I read this because I liked What to Expect When You're Expecting. I liked this one even better. It's packed with facts and practical advice. As a first-time dad, I found it especially useful.The chapters on illness and first aid are overwhelming; I quickly gave up on trying to take notes. I skimmed the chapters to become aware of what could happen, but I'd rather rely on advice from the pediatrician or medical staff in the event of serious sickness or injury.I found the section on baby sign lang...

Babies are definitely scary your first time. I mean there's this new little life that's counting on you get things right and if you screw it up they might die! No pressure though, right? Thank God our child came with instructions. Amazon claims that the book was published just like any other book but I swear it must have been hidden somewhere in the placenta. Because shortly after the birth of our baby, it appeared out of nowhere and it never left my wife's side until she finished it. The book w...

I dislike this whole series of books. The author spends too much time making her beliefs sound like facts in some areas (like against co-sleeping and for "crying it out") and then pandering to both sides (like bottle feeders and breastfeeders) in other areas in an obvious attempt to sacrifice the best baby advice for coddling to readers who may not have gone the path that's best for baby and don't want to feel bad about it. The advice is more along the lines of my mother's generation than the cu...

Another manual that should come home from the hospital with the newborn! I devoured this book and have a lot of highlights! A must have for new moms and dads. Nicely laid out.I'm glad I got this book out of the shelf to add to GRs. I found a Mother's Day card to me inside it from my Grandmother! God rest her soul.

Actual Rating: 3.75/5A great guide to the ever growing unstable wet squish that is your baby!I didn't find this book as important as the first one (which was my savoir having known NOTHING about babies!), though it is still very well written. It's incredibly informative and a great guide for following the development of your baby during his first year of life.My rating isn't indicating anything wrong with this book. There's nothing wrong. It's perfect. But I found it to be more of a fun guide -

This book is good, and it's definitely the most popular baby guide. But, there are other books that are better, like the one from the American Academy of Pediatricians, Caring for Your Baby and Young Child. I felt this book included too many topics that were just hype. It also covers topics in an inflammatory way, and then more calmly states the actual facts at the very end of a topic. For instance, it lists a number of foods not to give your child the first or even second year. I was starting t...

***I will preface my review by saying that, apparently, my parenting style is referred to as "Attachment Parenting" which I understand is an institutional term for "Damn Hippie". I simply do what feels natural and right for me and my baby. I have learned to trust my baby, listen to her pediatrician (with a discerning ear), and phooey on anyone that tells me I HAVE to do X-Y-Z to make sure she scores high on the S-A-T. (seriously, if she doesn't eat solids at 120 days old, she will still learn to...

Did not like the tone of this. And when I read that you shouldn't buy your baby yellow or green as a gender neutral option "because many babies can't pull off those tones" I was out.

This book has some basic information that's useful, and tables for common OTC drugs based on weight and type of suspension at the back that are great for when internet access is out and you need to look them up. And this book helped teach my husband how to change a diaper.However, some of the information is just not great. I would recommend skipping the whole section on breastfeeding and reading some better books on it instead. The growth, eating, sleep, and sibling sections have been spectacula...

A straightforward survey of child development during a baby’s first year written largely in a question and answer style. I especially appreciated the “Developmental Milestones” section (to see what the average baby should be doing per month) and the “Baby Basics at a Glance” boxes (to see what each month of your baby’s first year should look like in regards to sleeping, eating, and playing). Like What to Expect When You’re Expecting, I didn’t read this cover to cover but only read the sections w...

Everything you need to know about your child's first year of life. From picking a doctor to the milestones your child should be reaching, In-depth information about a babies diet and what you should avoid. Highly recommend.

Very unhelpful and I found it to be a bit biased or maybe just one-sided. She definitely has opinions so if that is what you're looking for maybe you'll like it. I also hated the way it was organized by month rather than by topic. If your baby isn't on the exact same path as she expects them to be then you will have to leaf through looking for the info you want. Also the Q&A sections of each chapter are strange. I didn't really find any useful information in the book. I don't know if there are b...

Babies don't come with instruction manuals, but if they did, it would probably be this book - which is a beast of a read filled with monthly data/milestones to expect, medical information, and tons of feeding advice. I was overwhelmed reading it, but I'm glad I have it on hand for the future. I also realized that I KNOW NOTHING as a new parent AND WHAT AM I GETTING MYSELF INTO?!, but at least there are books like these that provide tons of important info.

Good basic overview that shows both sides of parenting traits, even if it is slightly biased towards one side.

