Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Reference
Review: My family Doctor has had several articles on child development published in several well known publications, most recently in Newsweek, so I trust his opinions. He is one of the most respected Doctors in our little corner of New Jersey. This book was his gift to me when he came to check on my son in the hospital the day after he was born. That, in itself, was recommendation enough for me.One of the things I appreciate about this book is it's objective presentation of the first twelve months. At no time did I ever think this book was trying to railroad me towards any one method of raising my child, like so many books do. I find the information easy to read, easy to find, and a helpful desk reference for those things which do not warrant a call to my baby's doctor. The authors present the facts and the theories, and leave it up to me, as the parent, to make my own decisions. This book has helped me to be a very relaxed and confident first time Mom, and I am so thankful to my Doctor for this gift to me!
Rating:
Summary: Mother of 3 loves this
Review: I was given this at my baby shower for our first son. I'm not a 'baby book' person and was rather skeptical, but after skimming through the pages, realized this was actaully helpful and down-to-earth! I used it regularly with our first son, less with our second and admittedly not at all with son #3 (I don't have time to read anymore and I have loaned it to a new mom!). I loved the quick-glance sickness chart with symptoms and medicine guides and the recipies and practical suggestions throughout were wonderful. I also appreciated the sections on what to expect as Mom... particularly the early weeks. And, there's a nice little exercise routine that you can start right away (with doctor's approval), about 24 hours after delivery! All in all, great book, without all the psycho-babble that can be found in these types of books.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Referance
Review: I am a second time mom, and I referance this book often! Not all the situations they have remedys for are my style, but I do like to read about all different approaches, to build my own. I also have the toddler version of this book! Its a great shower gift!
Rating: 
Summary: Offensive and Unreliable
Review: This book was completely offensive! To the authors: Stop calling people Oriental. Stop lumping East Asians, South East Asians and South Asians into the same category! And no, "Oriental" babies are not born smaller nor do they develop more slowly than Caucasian babies!(p. 459). This is just ridiculous! I challenge the authors to give me one peer-reviewed reference for this supposed fact. Besides, who does she mean by Asian? Why lump all Asians into the same category? The authors obviously singled out Nordics from the Caucasian race, (p. 459) but she lumps all "Orientals" into one group! Learn some basic geography and stop lumping different groups of people into inaccurate labels! Such an obvious oversight has cast doubt on the validity of many portions of this book. Most importantly, where's the bibliography and the references?? Why should I believe YOU--AUTHORS! Parents--use your common sense. Ask yourself why you need 700 pages for basic parenting. AND, if you truly have a serious problem, the superficial treatment of complications in this book won't tell you anything that a simple internet search can't.
Rating:
Summary: Lots of Bad Information
Review: Unfortunately, the only good information in this book is the month-to-month milestones (and really, reading about milestones can drive you crazy, so why bother). This book does NOT truly advocate breastfeeding. This book does NOT advocate sleeping with your baby. This book does NOT advocate a truly kind, loving approach to parenting. This book offers ridiculous advice on nutrition including weaning from breastfeeding very early and hurrying up to introduce replacements such as cow's milk at 1 year of age, while along the way, ridding your house of "all forms of sugar". What a load.... If you are interested in shoving a bottle of formula in your baby's face, and sticking them in a crib until they throw up from crying, so that you can rush back to your ever-so-important job and manicures and pedicures, this book is for you!
Rating:
Summary: Handy reference, some good information.
Review: As a first-time mom, I found myself referring to this book over and over again in the first four months after my daughter was born. As the title states, it gives you a good idea of what to expect in the first year of baby's life, but as former reviewers have stated, only you know your baby best. Some of the basic questions can be answered by this book, but as my daughter grows and we get to know each other better, I find that I refer to the book less and less. I've started to rely on my own instincts and intuition when it comes to being a mother, but still think this book is a great reference for first time parents. I think that, at the very least, the chapters on what to do when your baby is sick and first aid make this book worth buying.
Rating:
Summary: I was suprised
Review: I was suprised how much I liked this book, since I didn't like the What to Expect pregnancy guide. I consider myself a fairly intelligent person, with three sibilings I helped take care of and a I was a Red Cross certified babysitter for years. But, when I had my own baby, I realized how much I had forgotten or simply didn't know. What is the normal body temperature for an infant? How many times a day should he have a bowel movement or a wet diaper, and why is that something important to know to keep track of baby's health? When is it okay to begin feeding your baby rice cereal? When is it okay to start on solids? When can you begin giving him those "risk of allergy" foods, such as strawberries, nuts and wheat? I found this book a wonderful resource of imformation, since the doctor's office is not open at 3 a.m., but I'm up taking care of the baby, wondering these things.
There are some very sensitive childraising issues which they present in this book. One of which is breastfeeding vs. bottle feeding. This book presents a non-biased view of the reasons behind each choice. If you are bottlefeeding, it contains information on how to do it safely and with love. If you are breastfeeding, you will need more information than is presented here, and I suggest you read up on books specifically covering breastfeeding and join the la leche league for support and to answer your questions.
The other huge issue in this book, is laying your baby down to "cry it out" and training your baby to sleep through the night. If you are a supporter of the family bed, just ignore the information on sleeping through the night and make use of the rest of the advice in the book.
This book DOES NOT accuse your baby of being manipulative, or accuse you of spoiling your baby by picking him up and holding him. This book also does not demand that you put your baby on a rigid schedule to supress their little will. A matter of fact, the book states specifically that you cannot spoil a baby by holding them, and tells you that it is medically necessary for the baby to wake you up in the middle of the night to eat during the first three months of life. What the authors are talking about when they talk about "crying it out" is that, babies will cry because they are tired or overstimulated, in which case they NEED to just lay down for 10 to 15 minutes so that he/she can go to sleep. If you believe differently, fine. You should raise your baby how you believe is right, not how ANY book tells you to. But, dismissing this book in entirety means missing out on a very useful informative source.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book - Great series of books
Review: The What to Expect books are wonderful. They are a great reference for parents. This book has helped relieve much of the potential anxiety of a first time parent. So far, almost every question I have has already been thought of and given a very complete answer by the authors of this book. Also, it has helped me ask better questions and make our well baby visits to the pediatrician more productive by letting me know what to expect from each visit and pointing out things that I might not have otherwise thought to ask. This book is the best guide I have found by far.
Rating: 
Summary: What to Expect the First Year
Review: I was extremely upset with the book. I started out breast feeding my 3 month old at birth and was doing great. Then I came down with some health problems that required me to take medicine that wasn't good for my daughter so I had to stop breast feeding. I understand its great for babies but, some women one don't feel comfortable with the idea or two can't because of medicine. My daughter wasn't having bowel movements like I thought she should so I went to my book to see just how many a formula fed baby should have. All the information they had was for Breast Fed babies. Upon, some other situations that I needed the book for all the information was for breast fed babies. Look up formula in the book there's only 6 subjects for you to look under. I would not buy this book again. The first book I swore by but this one isn't anything compared to the first.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: Great book with lots of information. I would get it before the baby is born and read up then because after the baby is born there is no time for a while. I like to see how advanced my baby is and each chapter has things that your baby should, might, or may even; be able to do.
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