Your Baby Week by Week: The Ultimate Guide to Caring for Your New Baby

by Simone Cave, Caroline Fertleman

Guides abound on what to expect during each week of pregnancy, but when the baby finally arrives many parents are unprepared to face the weeks of unpredictability and worry that a newborn brings. Full of advice, information, and reassurance, each chapter in this insightful guide covers just one week of a baby’s development and—ideal for tired and anxious parents—the week is divided into sections so that they quickly find the information they’re looking for. All of the basics are covered—sleep, feeding, crying, washing, play, and development—and handy tips for checking a baby’s progress are also included. Clearly written and filled with vital information, this is an encouraging and practical guide to help new parents through the crucial first six months of parenthood.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Childrens, Reference, Self Help, Audiobook

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Kadri · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrible book that promotes neglect. Leaving your child to the crib to cry it out until it vomits and then recommends to change the bed half a bed a time (so you don't have to touch the child that is vomiting from crying). Aargh...where do these horrible advisors come from? Do You want a reenactment of a Soviet-time Romanian orphanage at your (child's) bedroom at night?

[Natalie McCarthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd like to address this 'promotes neglect' business. I know controlled crying is a contentious issue but the claim that this book 'promotes' it is entirely inaccurate. The section on this is all of 5 pages of the entire book and it warns that the method is dangerous to use before six months and even mentions that some experts think it's cruel. It gives information about the method while emphasising that it is not ideal. Quote: 'We want to emphasise that while this is a quick and effective sleep training method, it is also a last resort and we hope that most people reading this book won't have to endure this harrowing process... we recommend starting with the more gentle approach.' To me that's a very fair and balanced approach that makes the huge downsides clear and encourages you to make your own decision. I did some research and there has been a study on the effects of controlled crying being used after six months and there is no evidence of any long term effects so what is the harm in mentioning it as an option? I'm sure if this changes it'll be swiftly removed from the book.

This book has been a godsend to me in the first months of parent hood. It has been so useful for everything from feeding to bath time and reading about the development milestones I can expect. At every point, it emphasises that babies are unique and may not meet the milestones when they say they will which means it doesn't make you feel too worried if your baby hasn't reached the milestone at the point they mention. The fact that it's week by week means you only have a short section to read too, which is great for sleep deprived parents. I'd highly recommend it to any parent to be.

[J · Rating 1 out of 5]

Apparently my 6 month old baby waking for night feeds is my fault because of my attitude? And he should be sleeping for 8 hours straight. What a heap of shit. This is dangerous for new parents, who are made to feel they are doing a poor job raising their baby. Do not read.

[Stephanie Knox · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don’t read- full of outdated information and pushes sleep training. Also sets unrealistic expectations; at 16 weeks it suggests parents should aim to have babies sleeping 8 hours straight, but notes that only 20% of babies do at this age; so it’s demoralizing to suggest parents should ‘aim’ for this (how do you even aim for long stretches of sleep?!)

[Kremena Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

There are some useful tips in this book but the sleeping techniques described are absolutely inhuman and literally made me sick reading about them. Because of those this book shouldn’t be on the market! It potentially is dangerous to the kids whose parents may decide to try what’s been suggested. Best to be avoided.

[Claire (Clairby11xxx) · Rating 4 out of 5]

More useful in the early weeks, I found that because my daughter is small for her age she hit milestones a lot later than the book suggested. Great when I had no idea what I was doing to begin with though.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book indispensable after the birth of my little girl. I would read the relevant section every week and it would advise me what to expect and what my baby should roughly be doing that week. Each week was broken down into different sections (such as feeding, nappies, sleeping,development etc) with plain easily understood language (very useful in the weeks of sleep deprivation!) and rough guidance as how much baby should be eating, sleeping, pooing etc.

On the down side I wish I covered the whole first year, not just the first 6 months. Also once it got to 4 months the author seemed to assume that I would be weaning so all the information in the food section was focused on how much solid food should be given, which I found a bit annoying and irrelevant. I think it would have been better if there had been a section at the back solely dedicated to weaning.

If you like to read about how your baby is growing and developing and how your body is returning to normal in week by week chunks then this is the book for you.

[Roop Gill Axelsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three different people gifted me this book while I was pregnant. It’s *the* introduction to many parenting topics, specifically contextualized for parents navigating the UK’s health landscape.

