Rating: 
Summary: Response to Brandon's Mom
Review: I found this book to be very helpful, and it was especially refreshing to see an unbiased perspective on feeding. Not every woman is able to breastfeed for personal and/or medical reasons (e.g., women with breast cancer), and not every baby takes well to breastfeeding. I am not sure what kind of formula is available in Canada, but formula in the US has all of the RDA that infants need and is better than ever. I am not discounting the benefits of breast milk, but women who choose to bottlefeed should be supported as well. My child has had both breast milk and formula and is thriving, and I was exclusively bottlefed and am none the worse for it. Also, speaking as someone with a Ph.D. in clinical child psychology, the research is mixed regarding brain development/IQ and breast milk. Incidentally, there IS research that suggests that depression/stress in mothers does adversely affect infant brain development and attachment, so if a woman is pressured into breastfeeding and is unhappy or stressed as a result or has an extremely difficult time with breastfeeding, the relief brought to mother and child by formula may outweigh the benefits of breastmilk.
Rating:
Summary: Response to Brandon's Mom
Review: I thought this book was extremely helpful and comforting as a first-time mom. I have to say I got a little indignant reading Brandon's Mom's write up about the "risks associated with formula-feeding." Not everyone can breastfeed for a variety of reasons (both personal and medical--e.g., women with breast cancer), and formula is a perfectly safe and viable alternative in which infants are provided with the RDA they need. My baby got both and is thriving, and I was exclusively formula-fed and am none the worse for it. I thought it was great that Tracy Hogg gave such an unbiased perspective on both types of feeding.
Oh-and by the way, speaking as someone with a Ph.D. in clinical child psychology, the research is definitely mixed regarding breastfed babies having higher IQ's.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Buy This Book!
Review: I'm a maternity nurse, and I bought this book on the advice of a colleague. Being an inexperienced new mom, I tried to follow Hogg's advice for developing a flexible routine for my newborn. Instead of enjoying my son's first weeks, I agonized over the fact that he just didn't seem to eat/play/sleep according to her timetable. Plain and simple, if you breastfeed, and feed on cue (which is necessary for milk production and for baby to thrive), then it is unlikely that your baby will fit the mould outlined by Hogg. Her breastfeeding information is totally wrong and outdated. I'm no "breastfeeding Nazi" as some of the reviewers have complained about, but the truth is, there are actually RISKS associated with formula, none of which Hogg mentions. (I won't elaborate, the advantages of breastmilk and the risks of artificial feeding are well known and well documented, a fact that seems to be lost to Ms. Hogg). This is a good book if you are looking for an excuse not to breastfeed and not to feel guilty about it. This is a good book if you don't want the inconvenience of "parenting" your baby to sleep. This is a good book if holding and carrying your baby just because he wants it isn't something that you have time for. This is a good book if you find that parenting is just a little too inconvenient and time consuming. This is a good book if a good night's sleep is more important to you than bonding with your newborn. This is a good book if, instead of cuddling your baby, you'd rather preoccupy yourself with charting and plotting every feeding, wet diaper and bowel movement. This is a terrific book if you want to learn how to train a pet. I hate the fact that this woman made money off of me. I won't even give the book away, for fear that someone might just follow her advice. I gave up trying to follow her methods after a few weeks, read some other books by Dr. Sears and Elizabeth Pantley, and contacted La Leche League,the real experts, who by the way, Hogg portrays as a group who profits from promoting breastfeeding. Hogg is condascending and treats new parents as total idiots, and leads them to mistrust their instincts. Parenting is never easy, but babies will, with time, fall into a routine. Don't waste your time in reading this book, instead, cuddle your baby, let him fall asleep in your arms while you bury your nose in his fat this little neck and smell his downy hair. Carry him around just because you want to. Savour every second, it goes so fast. Memories of sleep deprivation will fade, but the memories of the closeness you share with your baby will last forever.
Rating: 
Summary: If you have a fussy, high-need baby, don't bother.
Review: As a first-time mom of a very fussy, high-need baby, I was desperate to find some answers as to how to help my baby calm down and sleep better/longer. I read everything from "The Baby Book" and "The Fussy Baby Book" (Sears) to "Babywise" to "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" to "The No-Cry Sleep Solution" to "The Happiest Baby on the Block" and everything in between (this book falls in the "in-between" category). It's well-written and even entertaining, and some of her insights are helpful in terms of attempting to "read" baby's varying cries. However, I tried her techniques over and over and over with my baby with NO success. I could pick her up and put her down over 100 times, and she would still keep fussing! She never did stop crying, even when I picked her up, as the author promises the baby will. Her techniques seem a bit idealistic to me, but by all means give it a try. Her techniques would probably work beautifully with what she calls "Angel" or "Textbook" babies, but if you have a special "Spirited" tyke, like I do, read "The Fussy Baby Book" instead. You'll find more realistic approaches there, and it will help you understand your high-need child and her unique needs.
