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Baby 411: Clear Answers & Smart Advice for Your Baby's First Year
Dr. Spock meets Judge Judy--finally a parenting book that separates fact from fiction. What if you could bottle the wisdom of all those parents who've come before you...and combine them with the sold medical advice from an award-winning pediatrician? Baby 411 is the answer.
512 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
674 people are currently reading
1216 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 332 reviews
June 28, 2010
The only reason I am not giving this book 5 stars is because it freaked me out a little. I'm not sure it is wise to read about every little disease, virus, and genetic abnormality that your baby could have before you give birth. Nevertheless, this is a GREAT reference for all things parenting in the first 2 years of a baby's life. I'm glad I read it so that in case anything should go wrong with my little one (heaven forbid!), I'll know where to start.
This book also has helpful guides to online resources for everything from poison control to vaccination clinics. And there is a Twitter account you can follow for up-to-date information.
Even with all the information jammed into these 500 pages, this book will help you to understand that all new parents freak out about the little things. It is apparently pretty normal so I should anticipate that and try to be calm. Try being the operative word.
This book also has helpful guides to online resources for everything from poison control to vaccination clinics. And there is a Twitter account you can follow for up-to-date information.
Even with all the information jammed into these 500 pages, this book will help you to understand that all new parents freak out about the little things. It is apparently pretty normal so I should anticipate that and try to be calm. Try being the operative word.
July 18, 2011
I regularly fantasized about setting this book on fire. The organization was great, but it seemed every time I looked there was chastisement for something or other, and a fair amount of me-me-me, it worked for me and so it must for everyone. It was a necessary reference for about six months, and then I decided I didn't need to deal with this tone anymore.
March 19, 2016
Generally innocuous tips but some snide and sanctimonious bits, which I can do without in an advice book on parenting. Claims that night nursing causes cavities, so makes me worry what other inaccurate information the authors are spreading.
December 20, 2010
I've read enough of this now to mark it as "read". I really don't intend to read through the whole doom and gloom section on rare illnesses. Much like Baby Bargains, it was helpful, but a bit sloppy and repetitive. It was hard for me to trust the authority of the contributing pediatrician when she has bad reviews from local parents. (I live in the area where she works, so came across info on her practice when I was researching pediatricians.) Nonetheless, I did refer to it many times and did take their advice in many cases, because I certainly had/have a lot to learn!
I need for them to elaborate more on some points, like why it's suggested to end pacifier use at 6 months and how to go about doing that when your baby is making a loud scene in public and nothing else is working. It must be difficult to write a book like this without bias, so I think it's useful to realize that some of it is fact while much of it is opinion.
I need for them to elaborate more on some points, like why it's suggested to end pacifier use at 6 months and how to go about doing that when your baby is making a loud scene in public and nothing else is working. It must be difficult to write a book like this without bias, so I think it's useful to realize that some of it is fact while much of it is opinion.
February 10, 2017
super helpful the first time around. not so fluffy like some fo the other books in this genre. more like a FAQ for how to take care of a baby- which is exactly my speed.
this time around, didn't quite finish re-reading it. much more helpful the first time. 2nd time parent means fewer questions. more than advice i this time i could use sleep....
but would recommend to any first time parent!
this time around, didn't quite finish re-reading it. much more helpful the first time. 2nd time parent means fewer questions. more than advice i this time i could use sleep....
but would recommend to any first time parent!
August 18, 2016
Good information and tidbits but I could do without some of the chiding and what feels like sanctimonious comments. One example that sticks out in my mind was among the lines of there's something wrong with you if you're still nursing your child to sleep/in the middle of the night by the time they are getting teeth (like 6 months). just kind of struck me that as new parents we don't need passive aggressive lecturing interspersed with important safety information
March 3, 2021
This was exactly what I was looking for: a super comprehensive guide to babies that was more readable than the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Caring for Your Baby book. You can definitely just keep this handy as a reference and not read the whole thing, but I really didn’t know anything about babies before having one, so I read this all the way through, except for the lab test and glossary sections at the end. Much of it is in a handy Q & A format, with other little blurbs sprinkled throughout (“Bottom Line,” “Helpful Hints,” “Feedback from the Real World,” etc.). The writing is conversational and often funny. If you’re a highly anxious person, maybe don’t read the last half, which is just a lot of information on diseases and such.
July 30, 2019
This is a whopper of a book, so it was a little daunting to pick it up, but I am glad I did. Dr. Brown has clear, concise, easy-to-understand answers to hundreds of questions that parents have asked her or other doctors (or google, if we are being honest). As a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, I agreed with around 98% of her advice and the rare things that I didn't were more matters of opinion. As a future first-time mama, I appreciated her candor, humor (this is definitely not a dry textbook!), and the perfect mix between giving descriptive answers so a parent won't feel they're talked down to but also not so heady and technical that a parent would feel lost in the medical lingo. Chapters are categorized by different major topics including the newborn stage, feeding, sleep, discipline, growth and development, common illnesses, vaccines, and a plethora of other subjects. This is a great book to read from cover to cover, like I did, or a parent can use it as a reference guide to flip to a specific chapter or question when appropriate. I have seen this book on multiple bookshelves of NPs and MDs at our pediatric primary care clinic so it is a winner amongst medical professionals, which is also reassuring that the advice given is legit.
