HappyBaby: The Organic Guide to Baby's First 24 Months [Paperback]

Robert W. Sears (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2009

A healthy baby is a HAPPYBABY!

From the most respected names in parenting come this definitive book on child rearing the all-natural way. HappyBaby combines decades of medical expertise from Dr. Robert W. Sears, renowned doctor in the Sears family of pediatricians, with the nutritional know-how of Amy Marlow, registered dietitian for the popular HAPPYBABY line of organic baby food. Look no further than between the pages of this jam-packed guide to find answers to critically important questions in the life of your baby, such as:

• What should I eat when nursing my baby to ensure the most nutritional feedings?
• What simple tips can help me manage the inevitable stress that comes with a new baby in the house?
• I'm worried about toxins in my baby's nursery. How can I green the new room?
• When do I introduce my child to solid foods, and how can I do it in a safe and fun way?
• How can I develop healthy eating habits in my children?

This groundbreaking book offers a proactive, harmonious approach to parenting that's easier, greener, and just plain better for your precious infant or toddler.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert W. Sears, MD, FAAP, is a board-certified pediatrician. The father of three sons, he is a coauthor of The Baby Book and The Vaccine Book. Dr. Sears works with the HAPPYBABY team to develop healthy meals.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (September 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061711365
• ISBN-13: 978-0061711367
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #307,668 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Robert W. Sears, MD, is a father of three, board-certified in Pediatrics, and a co-author in the Sears Parenting Library. "Dr. Bob", as he likes to be called by his little patients, earned his medical degree at Georgetown University School of Medicine in 1995. He did his pediatric internship and residency at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, finishing in 1998. Dr. Bob is the proud father of three active boys, Andrew, age 15, Alex, age 12, and Joshua age 6. He and his wife, Cheryl, reside in Dana Point, CA. In his spare time Dr. Bob enjoys surfing the California waves, mountain biking, playing bass guitar with his teenage son guitarist, and trying to keep up with his three children.

Dr. Bob enjoys a very unique approach to pediatrics by providing a combination of alternative and traditional medical care. He has a passion for healthy natural living and incorporates this knowledge into a style of disease treatment and prevention that you won't find in most doctors offices. By limiting antibiotic use, using science-based natural treatment approaches whenever possible, and focusing on good nutrition and immune system health, Dr. Bob takes preventative medicine to a whole new level. His commitment to breastfeeding success for all his patients also helps babies get a right start in life.

Dr. Bob has a particular passion for helping parents understand childhood vaccines and the options open to them in choosing the safest possible vaccine schedule for their child. As the solo author of The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child, his in-depth knowledge of vaccines and the diseases they prevent has helped parents nationwide get a better understanding of this complex and confusing issue.

Having had the privilege to help raise three active boys, Dr. Bob has grown fond of the "parenting" side of pediatrics. He especially enjoys talking to parents in his practice about the joys, and trials, of watching their little babies and toddlers thrive through the first several years of life.

Dr. Bob is committed to enjoying a slow-paced, casual atmosphere in the office, providing long checkups, giving parents the flexibility to ask for house calls at home when needed and being one of the very few Orange County pediatricians to be available after hours, overnight, and on weekends for phone calls and home visits. Because he is not contracted with any insurance companies he is able to focus his attention 100% on just being a doctor without having to worry about the business side of running an insurance-based office. His patients take care of billing their own insurance themselves and find that once they learn the process it is very easy.

Dr. Bob has appeared on the Dr. Phil show to offer advice on child behavior and parenting issues. He has also appeared on the Ellen DeGeneris show, CNN's House Calls with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, the CBS Early Show, and PBS's "A Place of Our Own".

