Customer Reviews

Baby 411, 2nd Edition: Clear Answers & Smart Advice for Your Baby's First Year (Baby 411: Clear Answers and Smart Advice for Your Baby's First Year)

5 star:		(58)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

As a physician and a mother, I was impressed that this book covered a wide range of material in an easily digestible form.
On the whole,they tackled most things with a reasonably balanced and well-informed approach, and I acknowledge that it's impossible to write a book on childcare that everyone will unequivocally agree with.
However, on certain subjects, such as circumcision, I felt they had an extremely biased and somewhat misleading approach. I'm happy for people to have their own opinions on matters, but this should not be presented as authoritative fact if that is not the case.
On the whole, a good handy reference for moms who need quick and easy advice as a starting point.

You'll find lots of short, direct answers to a lot of common parenting and medical questions in this book. However, I was bothered by Dr. Brown's bias when it came to certain topics; she presents her opinions as established fact when at times it isn't.
I would still recommmend buying this book, but take some of the advice with a grain of salt. Nothing beats doing research (if you have the time and the topic is important to you!); circumcision and sleeping styles, for example, are very important and personal choices for each family, do what's best for yours!

The layout of this book is great - you can quickly find the answers to your questions. Since "wierd" things always happen away from home this book comes with me on overnight trips. It has provided me great, helpful advise for constipation, clogged tear ducts, diaper rash and many other basic baby issues.

I have several books on babies and parenting, and this one seems to be the favorite at our house, one that we constantly turn to when we have questions.

While other baby books tend to follow a chronological thread (what your baby is doing at 1 month, 2 months, etc.), this book is organized thematically: there are chapters on sleep, nutrition, discipline, diseases and vaccines, etc. The advantage with this is if you have a quick question that needs to be answered ("are the contents of my baby's diaper normal?", "how long should my baby be napping?"), you can easily look it up without having to guess in which chapter you'd find it.

I also appreciate the authors' no-nonsense, down-to-earth treatment of their topics. Many first-time parents like me tend to get a bit panicky about the little things, and this book reassures you that yes, your baby is perfectly normal if (s)he acts this way or has this condition (conversely, they'll tell you when things are NOT normal and you need to see a doctor). Interspersed throughout their book are little blurbs on Old Wives' Tales, and what "the truth" really is about a given topic--helpful when you're being pounded with advice from all directions! Yes, the authors have their biases and you're entitled to disagree with some of them, but they usually explain why they take a particular stance to a topic (eg., with regards to pacifiers, infant sleep, and so forth).

The sleep chapter nicely summarizes the main schools of thought with regards to infant sleep. So, if you're not crazy about reading multiple books on baby sleep (Ferber, Weissbluth, etc.), then this book is your "Cliff's Notes" for this topic.

My recommendation: feel free to buy other books on parenting and raising and infant, but buy this one as well. It's an excelllent supplement to child-rearing literature and may just become your favorite resource to answer all things baby-related.

Author Ari Brown, M.D., presents her opinions as if they were commonly accepted wisdom. For example, the book's section on circumcision comes down squarely in favor of the practice when, in reality, there is no consensus medically or culturally. It's bad enough that Brown can't bring herself to present both points of view, but it is unconscionable that she offers hers like they're gospel. There are lots of better new baby books out there -- skip this one.

A book with a short answer for most situations. It's great when you have a new baby and you're feeling panicky and don't know what's going on, and don't necessarily want to read a 5 page discussion.

Another reviewer rated this book low because the authors are sometimes biased in favor of their own opinions, and used their pro-circumcision statement as an example. Overall, I tend to agree with this reviewer, as their logic seems a bit thin. For example, they seem more concerned with the slightly increased chance of baldder infection from not circumsizing than with the increased chance of infection of the circumcision wound. They are unconcerned with removing the nerve endings found in the foreskin because "circumsized men are having great sex."

Still, it's not hard to ignore those issues. This book is more for people who need an answer NOW than people looking for a thoughtful debate of both sides of a parenting issue.

This book is so great it will never see the bookshelf. As a first time mom, with my mom across the US, this book came in handy a lot. I started to read this before my baby was born, and learned stuff I never even knew. Afterwards it came handy as a refrence, especially when my baby got sick(which was a lot). This book is great for any first time mom as a shower gift.

This is a very helpful book if you want to refresh your memory about newborns. As I already have 4.5 years old, I do not have time and will to read big, fat books, on the top, I have been there already. This books resumes a lot of topics, plus it is not organized month-by-month, but rather topic by topic such as hygiene, nutritions and growth, breastfeeding and formula, solid food, sleep, development, discipline and temperament, vaccinations, common infections, common diseases, and first aid. It is basically a reference book for a busy person and I like it this way. This is not to say that I do not like month-by-month book such as what to expect during first year, but this one is a good addition if you want to read only about one topic or find full information rather quickly.

I bought book after I threw out a boring Your Baby's First Year paperback book by Dr. Sears.

I like this book because the paper quality is good. The paper is white, which I like, because Dr. Sear's book was they typical mass produced paperback paper, which if you want an idea of what type - his book was the same print quality as a paperback romance novel at your local library.

Anyway, this book is narrow - it's tall in height, and small in width, but it's thick with a lot of useful information if you're a first time mother (which I was when I bought this book). It has useful charts and an index for symptoms and etc. It's very "user-friendly" for someone who wants a quick reference - now of course, all of these self-help books are all basically the same, and should not replace the advice of counseling of a professional (and by that I mean your pediatrician); so I was a bit surprise that some people judged this book so critically; I mean, really ladies! This book isn't meant to make you into a pediatrician yourself! It is a simple and direct reference for first time mothers, who like me was over zealous of wanting to know as much as I can before the baby arrived.

Some reviewers made comments about the nature of the book in concern to circumcision and whatever else - to that I say, listen, no matter what book you get, the pediatrician who is writing the book is going to have his/her own opinions about it; just like shopping around for an actual pediatrician for your baby - I interviewed five pediatricians before deciding on one for my son. I mean, one book might be pro on co-sleeping for the bonding effect of it, but another one will absolutley say NO because of a chance that you might roll over on the baby and blahblahblah - in the end, despite what any book says, it's your own decision. As stated, this isn't an instruction manual for how to take care of your baby; it's just a nice reference guide for some curiousity you might have before the baby is here.

I gave it 5 stars, and I would recommend - don't be mislead by those reviewers who picked apart the book word by word.

I found myself going to bed with this book when my son was born. It was a lifesaver! I also have the author's Toddler 411 book.