This book was indispensable for our first few weeks as parents. It became a weekly ritual for my partner and I to read the chapter for the upcoming week. It made us feel seen, understood, prepared and reassured.

But as the weeks wore on, we found that we were less bothered to read the chapters. Maybe we became more confident parents or maybe the book became a bit generic?

While the book is a great introduction to many topics in parenting: sleep and sleep training, weaning, development and play etc., it’s not a comprehensive authority on any of them.

[Matt DC · Rating 5 out of 5]

Your Baby Week by Week — more sleepless nights than Wuthering Heights

Admittedly, it feels slightly absurd to review this as though it’s a work of literature — but in all fairness, this might be the best book I’ve ever read. Nothing short of genuinely life-changing stuff. The pacing is immaculate (but somehow both too fast and glacially slow simultaneously), the character development frankly astonishing, and the plot twists utterly arresting.

The prose may lean towards instructional, but who needs literary flourish when you’ve got a clear explanation of colic? It’s part thriller, part horror, part existential drama — and unlike most modern fiction, you actually feel changed by the end. Both the protagonist and I cried throughout.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ — an unflinching portrait of madness, milk, and the human will to survive.

[Kaye Amos · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really helped me with my first child. I found it more realistic than half the stuff I had read either online or in other books. I felt it helped reassure me when I was at the end of my tether.
I took everything with a pinch of salt still and took my own opinions as every baby is different and no baby is text book.
The sleeping advice really helped, although I have seen previous reviews stating it was inhuman and wrong but I have seen a lot worse. I took the sleeping advice plus did my own research (and talked it through with my health visitor) and within a few nights, my littlen was going off to sleep like a dream.
I didn’t feel the book was telling me it was my fault at all, I felt it was cheering me on and telling me how awesome I was!

I would definitely recommend this to new mums as i felt it was realistic and not sugar coated.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

DO. NOT. BUY. THIS. BOOK. if you are given it as a gift - burn it.

i would never normally say that about a book, but i mean it. no one should have to suffer through this nonsense. i'm glad that i'd read a lot of other material that aligned more with my values as a parent, so i was able to look at this book more objectively, but i genuinely feel really bad for people who are given this book and take loads of it to heart. some of it is literally laugh out loud ridiculous. and more insidiously, so much of the advice goes against our instincts as nurturing parents. it heavily pushes sleep training. doesn't even mention alternatives, such as doing sleep shifts with your partner/a supportive family (chosen or blood) member. it also describes co sleeping as a "luxury you can't let your baby get used to", piss off! and there's so much more terrible stuff i've blocked out of my brain.

ignore this book, spoil your baby. respond to their needs. read the nurture revolution by dr greer kirshenbaum instead. both you and your baby will appreciate it.

[Beth Flint · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really well laid out. Week by week chapters containing information about what to expect re. sleep, feeding, play and development. A week by week weaning guide was also included. I haven't weaned yet but will return to the book when I do to follow it's plan.

The advice in the book tells you what you should expect around each week but I do not feel there is enough advice on HOW to meet these stages e.g. helping your baby sleep 6-8 hours at night. Fortunately our son seemed to start doing this of his own accord (sleep, glorious sleep). As with any baby books it is probably best to read a few to try and find tips to suit!

At first it was really exciting reading what to expect from the next week but it does become a bit 'samey' in its information after around week 15. Really though this didn't matter as the actual presence of my son provides enough excitement.

Recommend this for first time mommies out there.

[Jenny Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started reading this when my baby was already a couple of months old. In the beginning, as a first time mum, I found the week by week explanations really helpful, and wished I had read it in advance. As the weeks went by I felt it offered less detail but was still helpful. Obviously the book can't deal with every type of baby as they are all individuals, but some of the descriptions felt a little too generic, or outdated, or not to my taste (like leaving your baby to cry until it is sick and even then not comforting the baby). However it was worth a read as a bit of help with what to expect in the first 24 weeks of baby's life with you.

[Shane C · Rating 4 out of 5]

very good. well laid out and easy for my sleepy brain to follow :) I would recommend it for any new parents and it doesn't have that condescending tone aimed at the menfolk.