August 23, 2017
I've really been reading the 6th edition but that doesn't seem to be an obvious option here on goodreads. Anyway, lots of good info that is both reassuring (for what it seems I've already been doing "right") and daunting (the things I probably SHOULD already have been doing by now). I do wish there was more info on babies teething and sort of more-specific info on how to serve babies without any teeth meat, but I guess I'm really just looking for a straightforward how-to guide there. Helpful info but not all of what I wanted it to be.
October 11, 2023
This book was very helpful to have. It was nice to have a reference that was all in one place and not need to scour the internet for endless resources. For the first couple months of parenthood I looked up things daily in the book.
The index was good to use, but very specific stuff was still tricky to find. I liked the q&a format. Not an exhaustive resource but sufficiently broad.
The index was good to use, but very specific stuff was still tricky to find. I liked the q&a format. Not an exhaustive resource but sufficiently broad.
November 4, 2019
Best book about babies I’ve read. It offers a lot of excellent advice that actually works.
March 4, 2018
This is a great, information-packed book on baby's first year. It covers pretty much every topic you could hope for (feeding, sleeping, development, etc). It's very thorough. My only issue was getting paranoid after reading the second half of the book, since it's all about viruses, illnesses, and other freaky things that could go wrong. It's good to know, but not fun to think about.
January 7, 2018
This is a good, thorough book on issues you can expect to have in your child's first year of life. It's more of a reference book than one you pick up and read through, but various sections are good for a new parent to read ahead of time and be familiar with. I especially enjoyed their discussion on vaccines and developmental milestones. Very informative and insightful! However, this book should not be used in place of a pediatrician. I use it to help, but if I have any questions, I always run them by the pediatrician first. Even the book would have you do so! It's a supplement and not a self-diagnosis book. I wish it was easier to navigate though. Arranging things by topic is nice, but an arrangement by age or by symptom would have been more helpful to me.
July 9, 2018
This book has been an absolute lifesaver for me and my husband during our baby's first months of life. Calm, reasoned advice without judgment or hyperbole - just what we needed. We kept this on the coffee table and looked up every little question we had! I don't recommend that any new parents read it cover to cover: there's information about rare problems and diseases that will just make you worry. Save those bits for if/when you actually need them. My favorite part was how factual and non-judgmental the chapters on breastfeeding and formula are.
All parenting is fraught. All books are flawed. No book, person, or website has every answer for your particular family and baby. But this book helped me so much and answered so many of my questions that I absolutely recommend it.
All parenting is fraught. All books are flawed. No book, person, or website has every answer for your particular family and baby. But this book helped me so much and answered so many of my questions that I absolutely recommend it.
August 6, 2016
I haven't read this book from cover to cover (who really does that with books like these?), but I have found myself going back to this book over and over with questions about my new baby. My pediatrician gave us this book at our baby's two-week checkup, and I have looked at it for something multiple times a week since. I'm pretty sure I have avoided calling the doctor's office because of the excellent information in this book. It's incredibly reassuring to look something up that my baby is doing and realize that it's a perfectly normal thing for her age. I'm sure I will continue going back to this for reference throughout her first year, at least.
December 7, 2015
Definitely the best baby book I read. Good for both a straight read-through and for use as reference. I had a few quibbles with a few answers that essentially said "the science suggests that X is OK but why not avoid it out of extreme caution?" but it was far more evidence-based than most books. I also find it interesting that this book was recommended to me by a number of people with wildly different parenting philosophies.
September 2, 2011
Standard fair as every other "Baby's 1st year"-type book, so I would say skip--except for 1 chapter. The chapter on sleep has a great summary and ratings of the basic baby sleep theories out there. Definitely worth the read of that chapter to save you reading all the sleep books--or at least only reading the one for your favorite theory.
April 18, 2013
This book makes me wish I hadn't spent so much time/money wading through all the *other* parenting how-tos. I want my time/money back!
Seriously amazing - comprehensive, an emphasis on the actual science, very well organized, helpful tone and it even manages to be funny on occasion. I feel like I stumbled on the holy grail of parenting.
Seriously amazing - comprehensive, an emphasis on the actual science, very well organized, helpful tone and it even manages to be funny on occasion. I feel like I stumbled on the holy grail of parenting.
January 7, 2017
One of the most useful books I found the first year of George's life. This really helped me get a handle on what I needed to worry about and what not to worry about. It also helped me understand his ever-changing needs and rapid development and growth. A true life saver for my sanity! It's also easy to use and reference throughout the year.
July 3, 2017
Excellent reference guide to caring for a newborn written by docs. Bookmarked a ton of things and imagine I'll be looking back at this a lot.
