Great Expectations: Baby's First Year

by Sandy Jones, Marcie Jones, Michael Crocetti

Expectant mothers snapped up "Great Expectations: Your All-in-One Resource for Pregnancy & Childbirth" (135,000 copies sold), and reviewers praised it for its warm, reassuring voice of expertise. This is the logical follow-up, an innovative baby book that will guide and reassure new moms and dads through every nuance of the first 12 months of life with baby. Of course, it maintains all the design elements that are the signature of the "Great Expectations" series and have proven so appealing: innovative graphics; clear-cut, contemporary styling; and sensitive drawings of babies as they develop month-by-month. The text, too, continues that same friendly, supportive, parent-to-parent tone of the earlier book--but now with dads playing an integral role.Inside, there's a plethora of information on the nuts and bolts of feeding, diaper changing, and immunizations, as well as cutting-edge research on baby intelligence and development, nutrition and medical care, and insights into the dynamics of the parenting process. Checklists, bulleted sidebars, and quick-reference tables speed up the process of finding needed information. Unique tables in the extensive medical reference section will present the gamut of symptoms, so parents will have help distinguishing between common baby ailments and more serious emergencies that may require immediate attention.Includes a foreword by Dr. Michael Crocetti, Assistant Professor and Director of Clinical Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, and also an extended resource guide and parent's dictionary.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction

1030 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 28, 2007

About the author

Sandy Jones is an American author and pregnancy and parenting expert. She has written, and co-authored, a dozen books since 1976, including the "Great Expectations" series, focusing on a baby's first years. She has been a lecturer at several events, including La Leche League conferences, an organization that educates women on breast-feeding.
Jones has a Bachelor's degree in psychology from Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina and a Master's degree in psychology from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. She is divorced, and has one daughter, Marcie Jones, who she has co-authored two books with.

Reviews

[Nhung Dang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely helpful for new parents!!! Love the detailed guidelines and advice. It's like a parenting dictionary which is easy to search for something.

[Ashley Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the only book I can comfortably rate before finishing. While all of my pregnancy books smoothed some of my fears back in gearing up for delivery and meeting my babies, this book saved my life after bringing my twins home from the hospital. Baby's First Year is an absolute necessity for new parents and especially for new mothers experiencing hormone fluctuations, sleep-deprivation, and self-doubt in the beginning weeks. This book grounded me with every down thought I had on myself as a mother in those first, desperately difficult weeks. Anyone who receives this as a baby shower gift or even a gift after the baby has come home will be eternally grateful. It is also reassuring as the baby grows: in the beginning with days 1-7, weeks 1-7, and then laid out by month all the way up to to 12 months. There are also long segments in the latter half that are equally as helpful as the day by day/month by month information entries., including Newborn Basics, Guide to Feeding, Baby-care Basics, Baby Shopping Primer, Baby Gear A-Z (the last three sections I haven't really used), Recovering From the Birth, The First Six Weeks to Recovery (the last two sections I read daily), and Six Weeks to Six Months. There is also a parent's dictionary, guide to baby illnesses (way better than looking things up on google and terrifying yourselves, parents!), and a safety guide. This book was a godsend of a gift, and I know I will still refer to it for years to come.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

MY mom got this for me while I was pregnant. I absolutely love this book! I would recommend it to anyone expecting for the first time or for the second or third; I would recommend this to anyone who works with babies. Very comprehensive book about everything!!! Love the medical guide, the month by month guide for baby, a "baby gear" guide...

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great resource, one that I will definitely reference within baby's first year. Very detailed on many things. Easy to comprehend and not overwhelming. I enjoyed the voice of the authors, allowing first time moms to take in all information needed. Information is broken down by category, and specifically by stages (i.e. day 1, day 2, etc etc).

[Jerzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only read the first few sections---I can't read a whole book about the first year and retain anything much---but it seems well-written and full of good advice. There were good sections/lists on packing for trips, babyproofing the house, etc. ... all of which seemed quite distant when he was first born, but it's probably time to revisit now.

[Samanthajocampen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A MUST for anyone expecting. I love how the chapters are broken down for easy reference. This book covers EVERYTHING you could imagine. I will turn to this over and over again, and give it as gifts.

[Lucy Bilik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked that this book has a separate sections for baby gear, baby illnesses, baby development and many many resource websites, organizations and has a wonderful parent's dictionary. It was not one of my favorite books however very informative.

[Elisha (lishie)]

A good initial reference book.

[Esme · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my two go-to books.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my favorite baby info book. Much better organized than What to expect the first year.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really helpful. I liked the week by week break-down for baby's progress. I kind of wished I had read it prior to Evelyn's arrival. It had good tips about product purchases, etc.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful book for first time parents. We will likely add this one to our permanent reference library.

[A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as thorough as "What to Expect the First Year," but still worthwhile in terms of what to look for each month.

[Marina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than the "What to expect" books.