[Stoyan Topchiyski · Rating 4 out of 5]

This guide helps new parents by tackling challenges week by week, making it easy to follow along as your baby grows. Reading it in sync with your baby's age provides timely advice. It's most valuable initially; usefulness decreases significantly over time, so much so that later chapters can likely be skipped.

[Mia · Rating 1 out of 5]

when the author learns the pronoun they. their mind will be blown.

anyway terrible plot, where were the dragons?

on a real. very informative. can’t believe what i have learnt. glad it’s not me. good luck with all that tho holly xoxo

(over 100 nappies in the first two weeks. + can cry up to 12 hours a day 💀) yeah dawg. that ain’t it.

[Rachael Shipard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely a book to read cover to cover, rather than week by week which is what I did in the beginning. There are quite a lot of tips and notes placed later on that are good to know in advance, and it covers a ‘What’s happening to Mum’ section each week too

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really helpful 👌
Reccomend

[Sophie Morley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommended by so many people, complete lifesaver for us in those early newborn stages. Have to take it all with a pinch of salt and recognise they are presenting averages, broad suggestions. We had to read 3 weeks ahead for a long time because she was fast, but that’s an individual factor and not something I’d trash the book for. It felt a little lazy and ‘same same’ towards the latter months; perhaps more information of developmental play and ideas if there’s not much more to say on sleep and milk! But overall just loads of helpful and gradually released/digestable info, especially as first time parents.

CONTROLLED CRYING: I’m a bit shocked to read some of the comments and reviews pertaining to this book advocating child abuse and neglect - it really didn’t come across to me as a promotion of controlled crying, more information on this as an option at an appropriate or penultimate time…you don’t have to like the information you’re presented with but at least the books, by including it, let’s you figure out who you are and where you’re at as a parent. I feel life if I didn’t have a baby who slept through I would kind of be in a state of self-abuse and neglect, but also that a baby who can self-soothe and sleep is essential to their healthy development, so I wouldn’t shame anyone who’d explored versions of this end of the sleep training spectrum (sleep training is NOT cry it out, I hate this misconception…all babies need coaching and not doing so is equally neglectful in my mind). There’s no badge of honour in suffering but equally ‘cry it out’ is not something I would have been massively keen to try so I can empathise with the unease around the idea of this. I guess they are presenting a method for when all else has failed, and that’s a choice. I don’t like the idea of shaming parents who make a difficult choice to try to benefit their baby, as well as their own health.

So 4*s

[Rachel Glass]

I'm not going to rate this with stars because it was a really mixed one for me.

On the one hand, I found the first month or so immensely reassuring as a first time mum, especially in terms of development and what's normal for newborns.

However... I don't know if this is has since been reissued but my version was really, really outdated and contained a lot of advice that hasn't been advocated to me at all by professionals, particularly regarding sleep and weaning. The penultimate week suggesting you should do controlled crying even ignoring/not reassuring your baby even if they are physically sick was awful.

I was also really irritated by the decision to make 'baby' male throughout. It would have been so easy, as the breastfeeding book I read did, to alternate between male and female pronouns throughout the weeks. I would only recommend to other mums with the above caveats.

[Jehane Penfold-Ward · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book useful to a limited degree, but like many texts about babies it suffers from what I think are harmful generalisations worded in a way that seems to suggest if your baby doesn't hit certain milestones at certain weeks it's bad and your fault, when in actuality all babies develop at different rates - suggesting a mother should aim for her baby to sleep a certain number of hours in a row, as if the mother really has that much control over it, I felt it only added anxiety for me to read this book in the end so I stopped using it as a reference.

[Sumit Srivastava · Rating 4 out of 5]

When my first baby was born 6 months ago. I started a couple more books, but this seemed most scientific in approach. I loved how the book tells about week by week expectations we should have from the baby. This has been quite helpful in combination with some other online reading and suggestions from the midwives. There was some focused information about British system that was not helpful for is.

Some comments suggest that the book recommends neglect. I do not agree. They mention all the options and give you choice. We decided not to follow the extreme options. But its up to you to decide.

[Heather Britton · Rating 1 out of 5]

Blatant promotion of child neglect.

[Mulkearns20hotmail.Com · Rating 1 out of 5]

How can any person write such horrible thing about caring for a newborn?!!?!!

