Customer Reviews

Your Baby's First Year Week by Week

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(35)

 

 

I tried to like this book. I enjoyed following along with my pregnancy each week and looked forward to reading a little about what to expect each week during my daughter's first year. But by the time she was 5 months old, I'd been instructed to let my baby cry-it-out, told I had to start solids or she'd never learn to eat on her own, and instructed that now was a good time to wean her from the breast to formula. Much of the advice in this book directly contradicts with what the AAP recommends, and even more of it contradicts with my mommy instincts. There are many great childrearing books out there, from the attachment parenting based Baby Book from Dr. Sears to the sound, mainstream advice from the AAP in Caring for Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5. Please, please - look elsewhere for a parenting book.

Let me start by saying I had no less than 4 books I consulted on a regular basis during my pregnancy and my favorite was the week to week guide. This book was a huge disappointment.
Not only do the weeks not always correspond to the age of the child (weeks vs. months), but I found that a lot of the milestones were a little ambitious as well. The book also comes across as very judgemental (baby swings are known as neglect-o-matics & cosutmes can scare a baby so keep him home on halloween) and gives you things to worry about without telling you why (to soothe a baby you can swing them, but don't bounce!). I think the book should offer advice and then it's up to me to figure out what to do.
At first I thought it was just me being post-partum and sensitive but my baby is 13 weeks old now and I can see, the book is just not helpful. Buy "What to Expect the First Year". It gives enough information without making you worry about every little thing and gives you enough information to make an informed desicion without telling you what to do.

I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone! Several of their recommendations are not only against the advice of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization, they would be detrimental to the physical and emotional development of a baby. Examples:
1. They mention introducing foods to babies at 4 months
2. They suggest that at 5 months moms may want to switch the baby over from breastmilk to formula
3. They downplay breastfeeding throughout the book
4. They give the Ferber method as a way of training a baby to sleep

Not to mention they give ridiculous timetables for babies' development. I usually "recycle" books I read by selling them on amazon.com, giving them to libraries, or giving them to women's shelters, but in good conscience I can't let this book be read again, so it's going in the trash.

If you're looking for a good baby development book, read Penelope Leach's "Your Baby and Child"--it's wonderful and she gives solid advice and encouragement.

I bought this book because I enjoyed the Pregnancy week by week book. If I wasn't a mother who did research on my baby's development and just read this book, both myself and my baby would be in trouble. This book recommends weaning from breastmilk at 16 weeks (The AAP recommends 1 year), feeding your baby juice(Only if you want to encourage bad habits and cavities), allowing your baby to CIO (which has been proven by developmental psychiatrists to be BAD for babies!) feeding your baby fruit first and not veggies - this book is terrible. I don't see where an OB even has the right to write a book on baby development! These authors should be ashamed of themselves for even publishing this rubbish! Get The Baby Book by Sears instead. This was a BIG waste of [amt]. I would have rather thrown it out the window.

If you're using this book as your only reference on baby care, you'd find yourself relatively uninformed on several important topics. For example: Breastfeeding is covered in a very cursory way. No pictures, no descriptions of techniques, only a half-hearted endorsement. The rest of the section sounds like it was written by baby formula manufacturers. In general, it was not a very well written book.

I had purchased "Your pregnancy week by week" and read it every week while pregnant. I enjoyed the information in it especially the size of the baby and the changes it told about. I was happy that there was a book that followed the babies first year, so after our daughter was born I purchased it. I wish I hadnt, its a waste of money.

What I know now that I didnt know when I bought it was that pregnancies for the most part follow the same schedule but babies definately do not. While you may feel your baby kick inside you while your pregnant a week ahead or behind the "typical" pregnancy what your baby does is at its own pace and is frustrating to compare it to a book.

I would read this book and skip ahead a bit to see what my baby would be doing in a month or so and really my baby did not do things according to this time frame. It was making me feel as though my baby was behind or I was doing something wrong because she wasnt able to sit by herself at 24 weeks which by this book is what your baby should be doing.

I stopped reading this book about 3 months ago which means I only read it randomly for about 3 months so its a complete waste of money.

I did buy another book by Anne Douglas called "The mother of all baby books". It outlines your babies first year, sleeping, eating, pooping habits. As well as what usually happens at the doctor and so on. I found the information in that book to be very helpful.

This book just really shouldnt exist. Its not fair to compare your baby to anyone elses baby let alone the "super baby" this book is based on.

I've never been critical of books. In fact, I'm usually easily persuaded when presented information. However, the minute I began reading this book, I was skeptical. In fact, my husband read the beginning and said, "This author should be shot" in reference to diapering the baby--"even dads can master this!" and comments about getting the father involved. What generation are we?
This is petty--however, grammar is important in books. Every time the author writes the word 'okay', it is spelled OK. Obviously the author does not know about formal/informal language. My first graders know the difference.
A few people also stated that information is presented at the wrong time. I found this to be true from the beginning. Such as in week 7, it explains the use of diaper bags. OH! I need one? Don't you think that I have left the house before week 7? This section even talks about what kinds of bags there are... small, large, over the shoulder, backpack (which dads prefer). Does the author think we are of lower intelligence? I've seen a bag or two in my time.
I found that in most areas of the book, the author was trying to fill space. Such as when the author discusses baby swings, he explains the different types. "Some swings have only one speed, but speed options range from one to six!" He was just running out of things to talk about. Oh, and by the way, he says some people believe swings are "neglect-o-matics". You can hear the bias in his writing.
Do not purchase this book if you want good quality information. Do buy this book if you want to be amused by the stupidity.

Shocking how a book like that makes it on the market. Some of the information (like care of the uncircumsized baby) is so wrong, it is harmful to your baby's health to follow it.
Don't buy this book. The info is out-dated and incorrect.

Not even sure where to begin with this book! If you care about doing best for your baby, buy any book but this (and WTE books)!!

There are no pros for cloth diaper, breastfeeding is scarcely mentioned and not encouraged, and all in all the book is anti love and respect.

Mostly and dangerously is the advice regarding intact male genital care and solids. DO.NOT.RETRACT.EVER. Even with as common as circumcision is/was in the US our own American Academy of Pediatrics warns against this harmful practice! TISK TISK!

This book also suggests starting solids at 4 months, something that yet again goes against the American Academy of Pediatrics statement, which encourages exclusive breastfeeding for AT LEAST 6 months of age.

Giving this kind of advice is harmful to babies and highly inaccurate. I wouldn't waste my money on this unless I needed to start a fire!! "YOUR BABY AND CHILD FROM BIRTH TO AGE FIVE" by Penelope Leach is a much better unbiased and accurate book to turn to for child rearing.

Boo on Your Baby's First Year, don't waste that first year reading THIS garbage!

First off, the main author of this book is a gynecologist, not a pediatrician. Secondly, some of the information in this book is completely against what the American Academy of Pediatrics says. The worst issue I found was in regards to caring for an uncircumcised newborn. This book says in Week 1 to pull back the foreskin and clean under it at every diaper change. DO NOT DO THIS! The foreskin is still fused to the head for several years. Pulling it back before it naturally retracts can cause extreme pain, damage, and possibly lead to infection and problems down the road. The American Academy of Pediatrics even states to NEVER forcefully retract the foreskin. This book also states that you can microwave bottles, which every bottle manufacturer and formula company warns can be dangerous. I don't trust any information in this book and an horrified by the misinformation. I would NOT recommend this to a friend, or even to an enemy.