Why Babies Do That: Baffling Baby Behavior Explained [Hardcover]

Jennifer Margulis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2005

As soft, warm, and cuddly as they are, babies often display puzzling behaviors that can startle, concern, and leave both novice parents and seasoned grandparents scratching their collective heads in bemusement.

After all, many newborns emerge into the world with cone-shaped heads, half-closed eyes, and wrinkled, peeling skin. Some even have acne.

As they grow, they continue to make funny noises, they find specs of dust in the air so fascinating they will cross their eyes to follow them, they enjoy sucking on their own toes, and they cough, splutter, spit up, and drool!

This unique books explains key baby behaviors parents and other caregivers encounter in babies between 0 and one year old.

The behaviors range from the truly bizarre (why do babies play with their own poop?) to the truly lovable (why do babies love to be cuddled?) and everything in between.

This witty and informative book not only informs but also inspires the reader to play peek-a-boo, cuddle, bounce, and enjoy everything unique about babies.

In photographs and prose, Why Babies Do That captures some of a baby's finest, albeit fleeting, moments.

 

Editorial Reviews

Review

"With all the parenting books out there, one women found a way to write about babies without doling out the usual advice about sleep schedules and breast feeding."

(Ashland Daily Tidings )

About the Author

Now James and his wife, Jennifer Margulis, have three kids…so far. Jennifer Margulis has eaten fried crickets in Niger, performed the cancan in America, and appeared on prime-time television in France.

Her work has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Military History Quarterly, Wondertime Magazine, and dozens of other national and local magazines and newspapers.

An award-winning writer and former Fulbright Scholar, she lives in Ashland, Oregon with her husband and three children.

To view James and Jennifer's blog on this, and other books click here. 

Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Willow Creek Press (September 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595432434
• ISBN-13: 978-1595432438
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #902,065 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pleasant Relief, June 28, 2006

By 

Timothy Haugh (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Why Babies Do That: Baffling Baby Behavior Explained (Hardcover)

Full disclosure: I am a new parent. And, despite the volumes of information from books and advice from other parents, I have found the experience to be often baffling. (And I consider myself to be educated and reasonably intelligent.)

Perhaps it is the avalanche of information and advice under which I've been suffocating that makes this book so pleasant. The pictures are appropriate and cute (though none of these babies are as cute as my daughter) and the brief answers to questions like "why do some newborns open only one eye at a time, cross their eyes, or roll their eyes back" (all of which my daughter does) offer jolts of relief when needed.

OK, this book is no Dr. Spock or What to Expect in the First Year; still, it's a fun little book that I've found offers relief when your child really does seem a cipher.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lovely gift book for the baby lover in your life, November 13, 2005

By 

Ann Douglas "pregnancy/parenting author" (Peterborough, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Why Babies Do That: Baffling Baby Behavior Explained (Hardcover)

Jennifer Margulis has written a gorgeous gift book about babies. Each section of the book focuses on a particular aspect of infant behavior that may be puzzling to new parents -- e.g. why babies have such erratic sleep patterns, why they have to eat so often, why they say "dada" before "mama," and so on. The book would make a great gift for new parents, a school-aged older sibling of a new baby, or a doting grandparent. Highly recommended.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The perfect baby shower gift!, April 30, 2006

By 

Tertia Albertyn (Durbanville, W Cape South Africa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Why Babies Do That: Baffling Baby Behavior Explained (Hardcover)

This is the perfect baby shower gift idea. An absolutely divine book; each page is dedicated to explaining a baffling baby behavior, beautifully illustrated with stunning photos.

The book is written in a humorous way, but it is still informative. Besides having a good giggle at the odd things babies do, you actually learn.

It is such a nice baby shower gift, unusual and also so useful.

But the best bit....Once you've finished reading and you've learnt what you need to know, it makes a perfect book to `read' to your baby, because as you know, babies LOVE looking at pictures of other babies.

I loved this book. Such a lovely, sunny, funny, cute book.