Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

HappyBaby: The Organic Guide to Baby's First 24 Months by Robert W. Sears and Amy Marlowimages
Cautions: None

Kiwi Magazine Review:
Whenever I see a book about raising baby, I always look at the author's credentials. In this case, I was happy to see that Dr. Sears is a board-certified pediatrician, the father of three sons, and a co-author of several titles on the health and well-being of children. This book is comprehensive, readable and medically sound. It's also nearly 400 pages, but it is well-organized and has a comprehensive index so it is easy to find what you want, even if you're a sleep-deprived new parent (see pages 142-143!).

I gave the book as a gift and the person loved it. it gives you specific information about organic food and how not to poison your baby with simple daily tipS. iT TALKs about from which types of food has the most pesticides to not warm ur babies food in plastic container but in glass container.

I loved it ! and i recomend it!

When my son was born, THE BABY BOOK by Dr Sears, was a life-saver! It was like having a pediatrician with you at all hours of the day or night when you had a question. I have since had 2 more children and have been trying to 'green' up my life as I believe it is so important for their (and mine and the earths) health. When I heard he wrote HappyBaby- Organic Guide to Baby's First 24 Months, I ordered it. I was not disappointed. I have found this book to be a great resource on how to 'green' up your life through simple, realistic steps. I highly recommend this book!

I would recommend this book to any of my new parent friends. The recipes section was a great help for us. The coupons at the very end of the book are GOOD. I would buy this book soon because the coupons expire at the end of 2010 and are worth over $100 total.

I'm a second time mom and thought I knew it all. The first time around I purchased Dr. Sears vaccine book so when I saw this I had to check it out. Things have changed even in the few years since my son was born! This is a great reviewer of things I know but also taught me a lot about the new research out there on health and safety. I'm so glad I took the time to read it and not think I knew it all already.

This book is so well written. It answered most of the questions I had regarding raising my baby the best way possible. It is an overall guide on how to go green at your own pace. I love that it didn't make me feel guilty for what I didn't do but encouraged me to take baby steps toward choosing the right things for my children to enjoy optimum health in every way. I love all of Happy Baby's products and I love Dr. Sears!!!

I was a fan of Dr.Sears and Happy Baby products before purchasing the book, but I did not know how often I would actually use it. I find myself using it on a weekly, if not daily, basis, and even referring to it in many conversations with other mothers. My pediatrician now keeps a copy in her office! It is a comprehensive guide that is not only maneuverable, but addresses topics that I had not even thought about as a new mother. I love to see the relationship between responsible companies and respected experts when it is about education, not commercialism. This book is not only for the veterned Greenies, but the also the moms who are just beginning to approach the idea of what Green means. It is not short on new ideas and does not intimidate those new to mommyhood.