What to Expect the First Year

Summary (from the publisher): Some things about babies, happily, will never change. They still arrive warm, cuddly, soft, and smelling impossibly sweet. But how moms and dads care for their brand-new bundles of baby joy has changed and now, so has the new-baby bible. Announcing the completely revised third edition of What to Expect the First Year. With over 10.5 million copies in print, First Year is the world s best-selling, best-loved guide to the instructions that babies don t come with, but should. And now, it s better than ever. Every parent s must-have/go-to is completely updated. Keeping the trademark month-by-month format that allows parents to take the potentially overwhelming first year one step at a time, First Year is easier-to-read, faster-to-flip-through, and new-family-friendlier than ever packed with even more practical tips, realistic advice, and relatable, accessible information than before. Illustrations are new, too. Among the changes: Baby care fundamentals crib and sleep safety, feeding, vitamin supplements are revised to reflect the most recent guidelines. Breastfeeding gets more coverage, too, from getting started to keeping it going. Hot-button topics and trends are tackled: attachment parenting, sleep training, early potty learning (elimination communication), baby-led weaning, and green parenting (from cloth diapers to non-toxic furniture). An all-new chapter on buying for baby helps parents navigate through today s dizzying gamut of baby products, nursery items, and gear. Also new: tips on preparing homemade baby food, the latest recommendations on starting solids, research on the impact of screen time (TVs, tablets, apps, computers), and For Parents boxes that focus on mom s and dad s needs. Throughout, topics are organized more intuitively than ever, for the best user experience possible."

 

Review: This book provides a comprehensive, overall insight into the first year of life for new parents. The book provides an in-depth chapter for each month of a baby's first year of life that focus on developmental milestones, feeding, sleeping, as well as a range of frequently asked questions that parents may have during that month of their child's life. There are also chapters that focus on breastfeeding, healthcare and illnesses during the first year, treating injuries, and a summary for parents of low-birth weight babies.

 

This is a massive book and is probably best suited for parents who are seeking out answers to a particular question rather than a straight read through (which is what I did). Like all pregnancy and parenting books, it certainly is not exempt from its biases, but I did feel like the author did a decent job of constantly affirming that all babies are different and each parent needs to decide what works best for their own child and circumstances. Still, some of the cautionary descriptions felt over the top, such as an in-depth section describing the hazards of a baby eating directly from a food pouch that cautions that this puts your child at risk of contamination, not developing developmentally appropriate food eating skills, and the risk of avoiding chunkier foods. Yet this section, which seems to eating directly from food pouches as highly hazardous, concludes that they're fine in moderation or when you're on the go - so long as this isn't the only way your child eats food. In short, at times the author seems to raise warning flags about parenting behaviors that just likely aren't that critical of an issue in the long run. 

 

Overall, this is an excellent resource, particularly for first time parents who want a well-rounded, quick resource for their parenting concerns.  

 

Stars: 4

 

Related Titles:

• What to Expect When You're Expecting by Heidi Murkoff
• The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding by La Leche League International
• Baby & Me: The Essential Guide to Pregnancy and Newborn Care by Deborah D. Stewart and Jenny B. Harvey