Parenting Guide to Your Baby's First Year

Rating:
Summary: Top notch baby book!
Review: I have read plenty of baby books, including Dr. Sears and other experts, but I find this one to be the best there is on the subject. I really liked the author's style and format. It is divided into 3 month sections: Month 0 -3, 4 - 6, 7 - 9, 10 -12. Each section talks about all the important developmental stages of each month, plus what to expect in terms of growth, learning, etc. In addition to all the basic developmental facts, there is plenty of first hand experience stories on a variety of topics, plus a lot of psychology in terms of what to expect you will be going through emotionally and physically in each of the 12 months. They even include very well done Yoga exercises to relax and stretch out those overworked muscles! I found it to be a wonderful book and the best-organized and comprehensive one on the market. I got rid of all my other baby books since this one covers it all. It even goes into details about ear infections and common baby hazards and illnesses. It also reads very smoothly. A real page-turner and a tearjerker at times, especially the first birthday stuff. I barely got through that chapter! I highly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: makes parenting feel like a mistake
Review: OK, so we've only had the baby a week, but this book has been a bummer since before the birth. Every time I open it I feel like I am about to enter a hopeless, frightening maze of difficulties. Either that or a sappy Hallmark-produced TV special. I'm sure the book is factually helpful, but I couldnt get past the style...

Rating:
Summary: makes parenting feel like a mistake
Review: OK, so we've only had the baby a week, but this book has been a bummer since before the birth. Every time I open it I feel like I am about to enter a hopeless, frightening maze of difficulties. Either that or a sappy Hallmark-produced TV special. I'm sure the book is factually helpful, but I couldnt get past the style...

Rating:
Summary: makes parenting mostly sound like a bummer
Review: OK, so we've only had the kid just over a week, but every time I opened this book, both before and after the birth, I felt that I should be tired, harrassed, at my wits end and on the way to the emergency room. That, or in some goo-goo Hallmark card scene. There must be a way to communicate the essentials of the first year without making it sound like either a life-threatening bummer, or a sentimenal mindless goo-goo fest... I'm still looking for the right book...

Rating:
Summary: HONEST AND HELPFUL
Review: So many parenting books give you facts and figures about child-rearing, but don't really capture what life is like with a new baby. This book does both in a very engaging way. It captured the highs and lows of the first-year experience, steered me in the right direction on many occasions, and spoke to me in a very personal way. I recommended it to everybody at my Lamaze group reunion and several of them bought it and loved it.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful book
Review: This book has been enormously helpful, it is extremely practical and covers pretty much every question a first time parent has. It's not huge so you can read it in a reasonable amount of time, especially when you only have to read the three month block that relates to your baby at a time. I refer to it far more than any other childcare book I have.

Rating:
Summary: The perfect reference for the first time parent!
Review: This book is a great companion for first time parents. I particularly liked how the book was divided into 3-month timeframes, and how each time-frame had a section called "A Parent's Life." Instead of those parenting books that only paint a rosy picture about parenting, which ultimately make you feel lonely and frustrated, this book covers the full range of parenting emotions, from anger to joy, and helps you to realize that they are all normal. The Mother's Stories help you to realize that you are not alone. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is about to embark on the journey into parenthood.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: What a great book! I can't believe how complete it is. Easy to read. Full of short items and pictures. And very reassuring for the first-time parent. Would make a super gift. Other books in this series from Parenting magazine are good, too.