Gina Ford, The New Contented Little Baby Book

I found this book a life saver! I found becoming a mother very difficult and found that the support from my local health services was practically non existance. I had no idea what to do with a baby so I just did what the health visitor said and let my daughter 'sort her own sleeping and feeding pattern out'. This resulted in sleepng 7 hours a day with no chance of getting her to feed until she woke up wanting to feed every 2 hours and suffering from colic. A friend suggested Gina's book, but only as a loose guide. I followed the routine from three months and within 2 weeks my daughter slept, ate and relaxed. The book gave me the information I needed regarding awake times, sleep patterns and feeding times it also helped me to learn why different babies cry. My daughter is 11 months old now and although we have made a few changes to the timing of meals we still use the routines as a guide. I did find it a little restricting early on but I learnt how to organise my day so that when I did go out to visit friends etc I could be relaxed and enjoy myself and not be constanlty tired or dealing with a crying baby and having no idea what she wanted. It works for some and not others, I think it totally depends on the individual and the lifestyle you lead.