby from milk to solids including a tiered method of feeding allowing the baby to drop milk feeding gradually on his/her own

I hope this review helps!!

I am a new father of 1 year and this booked worked for us and also for those parents we know who also had the will power to try it out. Our daughter is really a contented baby.

I'm a new mom with a 2 month old son. When I was pregnant, I stumbled onto Gina Ford's book & was attacted to it cos of its practical advice & tips. The schedules she suggested seemed fair enough, so when son was born, we decided to try following her methods.

Wow. My son started sleeping through the night at 7 weeks - jus as she said he would in her book (provided you follow her advice). It was a real blessing for Husband & me, since it meant we got more uninterrupted sleep!

Personally, I think feeding on a routine is not cruel to the child so long as the routine makes sense & meets the child's needs. Gina Ford's routines are borne out of her many years of practical experience with infants - they're not jus plucked from the sky - and so, they work! I didn't follow the schedules to the last detail of course - but I'd say I followed them 80-85% of the way. I now have a active & contented baby - and people are saying, "oh you're so lucky to have an easy baby to take care of" but I think I wld like to thank Gina Ford for helping me with this! :)

I suggest all new parents buy this book and the No-Cry Sleep Method book. We regretted letting our sensitive child cry too long one night--now we will only let him complain and cry mildly before we respond. Responding builds trust--but sometimes a little crying is all he and we can do (if he's fed, burped and just doesn't want to sleep). This book hasn't been a perfect solution for our baby, but it keeps mom sane and well-rested!! Use this as a flexible guide and see what works for your little one--I also keep a daily journal to track progress/problems/tips for future use. My baby is seven weeks old and has definitely benefited from the day naps and sleeping a relatively predictable night schedule. I would recommend that mom's breastfeed more often than Ford suggests (for milk supply and comfort), but hey, if your baby is not so demanding feel lucky--and definitely take her advice from day one. This book helped me identify painful reflux in my baby (demand feeding disguised it) and gas culprits in my diet, and increase my milk supply. Basically, being on a sensible schedule helps real problems rise to the surface. My big challenges every day are being creative in helping my child sleep and stay awake for the recommended hours, and working with the reflux. We are off-schedule frequently--but that's better than being exhausted and totally distracted by constant worry. When our baby sleeps in his crib, I get real time with my husband, or time to myself to relax. I highly recommend this book!