Rating: 
Summary: Some 'secrets' work, some don't
Review: I have a preemie with a digestive system that's very sensitive. If I had followed her breastfeeding advice to the letter, my daughter would *not* have gained properly-- and formula was not an option in her case, due both to her immune and digestive systems. In the early weeks of breastfeeding, IGNORE HER ADVICE! Once your milk supply is well established... that's another story. But be sure to talk to your doctor, too. Her analysis of cries is very good-- it helped me distinguish between 'gassy' and 'pooping,' but at times her tone can be condescending and annoying to those of us who choose different approaches (after telling readers we can discard the advice that doesn't work for us, she then seems to have little patience for parents who do just that). Not a bad book, but make sure it's not the only one on hand!
Rating: 
Summary: I wish I had this for my first child!
Review: If your child was a colicky, spirited, demanding baby, you may know what I mean. When I was pregnant for my second, I heard about this book and decided to "check it out". It did help tremendously (in my mind anyway) on how to listen to the baby. I don't know if I was just more mellow with the 2nd, or if the book helped me, but I learned it is OK if babies cry. (My first child was colicky so I wouldn't even go for stroller rides because I didn't want the neighbors to hear him cry and think I was a bad mother). Anyway....it had some very good points in it describing different types of babies and ways to deal with each. I think this has truly made a difference in how I am reacting to the 2nd child's cries. I am more confident in what I am hearing from him (ie. crying for hunger vs. gas). At times the british lingo was annoying, but it is well written and she definitely has expertise in the area she is writing about. Would make a great baby shower gift.
Rating: 
Summary: Every new parent needs this book
Review: I am the mother of an 18-month old child. My daughter didn't sleep the first two weeks of her life except in 15-minute increments. She slept through the night once during her first 8-months. I had been hearing about Tracy Hogg EVERYWHERE in books, on TV and from other parents, so I bought this book. My daughter slept through the night the first night I got this book and became a very good sleeper almost immediately. Everyone always says you have to do this and that to make your child sleep well but Tracy teaches you about sleep patterns, how a child falls asleep, how to tell when your child is ready for a nap or way past due and so much more. Of course, there's lots more information than just about sleeping but that's the part that really helped me the most so that's what I remember the most. There's also the EASY plan (wish I had known about that before the birth) and how to decipher what your baby is trying to tell you. This book was unbelievably helpful to a first-time mom like me and the book is written like she is sitting in your living room having a conversation with you. I recommend it highly and it has become my standard gift to first-time mom's at their baby showers.
Rating: 
Summary: SAVE YOUR MONEY!!!
Review: As if being a new parent isn't intimidating enough, Ms. Hogg compounds the fear and insecurities tenfold!!! I started reading this book with an open mind, as it had been highly recommended by a friend. By the end of the book, I suddenly felt as if everything that I was doing was wrong. All that I had ever read, all the advice I'd ever been given, and my own insticts were contradicted by her "theories." If you want a book to help you as a new parent... this is NOT it!!! (...)
Rating:
Summary: Just a taste was all I needed
Review: I have yet to receive the book. In fact, I just ordered it based on the excerpts offered. I read them all because I found it so captivating. I am anxiously awaiting the shipment so that I may complete it and share the lessons learned with my 5 week old, Xavier.
Rating:
Summary: An unbiased review - if that is possible...
Review: Anyone who has read any of the literature about caring for infants will know that there is plenty of conflicting advice - and all of it is backed up some kind of doctor or suitably acronymed society. So what do you do ?
Well - you figure it out for yourself, and to do so, you need reasonable sources of information. And this book is one of them - sure there are parts of it that you may choose to ignore, but I found it immensely helpful and reasonable at a time (around 3 months old) when it all seemed to be getting too much. In reality, you just need to relax a bit - you'll look back and laugh at how stressed you used to be, but this book will help you see things in perspective.
My only complaint was that the tables in the book made it appear as if all children fitted into neat little categories - that's just not my experience. Overall a very worthwhile purchase though.ps: I shouldn't have to say this, but all the quack doctors waffling on about how this book is wrong and theirs is perfect in the other reviews ought to be ashamed of themselves - and they call themselves professionals ! Who would you trust ?
