Everything a parent needs to know about caring for a baby. The Baby Care Book is a clear, thoughtful and objective guide that helps parents raise a newborn. The subject of parenting is often confusing. The great value of this book is that it empowers parents with knowledge and allows them to make personal choices for each circumstance and situation. Both authors are leading experts from the world-renowned Hospital for Sick Children. The Baby Care Book covers an extensive range of topics in clear, easy-to-understand language. Specially commissioned "real life" photographs throughout complement the text, providing additional instructions and information. The chapters Both parent and newborn will benefit from the expert guidance that The Baby Care Book provides.
Stellar. The best baby care book I've found. Best of all, the authors take a very non-judgmental approach and assume that you, the parent who is clearly motivated enough to read a baby care book, has good reason to choose one option over another (no frightening rants on breast feeding, attachment parenting etc., etc.) The have taken the approach that you know precious little about caring for babies (thank heavens) and provide loads of pictures and a clear approach to everything from bathing baby to diapering to feeding (both bottle & breast).
This was an extremely useful book. I actually read it cover-to-cover, which I didn't expect to do. The authors provide a lot of very important information in an easy-to-digest format - they repeat themselves just enough to make sure the most important points sink in, but they don't resort to lists and bullets that you feel like you need to memorize.
They also do a really great job of being totally unbiased and non-judgmental. Unless there's a serious medical reason for them to encourage one type of parenting decision over another, they keep it neutral and offer advice for all options. Their tone is professional but friendly, and easy to read without being condescending.
My biggest complaint is that the book is called "Canada's Baby Care Book" but almost all the information about groups and resources and government support, plus most of the statistics, are American. I found that really irritating; they're Canadian doctors writing a Canadian book - the least they could do is keep it Canadian.
But overall, this book was great. I strongly recommend it to all first-time parents.
"The Baby Care Book" is a book on baby care from prenatal to 12 months old. My my brother and his wife want to start their family. They asked my mom to be there when a baby is born, so she wanted to read up on the latest baby care information to make sure she remembered things correctly. I checked this book out of my library and gave it to her, and she gave me the following review of it:
"I was very impressed with this book. It covers everything you might have questions about and would be a good choice for first-time parents. It has good pictures--and many of them. It has a chart in the back for various illnesses and that chart directs you to the pages in the book that give more information. It's a good reference book for practical use. I recommended that [my brother and his wife] buy this book and read it."
This is a good reference book for basic baby care questions. The best section is the newborn one, which is full of helpful info for those first weeks. Unfortunately I didn't read it until after I'd already bungled my way through that period. I'd suggest reading BEFORE your baby arrives.
I am glad I picked up this book for reference and to prepare for the first few months to a year after our little guy arrives. I have post-it noted and highlights for future reference as I am sure we will return to it as a guide.