MonkeyMama asked:
I thought about Dr. Sears books as well as the What to Expect in the first year books, but what else? I have so many questions about feeding and milestones and just what I should expect from the next yr. Id like to find a good website or book as a reference.
My son is 2 weeks old.
good book
Tags: Dr Sears, First Time Mom, Milestones
Sears’ “The Baby Book” is a nice read. “What to Expect” is research-free garbage…
can answer pretty much all your infant feeding questions reliably.
Beware of commercial sites like babycenter.com; they’re just advertising — food info sponsored by Beech-Nut, breastfeeding info sponsored by Enfamil — it’s advertising, not accurate information.
Old copies of Frank Caplan’s “The First Twelve Months of Life” are easy to come by for pennies, and if you’re interested in milestones, he gives very detailed lists of what your baby might be doing in any given month, much better than any I’ve seen elsewhere.
Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp, MD and any/all of the Sears books were great resources for me, has some good information as well as . The American Academy of Pediatrics also has a web site and publishes a book on the first year that used to be free. Good luck!
‘what to expect the first year; is great to read and also as a reference later if you have questions…
we also found one at babies are us, something like’ your baby’s development week by week for the first year.’ it is white i think with blue and orange stripes….but of the two, i like the other one better….gl
matter of fact, i liked it so much i went ahead and bought the what to expect the toddler years too!LOL
The Dr. Sears books are pretty much all good…but if you’re a naturally-minded AP type mama I’d skip the What to Expect stuff, it has some truly awful advice that sabotages breastfeeding etc.
Don’t get to carried away reading those books…feed your baby when she is hungry and she will crawl walk and talk when she is ready…babycenter.com is a good website to get an idea though…being a mommy is alot of trial and error
I have frankly NEVER read the What to Expect books. I think the Dr. Sears and Dr. Spock books, while informative, have Lo-o-o-ng blurbs and I wouldn’t reccomend it.
I liked “Having Twins,” a lot. It wasn’t entirly about twins, it had lots of info a mom of a singleton would enjoy knowing.
As for breast-feeding, “The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding” was good. I liked all of the Dorling Kindersly books, and The First Five Years by Penelope Leachman was….*golden!!*
It was entirely informative and easy to read. I must admit, while I read all editions from ‘77-07, my favorite was the ‘87 version, but all of them were perfectly good.
Good luck and congratulations on your new little bundle of joy!
I liked most of the Sears Parenting Library, and I would reference What to Expect the First Year- but with a grain of salt. I also really liked Your Baby’s First Year by the American Academy of Pediatrics. It has the guidelines regarding milestones that my children’s Pediatrician goes by. After my daughter turned two I got the AAP’s book Caring for Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5.
Congratulations on the birth of your son.
Dr Sears book is good. However I wouldnt buy a ton of books, all babies are different and they do things at a different pace and it doesnt mean they’re smarter or not than others. For example some babies would crawl right on cue at 8 mos, some wont and go straight to walking! Some like my daughter would do a funny bum scooting!! LOL Then she grew out of it and is now a very fast toddler! =)
You need to guide a lot from instinct.As for milestons when you take your baby for checkups your doctor will be able to see how your son’s doing etc.
Just listen to your baby, feed him when he’s hungry and hold him if he wants to be held and give him love always. If he ends up sleeping on your bed is fine! There’s no issue he’ll move into his crib in his own time-just tips for the future!!
I know you’re a first time mom, but relax and go with the flow, he’s 2 weeks, just love him and care for him, sing to him often and read to him, babies love to listen to their mommies voice =)
best of Luck and congrats on your newborn
Trying to raise your baby by a book will be totally ineffectivee. NO baby is a textbook baby. I have a 16 month old and a 2 and a half month old. I was worried about how to raise my daughter (my oldest) But you eventually learn what you are doing and you pick up on cues that your baby gives you when he/she needs something. I watrched 1 vidoe happiest baby on the block and the soothing techniques worked for my son but not my daughter. Trust your judgement if you choose to read the parenting books just use them as a reference don’t try to soley try to raise your baby by them because that book wasn’t written for your baby.
June 28th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
good book
look up the Dr. Spock baby book as well