Letting your baby cry until they are sick??? Disgusting.

Makes me very angry.

[Nancy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible book that advises you to let your little one cry till they vomit. Books like these that advocate controlled crying should be banned.

[Elina Balode · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book nicely describes baby development by week and tries to give advice on what should be done by parents to help their babies fit into society's framework. This is where the problem starts - the framework nowadays (has it ever?) is not friendly for babies, neither for parents (especially mums). I am frustrated by the system, so I am frustrated by the book. I appreciate the effort trying to help parents return to 'normal' in 6 month time (this is when maternity leave usually ends in tbe UK), but there is no 'normal', only 'new' with new person in the family.

The book is unrealistic and cruel at times leading to low self esteem in mums in case they take it all seriously - one can think if my baby doesn't do things 'on time,' I am broken. But no - the system is broken and this book tries to comply with that system.

At 8 weeks babies have to sleep non stop 5hrs per night (the book itself mentions only half of the babies naturally do that). Especially breastfed babies wake up more frequent (no wonder so many women choose to bottlefeed in the UK when system pushes such standards on them). From Google, babies normally sleep 2-3hrs by that age.

If babies don't sleep full night by 6 month, you have to sleep train them the hard way - use the magic 3 nights cry to sleep method. Seriously? And the fake story of what babies think while they are being tought this tough sh!t. Really? I can make up a story about what birds think when they hit the window, but that has zero value as noone actually knows. Unicef has said by now that after being left alone babies are more clingy and insecure when parents return.

Giving advide how to wean babies as from 17 weeks and only at the end saying that current advice is milk only for 6 month. Strange approach not giving that important piece of information upfront.

[Baiba · Rating 3 out of 5]

Approaches to baby care significally differ from country to country so I find it useful and reassuring to read various books and sources that cover this topic from different standpoints. I feel like the UK's approach is rather relaxed. This was a well-structured basic guide on baby's first six months. It is a good starting point. There were some useful aspects (such as what to expect from your baby developmentally at what week and what happens to mom), but I really disliked the sections on sleep. I felt like they haven't aged well and does not take into account that different babies sleep different, there's no easy or "one fit for all" solution. The book altogether was rather superficial in some advice and conclusions. I can reccomend it as a basic guide that must be read with a critical eye together with other books that dvelve into specific aspects in more depth.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used this book just as a bit of a reminder of stuff to think about each week rather than as a strict guide. I knew all of the information (though I work in the paediatric medical field) but it helped with nudges. It is written in a gentle and friendly way.

It is somewhat outdated now in places - for instance, it suggests using plug covers when it is now considered safer to not use these when baby proofing.

Baby sleep is a very contentious area too. I had already decided to be very gentle when it came to sleep and that I wouldn't do anything remotely close to CIO. This book suggests sleep training, although does so without judgement and notes it isn't for everyone. I chose to ignore the advice here.

The use of "he" for the baby throughout was also jarring - "they" would have worked just as well.

Best used alongside a range of other materials.

[Elin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't believe I have a six-month-old!

Parts of this was useful - definitely useful to have rough numbers on whats "normal" re: eating and sleeping, and we really liked the parts on what you can expect your baby to find interesting at different points. However, in lots of cases the numbers just didn't seem to add up, e.g. saying your baby should sleep 12 out of 24 hours, 8 hours at night and no more than 2 in the day?

Also I didn't like that it seemed like every week in the "what's happening to mum" section, it was just about how to lose weight. Where we the sections on managing the change in your identity becoming a mother, fostering creativity, maintaining and building friendships, navigating mum guilt, spending time with family etc etc? An opportunity missed to actually explore the "matrescence" process

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed the development and play sections, because they allowed me to spot mini development milestones that I would have otherwise missed and to learn something about them. I also found the "when to see the doctor" sections useful. However, I have two main reservations. One: there were some big gaps - reflux, for example, does not even get a mention: so unusual given how many babies struggle with it! Two: on some topics the book narrative was unrealistic and came across as slightly judgemental. Sleep is the main one that comes to mind. The book is full of sentences such as "try to make your baby sleep 8 hours in a row", "even the most difficult babies should sleep at least 5 consecutive hours by now", "if your baby is not sleeping through it might be your fault" - not what a sleep deprived parent needs to hear, and not very useful!