Rating: 
Summary: unrealistic
Review: Dr. Sears stresses throughout the book that the crib is so unimportant, and the baby should sleep in the parents' bed. Also, Dr. Sears stresses to carry the baby all day long in a sling. These are two ridiculous ways to raise your baby and no one should practice this advice.
Rating: 
Summary: Simply the best
Review: Dr. Sears explains everything - from how an infant sleeps to why a baby won't eat - in such a great way that it helped me understand my daughter much better. It also helped me to feel better about my way of parenting that I already followed out of my inner instinct.
Thank you Dr. Sears!
Rating:
Summary: Thumbs Up From Dad!
Review: I had to write -- I couldn't believe one of the previous reviews and I'm sorry that person's experiences have been so negative. Mine have been resoundingly *positive*. First: there is MUCH more to this great resource book than the issue of sleep-sharing with your child. Second: we slept with our baby for the first year of her life and she never "came between us", ever, either physically or emotionally. Perhaps the key is good communication between the adults (something that should be a priority no matter where your child sleeps). The family bed is the cultural norm in *over half the world* and those relationships aren't shattering apart because of it. Sometimes relationships fail, the reasons are often complex, and it would be unfortunate to blame this book. Our daughter transitioned easily from our bed to her own despite several friends who had "Ferberized" their children warning us "Pay now or pay later." Well it turned out you might not have to pay at all! Our child never had to suffer nights of crying alone to "learn" to put herself to sleep (or learn that nighttime is a scary time and to give up all hope), and she's a bold and boisterous girl who loves bedtime and crawls up into her bed with glee. (And as wonderful as that is, I still miss the mornings when we all woke up snuggled together, it was bliss. If you ask me, sleep sharing *saved* our marraige because we all got better sleep.) Yes, you shouldn't ignore your partner in favor of the child, but that's hardly what the Sears' are recommending. My wife and I have found this book to be a loving and brilliant guide to raising healthy, happy, balanced children and providing a loving home for them to grow up in. Can't recommend it highly enough. And there's so much more to this book than just issues of the family bed!
Rating:
Summary: Every new mother should have a copy of this book!
Review: I have found all the Dr Sears books to be wonderful and this book is no exception! Every new mother should have a copy of this book. He offers great medical information and gentle & effective ways to deal with certain parenting challenges. If you are a parent who believes in respecting your babies just as you would any other human being...then this book is for you! When so many other baby & parenting books try to treat children like property or pets that should be trained to match their parent's schedules...this book is a refreshing change and supports our instinctive knowledge that babies are babies and you can't spoil them at this age!
Rating: 
Summary: Try Detachment Parenting
Review: I preferred the advice for Dad's that I read in "Breathe! A Guy's Guide to Pregnancy!" by National Lampoon editor Mason Brown: ...COPING STRATEGIES
1) BEER:
Nothing takes the edge off fathering like an ice-cold frosty one. Sure the little one is crying and your wife's riding your ass for leaving the boy in the crib all day, but how nice is that Golden Brewski? To really enjoy it, why not head down to your local Public House and wash away your problems with some friends. Pretty soon you might become as happy as that lovably raffish Andy Capp. I also liked Brown's Developmental milestone checklist: ...By the end of the 3rd month, your baby should be able to:
- On stomach, lift head 45 degrees
- Follow an object in an arc 6 inches in front of his face
- Roll over (on a steep incline) Will likely be ablie to:
- squeal in delight
- bring both hands together
- Pee at the exact moment his diaper gets taken off May be able to:
- lodge a raisin so deeply into his nose as to require hospitalization. Enough Mollycoddling! Read "Breathe!"
Rating:
Summary: This Book Has Never Failed Me Yet!
Review: This book has never failed me -- it is the Owners Manual I wish they'd handed out at the hospital when I left with my baby. Both my husband and I have found this book to be THE book on so many, many issues. (Let me point out in case you missed that: my husband actually READS this book. He has no interest in or patience for any other parenting or baby books.) The Sears include information on everything from diapers to feeding to imaginative ways to stimulate and play with your baby at every age and more. My friends phone me to look things up in this book for them. (Then they go buy their own.) As for issues of the family bed -- our son slept with us from birth until he turned 16 months old, when he moved (without any trouble) to a twin mattress on the floor of his own room. It was never a problem in any way (no smothering the baby, we all slept when we could and at least nobody had to get up to soothe him when he woke, and yes you CAN still have sex but you MIGHT have to ty another room for a while and hey, variety is the spice of life!). In fact the time we spent sleeping and waking up with our smiling baby is some of the most cherished time of his infancy to us. I guess we are "attachment parents" but our boy is not a spoiled, willful little monster (as some reviewers worried); he's a jazzy little guy who lights up like a Christmas tree when his baby friends are around, he's bonded to his part-time care-giver beautifully, he eats like a goat and seems to love life to the extreme. But don't be fooled, there is SO MUCH MORE to this book than just that one tiny issue. It's fabulous, stupendous, comprehensive, reassuring, factual, innovative, fun, and (for us) a total life saver!
Rating: 
Summary: Presents one-sided view of childrearing
Review: This book is titled "The Baby Book." Thus one may think that it's just another one of the many books that contain standard baby care information. But it's really about attachment parenting. The book advocates breastfeeding, cloth diapers, baby slings and co-sleeping. The advice about putting babies to sleep is opposite all the advice I've seen in other books. Every parent must make their own decision of course. If you want a book about attachment parenting, this is probably a good one. If you want a mainstream baby book, this isn't it.
Rating:
Summary: THE Best Baby Book
Review: If you are in to the whole "cry it out" for your baby, this is NOT the book for you. If you are paranoid of having your little baby sleep next to you, you may not like this book either. But, if you are wanting to be extremely close and attached to your baby. And, you want sound medicial advice, this is THE BOOK you need. It is different than other books. It's my bible and my experience with my newborn had been amazing. I have seen my other friends struggle with differnt things that have been easier for me, due to the approach promoted in this book. I can not say enough good things about all of the Dr. Sears book.
Rating: 
Summary: great if you believe in attachment parenting
Review: I believe in attachment style parenting, which is what Dr. Sears bases his books on. My husband and I let our baby sleep with us and it is the best for us all. My 3 month old sleeps 6 hrs straight untill she wakes for a feeding, therefor we all get a good nights sleep. Dr. Sears book is great like I said, if you believe in attachment parenting.
Rating:
Summary: Reading this book was the worst mistake I made as a new mom
Review: If you have a colicky baby than this book will make you feel like it is your fault and that your baby "shouldn't" be crying this much. HA! I borrowed and read this book from a friend in an attempt to help soothe myself and my son. I tried wearing my son in a front carrier for a few days all day long. He hated it and cried all the time. I tried the family bed for a few nights and almost suffocated my 4 week old son (thank Goodness I woke up to his squirming), not to mention that I was now getting almost NO sleep instead of a little sleep. My pediatrician's advice was contrary to Dr. Sears and now I know why. This book is based on Dr. Sear's opinion on what babies need and not any scientific data. With a colicky baby, nothing presented in this book will help soothe your baby, even though he says it will. All that reading this book did was make a bad situation worse for my husband, my son and myself.
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