Dr. Bob is a frequent speaker at La Leche League conferences, including Colorado, Texas, Ohio, North Carolina, California/Nevada and the International LLL Conference 2007 as well as various parenting health Expos. He has written for Contemporary Pediatrics, Newsweek Japan, and dozen's of regional parenting magazines across the nation. Dr. Bob is co-author of The Updated Baby Book, The Premature Baby Book, The Baby Sleep Book 2005 and Father's First Steps: 25 Things Every New Dad Should Know and author of The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for your Child and an active contributor to the content of AskDrSears.com and several other parenting websites. He is also a regular contributor to Working Mother magazine.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good information and breastfeeding friendly, October 24, 2009

By 

K. Tier (San Francisco Bay Area) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: HappyBaby: The Organic Guide to Baby's First 24 Months (Paperback)

I was really excited to see this book. I am a certified nutrition educator (holistic nutrition), LLL leader, a new IBCLC, retired API leader, and mother of 4. I am also a big fan of Dr. William Sears' "The Healthiest Kid in the Neighborhood" and "The NDD Book".

Overall, this is a very good book that I would recommend to new moms, with a few caveats. First, they have good breastfeeding information and discuss why using an IBCLC is important, but they did not consult or include an IBCLC in the writing process. They encourage moms to wait until 6 months to start solids (which is best practice and evidence-based) and they give tips on how to delay solids for the 4-5 month old who is eyeing the plates at dinner (I loved that). However, they advocate starting with highly processed cereals (which just happen to be made by the HappyBaby company, who wrote the book). Many holistic nutritionists believe in the value of sticking with whole foods, such as avocado or banana, as first foods and believe that processed cereals (even organic ones) are not necessarily healthy choices.

After reading the book, I noticed all the HappyBaby organic processed food products at my local Whole Foods. It is not my place to debate the merits of these products (which do contain many good ingredients), but I think it is important in a book review to point out the product tie-ins.

Overall, I do believe this is a good book and I am glad it was written. Having Dr. Robert Sears' name on it (loved his "The Vaccine Book") will help it to reach a wider audience. It is worth buying.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Focus on Organic and Whole Foods from the Beginning, February 4, 2010

By 

Mamastar (Los angeles, CA.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: HappyBaby: The Organic Guide to Baby's First 24 Months (Paperback)

When I saw this book, I thought "Oh, boy...another book about feeding my baby. What can this add to my knowledge?" I was also kind of suspicious that it was produced by a baby food company, Happy Baby Food, which I thought could only be self serving. Then I noticed that the book was co-written by Dr. Robert Sears, who wrote or co-wrote a whole series of baby books that I really like and trust, most especially, The Baby Book, which was my bible for the first months of my son's life.
So, based on my trust of Dr. Sears, I gave this book a chance and I was pleasantly surprised! The emphasis is on the importance of whole, fresh, organic foods from the very beginning of eating (no earlier than 6 months old) with focus on the value of DHA in the diet to promote healthy brain development. It has helpful hints for feeding picky eaters and promoting a taste for a wide variety of foods. There are also great recipes for tasty sounding things that I had never thought of before. I also liked the discussion of probiotics in baby food and wished that I had known more about the benefits of those as i was starting to feed my son.
Of course, there are product tie-ins to the Happy Baby Brand Foods, but they aren't at all obnoxious, as I had feared. In fact, I became kind of curious and sought out some of their products. I liked how the frozen pureed foods for babies came in three distinct stages, just as discussed in the book, and that they were pretty much unadulterated organic fruits, vegetables, and grains. I can see how the foods might make meal time easier for a busy mom like me who wants to make all her own food, but can't always afford the time.
Anyway, I found the book to be valuable, all in all, with a lot of clear and helpful information, thanks to Dr. Sears and his competent co-author, Amy Marlow, who is a a Registered Dietician. I'm glad that I added it to my library and will probably recommend it to all my health conscious (and health oblivious... they need it most of all!) mommy friends.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Making my home healthier, February 3, 2010

By 

Noelle Maher (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: HappyBaby: The Organic Guide to Baby's First 24 Months (Paperback)

I have always tried hard to feed my children healthy and organic meals and the Happy Baby line of products have made it a lot easier to fill in where I was not able to cook myself (time). What I had not done was to make my home healthier. This book gave me a lot of ideas on how to make my home healthier. From organic cleaning supplies to organic nursery supplies this book had a lot of suggestions. It also had more recipes to add to my meals. I would definitely recommend this book to a friend. Makes a great baby gift too.