Rating:
Summary: Extremely Helpful
Review: Wished I'd had this book with my first child! I read it just before having my second child and found it to be very accurate and helpful when it came to feeding and sleeping schedules. It was my bible for setting schedules and reading my baby for signs of tiredness or hunger. My baby did not fall into any one particular type, but the book gave me the confidence to do the "right thing" for baby and family. My baby was sleeping through the night by 9 weeks, and was very content and predictable when it came to eating and napping. She's 18 months old today and I still recommend this book to new moms. I followed the EASY plan after going back to work at 10 weeks, which made everything easier for us and the baby sitter. We maintain a "Nanny Log" to this day - I can't say enough great things about what this book did for our baby and family! Colic - we didn't have the misfortune of dealing with that. So, for those parents (and babies) I say - time will heal. In the meantime, take a look at this book and use what you can....
Rating:
Summary: a common-sense, family-friendly approach...
Review: I love this book! Tracy Hogg offers a down-to-earth, common sense, family-oriented approach to successfully adjusting to life with a baby. Moreover, she offers easy-to-follow ways to fix bad habits that have already been put in place (with no "crying it out" suggestions). Her help in interpreting baby cries and cues is truly priceless. I would highly suggest this to anyone with a baby on the way or already at home. Also, this would make a *perfect* baby shower gift!
Rating: 
Summary: "Hogg-wash"
Review: My friends and I that read this book all agree... we found her baby descriptions to be ridiculous as it seems that almost every baby will fall into every one of those categories, just depending on the day, hour, minute... I also found some of her assertions ridiculous and completely unrealisitic for infants.. Maybe this book if fine for working with older babies, but I think it falls into the category of one of those books that makes you question yourself and worry that you are "doing it all wrong"...
On the positivie side, some of the "baby signs" and what they might mean were helpful and on target for the most part, but the rest of the book I suggest reading with a grain of salt..
Rating: 
Summary: good guidance on how to "tune in" to your baby
Review: This book provides useful guidance on how to "tune in" to your particular baby and communicate with the baby to meet her needs. More specifically, the author advocates a pattern of Eat, Activity, Sleep, and You (parent time) as essential for a happy baby and happy parents. The most valuable concepts I got from the book were (1) addressing my baby as a person -- calling her by name, talking to her in first person, and telling her what I am doing when I interact with her; essentially, being respectful; (2) trying to squeeze in some activity between baby's eating and sleeping time, rather than going straight from eating to the crib; and (3) trying to figure out what her assorted cries mean. What is most disappointing or unrealistic is the author's belief that by tuning in to their baby, new parents will unquestionably be able to decode baby's cries and determine whether baby is hungry, wet, overstimulated, bored, or merely fussy -- simply by listening to the cry and watching baby's body language. (I looked at the body language / sound of cries interpretation chart for days & still can't figure out why baby is crying.) Interestingly, the author rejects "schedules" and denies that her EASY (Eat, Activity, Sleep, You) plan is a schedule, though it looks a lot like a schedule to me. The author addresses her readers, new "mums", as "luv" and "dearie" -- funny or annoying, depending on your perspective.
Rating:
Summary: Helped me to understand my newborn
Review: I loved this book! I was very surprised at some of the reviews saying that it recommends a bad parenting style. The routine that Tracy suggests is EASY (Eat, Activity, Sleep, and You). Our son seemed to naturally fall into this type of pattern anyway so it felt right to me. Tracy helped us to better understand his cries and the various ways that he was communicating with us. It all worked like a charm. He sleeps and naps really well and with little fussing if I put him down before he is overtired. He has been sleeping for 12 hours uninterrupted at night since week 8. Some of the reviews thought the book's suggestions were rigid and cruel. I didn't get any of that from this book; if anything I thought everything suggested was very flexible and loving. Tracy never once suggests that you ignore a crying infant. Instead she recommends that you respond to your baby's needs in such a way that it teaches your child to fall asleep on his own. Suggestions like putting him in his crib for a nap once he exhibits signs of sleepiness (rubbing eyes, yawns, turning away from a face or a toy). If I do this with our son he falls asleep easily without any crying. I never once got the impression that Tracy was suggesting that we not hold or cuddle our infants as some reviewers seem to suggest. Her method really worked for us and we have a very happy infant who receives a lot of attention and love from us. There are various methods out there suggested by many. This one worked well for us. Maybe it won't for others. Bottomline was that I found it to be a nice go between for the "let them cry it out" group and the "co-sleeping" group.
Rating:
Summary: First Time Mom
Review: I read this book when I was pregnant, before I had my first child. Before I knew better, the advice seemed very logical and I was committed to following the advice. However, once my baby was here, I found it to be unrealistic and did not fit my baby's needs. It's not a bad book to read just to get ideas. I read many baby books and took them all in in order to make my own decisions on what to do with the new baby.
|