We made it to one year!! It was comforting to have this book as I had NO idea what I was doing and no other resources besides the internet. However, it wasn’t the best resource if you really need to dig into something, like feeding or sleeping or another specific developmental area. It keeps it pretty surface level, though it does have some information that I needed at point of use and the things I learned were helpful.But, because it’s trying to be so generic and apply to “everyone,” I feel lik...

I had an older edition of this book which I found helpful, because like 60% of advice for new moms not only changes wildly from decade to decade, but is frequently contradictory. If you are only reading newly printed material, you are missing out on CONTEXT. The specific edition I had (2nd?) Was concerned about baby's cholesterol levels. No one in the year 2019 or 2020 has ever inquired about my or the baby's cholesterol. I began reading "historical" pregnancy documents out of frustration about

I think like a lot of people who loved "What to Expect when you're Expecting' I have mixed feelings about this book.It was helpful and had a lot of useful information organized by age. But I think the first year is more about time ranges for things to happen and some specific issues just occupy more of your time. I spent half my time trying to figure out nutrition for the baby (breastfeeding and then solids) and then dealing with teething. Colic wasn't much fun either. The development stuff was

The only thing truly helpful in this for me was the list of milestones. Otherwise, the writing felt a little overly judgmental. Parents have it hard enough with hearing conflicting recommendations on how to raise their child. The advice in this book is a bit over the top in terms of its ability to be realistic for the average parent. Instead, it seems to just add stress by insinuating that those who don't make efforts to follow all of the "guidelines" in the book are doing their little ones a di...

Let's be honest - I've only read through the "first month" chapter, but I feel like I'll always be coming back to this book to read and reread. And it's not going to sit on my "currently reading" book forever!Things I like so far: the page with all the milestones and the step-by-step instructions on swaddling, changing diapers, nursing, etc. I'm sure there's more, but I'm in cram mode and I forget!!

Great resource just like the other "What to Expect..." books. The library was out of copies in English, so I got some nice and needed Spanish practice with this one which was fun to learn some medical/baby terms I didn't know. Anyway. I liked that the chapters never said "this month your baby will..." because all babies are so different. I'm glad that the book makes an effort to acknowledge all the different ways children develop.

Phew! This is a fantastic book but I am so glad to be done with it and move on to another book. It is incredibly long but that is just because it is so thorough! I just love this series! Any question you can think to ask about parenting is usually covered in these books. This will be a great reference book once our son comes into the picture!

I know this book (and other baby books) can be controversial. While I didn't agree with all the advice, the book was a great companion to the first year of my son's life and understanding his growth and what to look forward to. Great resources in here especially for health, food and engagement/play.

This book often made me feel like the worst parent in the world. It is very single-sided about most parenting stlyes that my husband and I are practicing, such as co-sleeping. If you are approaching parenting in a very loving and nurturing manner, I do not recommend that you read this book.

I like the month-to-month chapters. I also like that she lists milestones by the percentage of children that reach them by that age (90%, 75%, 50%, and 25%).

I need a research based infant development book that cites studies. I don't believe anything. Sigh

Pros: excellent source of concentrated information, arranged month by month. Probably the most useful of the books I've read so far.Cons: I hated reading it every month. Boring, boring, boring, preachy. And there's an added zinger to families during the pandemic. There are so many "this is the time to ask for help! it takes a village! parents can't do this alone!" sections that I wanted to scream. NO ONE CAN HELP. The best they can do is bring dinner and/or Grubhub cards, because it's not safe t...

This is a solid reference for standard, American, AAP-approved parenting advice during the first year of a baby's life. It covers nearly every topic that is likely to cause parents of a new baby worry. However, its chatty but clinical addressing of issues can become either overwhelming (especially early in that first year) or irritating (later in the year as one gains her own parenting sea-legs). It is large on caution against any and every possible hazard, which may be a safe way for the author...

Baby: the owner's manual. It's a massive tome -- and of course I wouldn't expect anyone but me to read it cover to cover -- but the material is indexed and organized chronologically, so it is accessible to the stressed out parent. If you have a question in month four about what to buy your infant in the toy department, this book has the answer. For those competitive types, the handy chart of development milestones starting on page 106 will help you determine if your little one is already getting...

This book has been invaluable to me this first year of parenting. It gave me a helpful guideline for what to look out for and answered my silly developmental questions when I couldn't trust the Internet and felt too stupid to call the pediatrician.

Overall a pretty useful guide. Definitely repeats itself a lot, but it's quite complete. Definitely gives one an appreciation for everything parents (especially mothers) go through that first year, and the babies, too!