Customer Reviews

The Baby Owner's Manual: Operating Instructions, Trouble-Shooting Tips, and Advice on First-Year Maintenance

5 star:		(74)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

The book is written as if your baby is a product (therefore the need for this 'manual'). I skimmed through it in the bookstore and found it to be hilariously entertaining. I laughed at the verbage used and the 50s or 60s style pictures and diagrams. I bought it immediately and have enjoyed it very much. Example on writing: they ask you to "inspect" your model for all parts. Example of drawings: A circle with an adult holding a baby by the top of the head while the baby dangles with a line through the circle (as if to say 'Do not hold a baby by the top of the head). Obvious, but funny. I found it to by quite humorous.

I've laughed out loud reading it. But I must say that this book has very good information on how to raise your 'model' (baby). If you are a new parent or know someone who is a new or soon-to-be parent who has a sense of humor, they will appreciate this book. Louis Borgenicht, M.D., and his son Joe Borgenicht, D.A.D. (more humor) have written a master piece in my opinion. I would enjoy reading this book if my kid was 25 or didn't have any. It's just plain entertaining (but, again, very well organized useful information is found within).

I stumbled upon this book in the bookstore a couple of weeks ago on accident, and was intrigued by the cover of a baby drawn in the style of functional diagram. What fascinated me further were the off the wall diagrams combined with the technical manual-esque style found inside, which made me think "Worst Case Scenario Handbook" for the parenting world.

But moving beyond the cover I discovered many such useful facts which have undoubtedly helped me prepare for fatherhood. As a slightly jittery, somewhat confused, but overall excited expecting father, this book has become a Godsend.

I read "What to Expect In The First Year", and for the typical male this doesn't work. The dialogue is so blatantly pitted toward women that my brain can't register it. The context juggles concepts of shopping, breastfeeding, and cutsie warm blankets in a convoluted, non-linear fashion which spawned a tangent-of-a-tangent style change of topics reminiscent of listening to my wife talk on the phone to her sister.

This book combines humor with an effective style for logically-wired males like myself, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to cut to the chase and really prepare for what to expect in fatherhood, and avoid the "what to wear to the baby shower" and other non-essential rhetoric.

The book reads a bit satirically -- think of your standard baby care book but written like a VCR manual. But it's actually useful information; we had our first child born recently, and it's been really useful to us. I've ended up buying copies for friends, too. Once you figure out a few of the slightly less obvious "terms" (like "service provider" for "doctor"), it's easy to read and avoids a lot of the editorializing and "my baby was this way" found in similar books. Worth the time.

My wife gave me the Baby Owner's Manual for our baby shower. I like the male-oriented tips in it, some of them are fairly useful. I don't care for the way it stereotypes men as people who won't read a book unless it is in the format of an instruction manual. In my case, I find manuals to be a bit dry, boring and repetitive. My sister gave me another new-dad gift book, "Keeping the Baby Alive till Your Wife Gets Home". It's pretty wacky, but funnier than "Owner's Manual", and a lot more human. As far as serious baby guides go, I read sections of my wife's books--that seems to balance things out for me.

As silly as you may expect this book to be, as a first time mom, I found it pretty darn helpful and practical. I really like the part where it tells you how to wrap the baby like a burrito, kind of like how they do it in the hospital. The nurses do it so quickly you can't really follow what they're doing, but the book actually gives you step-by-step instructions on how to do it. There's tons of great advice and tips on how to care for your newborn in the book, and you'll be laughing hysterically the whole time. Great for moms AND dads AND grandparents.

** Disclaimer: If you have NO SENSE OF HUMOR, this book is not for you.

Although What to Expect and Dr. Sears are nice books, what was missing for me was a book with "just the facts" no discussion of parenting styles or anything along those lines, just "if baby is crying it may be b/c of x, y or z." And this book provides that in a simple, clear and amusing way. It's what we used when we prepared to give a bath for the first time to our newborn. It's listing of games and exercises for development has been useful. And it has provided much needed laughs at times. I love the discussion of stuffed animals and how the model will not believe that stuffed are not alive until 10 or 12 years of age. I'm not giving it 5 stars b/c I wish it dealt with stuff in the same detailed way beyond 6 months.

I have been reading so many serious books on becoming a parent, pregnancy, baby's first year, etc. lately that I needed something fun to balance it all out. I found this book at a boutique a few years back and gave it to my sister when she was pregnant as a joke. I had bookmarked the section on "programming sleep mode".

So here we are three years later and it is my turn. I bought this copy for myself. If you are wondering the difference between this "bargain" copy versus the other regular copy for sale, my copy came with a dirt smudge on the front and an obnoxious "BARGAIN" sticker on the back. Whatever, I saved some $$. My five stars are not for the condition, rather the contents.

This book is humorous, but the information is also useful. Being a techie, I find the technical writing format to be oddly comforting. I would recommend this for any new parent that needs some fun reading. Buy the regular more expensive one if you are giving it as a gift, but this one will work if you want a copy for yourself. Hours of entertainment and education along with an accurate and helpful schematic of baby await!

As a technical illustrator I was drawn to this book for it's style and bought it for that, BUT after reading it I was wishing I had it when my daughter was an infant or while pregnant. The instructions are clear and they covered way more than other how to books on babies. Stuff you really need to know or was wondering about. I ordered the toddler version. . .can't wait to receive it!

Great gift idea for new parents. Small and informative.

I bought this book twice, once for us and our first one, and recently for friends who are expecting twins soon. I think this book provides value in several ways: 1) it's very entertaining, the owner's manual theme is carried through in text and format, which is hilarious 2) the information provided is practical, down to earth and made a lot of sense to us; points 1 and 2 lead to 3) it reduced "parent performance stress" a lot for us, as we were newbies to having an infant 4) the info is succinct - a LOT of info is condensed in short but to the point writing and it is easily found, which comes in handy when you are in the heat of a crisis (colic, fever, etc.) 5) personal success story: the "low-cry method" for putting your baby to sleep worked just fine for us. I highly recommend this book for any new parent who is not a pediatrician or has one as a spouse.

This is a good, amusing break from the super-serious tone of most of the how-to books available for new parents. Buy it AND the What to Expect books and you're all set for anything your baby throws your way.