My parents ended up getting us the paperback version and it's a lifesaver to have to flip thru (we originally had kindle version).
My parents ended up getting us the paperback version and it's a lifesaver to have to flip thru (we originally had kindle version).
July 14, 2019
Very good reference book that answers every possible question you can have about your baby. Written in a easy to understand way, and also provides resources or links for further research should you want to do that.
November 9, 2011
Could I give this no stars without it looking like I did not vote? Okay, I'll give it the one star but that's quite generous.
April 22, 2012
Pretty good but, there are better baby books.
December 10, 2022
Sound medical advice. Horrible parenting advice.
May 31, 2016
one of the better baby books i have gotten from the library
January 10, 2018
Written largely by a pediatrician, this book gives useful information and advice on baby health, sleep, and nutrition through the first year of life. Designed as a reference text, the book is broken up into categories and has questions and answer formatting throughout for parents to turn to as needed. While I originally intended to use this book as a resource and consult it as needed, after flipping through this book one day and finding it informative, I ultimately decided to read it straight through and was glad that I did.
I particularly liked that, unlike other pregnancy and parenting books I have read, this book presents the multiple opinions on controversial topics and then gives the author's two cents. I wouldn't say its unbiased, but it makes it clear that there is more than one approach to some aspects of parenting. For example, the book outlines the various baby sleep theories, gives input on the authors' thoughts on the matter, but ultimately leaves it up to the parent to select what works best for them. The book takes the same approach on advice for choosing a parenting style: "You and your partner will need to discuss these issues and come to terms that are agreeable to both" (67). I found this book particularly helpful as a resource to how much milk and later solids my child should be eating at any given age through the first year. Additionally, other tips, such as how to make your own pedialyte at home for a sick child, were appreciated, and might have been overlooked had I not read the book in full.
As a first time parent, I found this book really helpful and thought it gave solid and clear cut advice. I'm now hoping to read the other text by the same authors that focuses on toddlers.
4.5 Stars
I particularly liked that, unlike other pregnancy and parenting books I have read, this book presents the multiple opinions on controversial topics and then gives the author's two cents. I wouldn't say its unbiased, but it makes it clear that there is more than one approach to some aspects of parenting. For example, the book outlines the various baby sleep theories, gives input on the authors' thoughts on the matter, but ultimately leaves it up to the parent to select what works best for them. The book takes the same approach on advice for choosing a parenting style: "You and your partner will need to discuss these issues and come to terms that are agreeable to both" (67). I found this book particularly helpful as a resource to how much milk and later solids my child should be eating at any given age through the first year. Additionally, other tips, such as how to make your own pedialyte at home for a sick child, were appreciated, and might have been overlooked had I not read the book in full.
As a first time parent, I found this book really helpful and thought it gave solid and clear cut advice. I'm now hoping to read the other text by the same authors that focuses on toddlers.
4.5 Stars
February 7, 2018
Recommended by my veteran Mom friends and our pediatrician. Have not read every page of this book... yet, because my baby is only 1 month old and some advice is age specific. But, this book is full of amazing evidence-based and practical advice that you really need. Worth having his book even though we live in a time you can google anything because when it comes to childcare the internet is a black hole of anxiety and judgement.
January 4, 2019
I’m shocked it’s not 5 stars across the board! If a baby care book DIDN’T mention infections, diseases, etc., it would be a bad baby care book. I don’t advise skipping past the “scary” sections because it actually made me feel better- it tells you what is (surprisingly) normal and what is not normal so you know that most things are actually nothing to be worried about and you know when to call the doctor.
The whole thing is organized into FAQs parents ask pediatricians with short and easy answers that take only 15-60 seconds to read at a time. So if you’re feeding the baby and have only minutes to read, you can start and finish several topics. Even if you can’t remember everything you read you can at least know the book covers it so if you own it, you can consult your pediatrician on the shelf.
The whole thing is organized into FAQs parents ask pediatricians with short and easy answers that take only 15-60 seconds to read at a time. So if you’re feeding the baby and have only minutes to read, you can start and finish several topics. Even if you can’t remember everything you read you can at least know the book covers it so if you own it, you can consult your pediatrician on the shelf.
July 5, 2020
This book was quick (despite its length) but thorough. It seemed up to date and very informative. It took a while to get used to the Q&A style and I think I would have appreciated a more standard format when reading it straight through. The focus on questions and answers also left a lot of the smaller details on the wayside. Though the only way around that is to make it even longer. Still one of the best books on the subject I've read yet.
December 31, 2020
Similar to “Expecting 411” by the same authors, this book is FULL of good info. Really the same and/or similar to what I get with my daily reading on the “The Bump,” and my “Babycenter” app, but this felt way more comprehensive and I learned lots of good extra nuggets along the way. I highly recommend this book to expecting PARENTS (not just moms) because there are lots of good partner tips along the way and great strategies for raising, disciplining, feeding, teaching, and loving on littles. Next up is the last book in the series: TODDLER 411!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 332 reviews