Rating: 
Summary: Fabulous pictures -- Painful text!
Review: This is not a book for parents interested in Attachment Parenting. Statements such as babies cannot be breast-fed immediately after birth, don't allow the baby in your bed, and the gut-wrenching "cry-it-out" philosophy all made me cringe. Beautiful pictures throughout however, showing step-by-step instructions for tasks of daily care (bathing, dressing) as well as excellent first-aid and illness section. However, they show month-by-month pictures of a pregnant woman -- she gains 26 pounds, perfect clear skin, no stretch marks, no cellulite, in short, perfect. Hard to live up to in real life. As a Registered Nurse I would recommend the pictures and health care section, especially for new parents. Very helpful. But don't read the text! The Sears Parenting books are so much better. Trust your instincts!
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Book for First-Time Parents
Review: This is one of many pregnancy and baby books I have bought, and it's definitely one of my favorites. My husband and I are going to start trying to have a baby (our first) in about 5 months, so I'm reading all I possibly can right now. I've never been around infants, and I know absolutely nothing about how to take care of them. (I know- it's a scary thought me wanting to have one!!!) But this book has given me a lot of confidence, mainly because it's so detailed.
My favorite part of the book is the section on baby care- detailed steps of how to change a diaper, how to bathe the baby, how to dress the baby, etc. with very helpful (and beautiful) pictures. The section on pregnancy actually isn't very helpful- not very many details about the developing baby or changes in the mother; but it does give a basic overview and again, the pictures are beautiful. However, it does contain an excellent section on nutrition- spelling out (and showing) exactly what foods have what necessary nutrients for the pregnant woman, which I found very helpful. There's also a section on what to expect at each prenatal doctor's visit, which is very interesting.
All in all, this is a wonderful book with lots of good information and adorable pictures. If this isn't going to be your first baby, I don't think this book will be very helpful to you because you obviously know first-hand how to care for a baby already! However, it might be a good book for older siblings to look at (maybe age 10 and over)- so they can know what changes to expect and how they can help with the new baby. (There are pictures of the mother's naked body as it changes each month and of how to use a breast pump, so use discretion.) If you are expecting your first (or planning to be expecting soon, like me!!!) this book will be very helpful in teaching you the basics of caring for your baby.
P.S. My husband hasn't read any of my pregnancy/baby books, but he too liked the pictures in this one.
Rating: 
Summary: The Book that Keeps On Ticking
Review: This is the shower gift I always give! We bought this book with the anticipation of our first child and learned so much. Every page is packed with really useful information about pregnancy, labor, delivery, and new babies. But it doesn't stop there. The childcare, health and safety, and parenting sections are excellent ... in fact, 5 years later, I STILL rely on it for quick research of illnesses (chicken pox this year ... pink eye last year!) and to review safety tips. Excellent pictures and very well written.
Rating:
Summary: The Book that Keeps On Ticking
Review: This is the shower gift I always give! We bought this book with the anticipation of our first child and learned so much. Every page is packed with really useful information about pregnancy, labor, delivery, and new babies. But it doesn't stop there. The childcare, health and safety, and parenting sections are excellent ... in fact, 5 years later, I STILL rely on it for quick research of illnesses (chicken pox this year ... pink eye last year!) and to review safety tips. Excellent pictures and very well written.
Rating:
Summary: the perfect reference guide for new parents & parents-to-be.
Review: This pregnancy and childcare book was the best I ever saw and I looked at many books. Primarily because the photographs were excellent. A new parent can tell the difference between chicken pox and diaper rash, just by comparing her child's appearance to the photos. Various methods of nursing or burbing a baby is shown to you not merely explained. Also the photos showed men caring for the baby almost as often as women which is very reassuring to first-time fathers.I especially liked the matter-of-fact practical information. Many of the baby books I have read are chock full of advice on whether to nurse or whether to let the baby cry, etc. Advice is the one thing new parents get plenty of - from mothers, mothers-in-law, even from complete strangers in grocery stores. A book that shows you how something can be done without telling you whether you should do it is very valuable, especially in the first few months.
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