Customer Reviews

Baby 411: Clear Answers and Smart Advice for Your Baby's First Year

5 star:		(70)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

I picked up a copy of Baby 411 after one of our patients told me about it. I always try to read what our families are reading so I know what information is out there-which often leads to more phonecalls.
This is one of the funniest, most accurate sources of information on the first year of life that I have read. It also lets the reader walk in the shoes of their health care professional. The section on "why your doctor is always late" was hilarious and so true. I also found the sections on good times to book an appointment and information to have on hand when you call the afterhours line just priceless- No one ever tells you this type of stuff when you have a baby and make frequent trips and phonecalls to the pediatrician.
But that is just the beginning. The book manages to cover virtually all of the medical topics that parents encounter in the first year of life. It takes fairly difficult concepts and makes them easy to understand.
I have no doubt that families who buy this book will have fewer phonecalls and trips to the doctor's office. For instance, parents almost always call in about their newborn's acne that crops up at about 4 weeks of age. Baby 411 prepares parents for this so they don't have to worry when it occurs. It also has great pictures on their website like newborn acne, diaper rashes, roseola, etc. I always hoped a book would come with color pictures.
I also found the breastfeeding section very informative. It includes a day to day guide for the first week with a newborn with many practical tips.
I will definitely recommend this book to parents in our practice.

Okay, I need to write a review of this book because I want everyone else out there to know there IS a baby book that covers everything parents want to know about. As a new parent, I have bought books about health, sleep, development, nutrition, etc because I could not find a book that covered these topics in any significant way, with the detailed info I was looking for. The books that I bought that were supposed to 'cover it all' like What to Expect didn't give enough info on any one topic. I also found it hard to find what I was looking for because of the way the book is arranged.

I loved Baby 411. It really covered all the bases. The chapters are organized by topics and they cover the biggies: sleep, nutrition, development, vaccines, common illnesses, infections (and when it's okay for my child to go back to daycare). And each topic is really thorough and takes you through the entire first year-explaining how your baby adapts and changes-and how parents need to adapt with their baby. I particularly liked the nutrition section which was divided by liquid nutrition, solid nutrition, and general issues. No other book gave me the details like how much volume of formula/breast milk a baby takes in (it's based on weight). It also gave me the info I was looking for regarding introduction of solid food-how much, how often, when to offer the more risky allergy foods.

I thought this book was terrific and will recommend it to all my friends.

During my 35 years of Pediatric practice, I have not read a more practical and user friendly reference. The format enables the parent of young children to quickly find answers to the questions that they might be too embarrassed to ask their pediatrician. It will be the book you will go to first when questions arise.

I am a pediatrician and this is one of the most unique baby books I have ever read. I applaud the authors for making extraordinary efforts to take current trends in pediatric healthcare and explain them to parents. A great deal of medicine and science is not black and white. It's gray. This book tackles those gray zones and allows interested parents to understand what goes into the decision making process for their infant's medical care. Despite the depth and complexity of information, the book engages the reader with its conversational style making it very easy and enjoyable to read.
The authors express their opinions on various medical issues and I would agree with a majority of their advice. It adheres to what I would consider standard of care in pediatric medicine.
The book's website is also informative. It provides an avenue to keep parents updated on children's healthcare news.
I have been recommending Baby 411 to families in my practice and it has been well-received.

I am a mother of 2 and my children are patients of Dr. Brown. I cannot say enough wonderful things about her and her book, Baby 411. We really enjoy her style in the office-she is a terrific doctor- loves to teach, makes us feel involved in decision making, and most of all, she truly cares about our kids. So, I was already a fan before I bought her book.

Baby 411 is an amazing book. It's like my doctor is sitting in my living room talking to me. The style is friendly, comforting, and amusing. The format is the most organized and user-friendly I have seen (and I have bought several parenting books). It is also respects that we readers have a brain and want more information than what is offered to most parents from lay-medical books.

But what I like the most about Baby 411 is that the authors don't make you feel guilty about your choices. It tells you that your child will still grow up normal and well-adjusted whether or not you choose to have them sleep in your bed, if you work outside the home, or whatever. They point out that these choices are not the secret sauce-it's having happy well-adjusted parents.

I have read too many books that try to guilt you into following the author's agenda (like Dr. Sears). What really bothers me about those other books is that they don't have the guts to tell you that not every doctor or child care expert agrees with them-they just nestle their opinions into the text so that parents think this is the gospel when they read it. I really appreciate that the authors of Baby 411 are HONEST. They actually pull out opinions from the main text and say, 'this is our approach to things based on experience, but you can do what you works for you or ask your doctor their opinion'...

All of my friends at playgroup have bought Baby 411 and love it. It has become my favorite gift to friends having babies.

One final point, since I know Dr. Brown personally- she wrote this book because she is passionate about teaching and empowering parents so that their kids benefit. She's not out there selling her name or endorsing products-how refreshing!

This is the perfect baby book. It has really helped me figure out what is going on with my baby. She had really bad reflux and I felt so helpless about what the problem was and what to do about it. Baby 411 walked me right through it and gave me lots of practical tips. My doctor's advice was very similar, but the book gave me more info and made me feel better that this was another thing that would get better with time and it did. I also like that I can find answers to what I am looking for very easily.

This book is a great resource for new parents who have little time and lots of questions. I recommend it to all my patients.

I highly recommend this book to ALL parents...first timers AND vetrans! Easily referenced, well written, funny and clever to boot; Dr. Brown's book is a gem.
The best parts are the ease in looking up particular issues as well as her "reality checks"!
I am a Mom of two and reference it often. She is up to date and obviously knows her stuff!

Baby 411 is the ultimate owner's manual for babies. As a mother of infant twins, I have read MANY parenting books. None holds a candle to this one. Most books, like the What to Expect series, are wishy washy and don't really give you the answers you need at 2 am when you are afraid or embarrassed to call the doctor and too worried about your baby to go to sleep. I honestly have yet to find a question that has not been answered in this book. It's like the authors have read my mind! I buy this book for all of my expectant friends.

This book is great for new parents. Good tips, easy to look up topics, and lots of practical advice and medical information. We have found it very useful with our newborn and now buy it for all of our friends who are expecting.