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous book for Pre-baby Preparation
Review: As a second time parent, I highly recommend this book to all up and coming parents!! She has fabulous ideas that work well for baby and parent. I see a tremendous positive difference in our second child being on Tracy's EASY plan. Also, her plan makes for a calmer more rested and more content baby, which makes for a more relaxed time for parents. This is the BEST baby book I have ever encountered, and I recommend it to all my patients who are expecting.
Rating:
Summary: Bad for Breastfeeding
Review: This book advocates breastfeeding on the formula feeding model. Many of the techniques it suggests, such as scheduling feeds and single-sided feeding, will kill the milk supply of a new breastfeeding mother. I know of at least one mother who feels that her loss of a sufficient milk supply was a direct result of following the advice in this book.
Rating:
Summary: Talk about pressure
Review: As if things weren't stressful enough with a newborn in the house with all the expectations of the baby, the new mom and the family and friends hovering over....this book just makes things worse. I only give it one star because it is edited and all the words are spelled correctly. this book is a bust. don't waste your money.
Rating:
Summary: Read this first!
Review: Hyped by Random House publishers as "this groundbreaking book," readers are enticed by offers of "Tracy's Three Day Magic--how to change any and all bad habits (yours and the baby's) in just
three days." Which mother would not be happy to "get baby to eat, play, and sleep on a schedule that will make every member of the household's life easier and happier?" The very unpredictability of babies is what makes new mothers' lives so chaotic. Mothers don't get coffee breaks, lunch breaks,
or go off duty at 6pm. It is plain, hard work taking care of a baby. Look in any bookstore or library and you will see pregnant women and new mothers searching eagerly for advice on child raising. I remember doing this myself, devouring every morsel. Think how
many editions of Dr. Spock's book have been sold over the years! Fashions change in child rearing as in all things. We have gone from strict scheduling to permissiveness and now we are back to scheduling again. Tracy Hogg's "Secrets of The Baby Whisperer" is the latest in a long line of books purporting to know "the right answer" to parents' concerns. As any experienced parent will tell you, there is no "right" answer. What works for one child will not necessarily work for another. Listening to your baby is the first step towards understanding him. So who is this wonderworker who can tell instantly whether a baby is hungry, tired, in real distress, or just in need of a little TLC? According to Newsweek magazine (...)(Feb 26, 2001 issue): "A registered nurse in England, Hogg left her two daughters, then 8 and 11, with her mother and moved to L.A. in 1992. Unable to use her nursing license here, she began taking care of babies. She had, as they say in the movie industry "great word of mouth" and soon Hogg opened her own baby-equipment store in Encino, CA. Her book and her Web site claim that she got a Master's degree in hypnotherapy from the University of California, Irvine. But a University spokeswoman says they
have no record of her. Earlier, according to her book and Web site, Hogg was "assigned" to the Great Orman Street Children's Hospital," an apparent reference to London's famed Great Orman
Street Hospital, where she, in fact, attended a three-weekend-long training course. And a "stint with the World Health Organization in India" turns out to refer to a two-week trip she took there in 1989." This leads us to ask, how good is the advice she gives? Not very. Despite being endorsed by celebrities like Los Angeles stage actress Kate Mulligan who can afford $250.00 for "1 Hour Intense Consultation" or $350.00 for "Baby's First Feed," the information offered by Ms. Hogg is out of date and inaccurate. While she is entitled to her own personal opinions, they are not based on any scientific studies or research. Moreover, much of her advice conflicts with that given by the American Academy of Pediatrics who advocate feeding babies when they indicate
hunger rather than on artificial schedules. Ms. Hogg's theories on infant sleep are also unfounded. They owe much to the teachings of Gary Ezzo, the discredited author of "Babywise" and "Preparation for Parenting," which have also been heavily criticized by the AAP. Do we really need another parenting book that tells us that our instincts are useless and if we would only follow this author's theories all of our problems would be solved? Rather, mothers - and fathers, too - are the real experts on their particular baby because they live with him 24 hours a day. What we really need are more books like "The Baby Bond: How to Raise an Emotionally Healthy Child" by Dianna Hine and " The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know about Your Baby from Birth to Age Two, " by Dr. William Sears and Martha Sears. These books help new parents to meet their baby's basic needs through a loving, nurturing, attachment style of parenting. Norma Ritter, IBCLC Norma Ritter,the mother of three grown children, (all breastfed,)is a Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant who has been helping mothers and babies for 24 yrs. She has a private practice,"Breastfeeding Matters," in upstate NY.
|
