Book Review: The Baby Book
About a month ago, Chris mentioned that perhaps we should start reading up on life with babies. We've amassed a small collection of books on pregnancy and borrowed a few others from the library, but we had nary a book on what to do with the baby once it starts life on the outside. We decided to start this phase of book-collecting with The Baby Book, by Dr. William and Martha Sears, largely because I also have their Pregnancy Book, and I found it to have a good amount of information, clearly laid-out and explained.
Now, it seems to me that quite a few baby-rearing books are just not about relating information about signs of colic and what normal baby poo looks like - everyone has a gimmick, whether it's Babywise or the Baby Whisperer. The one that the Sears family promotes is attachment parenting, but I've honestly found that it's possible to skip over the AP chapters without compromising the value of the book. Granted, there are references to co-sleeping and babywearing sprinkled here and there in the other chapters, but it's minor, really, and it's not like the authors pretend that bottle-feeding doesn't exist and not provide useful advice on that topic. They're more impartial than I expected, actually, suggesting that instincts and cue from the little one will lead parents to develop their own appropriate style.
Overall, I am glad to have made this purchase. Not sure if my parenting style will turn out to lean towards the AP end of the spectrum, but the sections on what typical behaviors are for infants of varying ages, physiology, health concerns, bonding, introducing solid food, etc. are all easy to read and informative - certainly not overly rigid or fright-inducing. It's not a fluffy read, but not overly scientific either.
You mentioned Babywise. . . Have you read it?
Posted by: TulipGirl | June 27, 2004 at 11:06 PM