Watch My Baby Grow

by Shaoni Bhattacharya (Contributor), Anne Hildyard (Contributor)

Lots of books tell you about child development and a baby's first year, but Watch My Baby Grow shows you everything that happens in the first year of life in step-by-step pictures with detailed explanations. Every milestone of baby development, from gurgles to coos to first words, is documented and explained. Why does your baby's cry sound the way it does? How are your baby's eyes and brain developing? What are the evolutionary reasons for speech-like sounds around the age of four months? Watch My Baby Grow has answers to these questions, as well as an individual story — the early life of baby Melisa — to relate them. Find reassuring information, too, like how to spot the subtle cues that signal growing awareness and ability for your baby.

Watch My Baby Grow is the true story of baby Melisa and her family. We are invited to marvel at the pictures of babies laughing, learning to eat and communicate, and growing. We learn about child development and baby brain development as the lively, informative text explains the biology of subtle changes in an infant's motor control, mental abilities, and vocal development.

Follow baby Melisa and her family as they discover the magic of new life and of a child's incredible early weeks and months in this story that's at once very personal and also universal. Whether you're a first-time mother wondering what to expect, a family about to welcome a new member, or a reader who loves to celebrate life, Watch My Baby Grow is an unforgettable journey you'll love to take with Melisa and her family.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published December 15, 2014

Reviews

[Sandra]

This was a quick and interesting read. It's not so much a parenting book as a book to help you gain insights into your baby's development throughout their first year. While I found that interesting it's not quite what I was looking for.

[Iowa City Public Library]

There are many books on infant development that contain pages and pages of text. Authors use word after word after word after word to explain the science behind this and the philosophy behind that. These books are great. They are fascinating and I want to read them someday. But if you are a new parent, your attention span is limited. You are tired, overscheduled (or unscheduled), and if you have extra time, it’s probably not devoted to reading anything extensive. However, there is a natural curiosity to know what is happening and what is coming up next. It is an exciting time of rapid development with changes occurring weekly. That is why I really like DK’s Watch My Baby Grow. This book provides week by week (for the first month) and month by month information on developmental milestones during the first year. But, like any DK book, it also has a lot of visuals, charts, and photographs. It provides a perfect mix for a tired, but curious mind.

The book follows the growth of one baby, Melisa, through her first year. The editors took a picture of Melisa at regular intervals to depict her development. The photographs are beautiful and well-laid out with Melisa in a white infant bodysuit amongst a white background. For scale, a white rabbit stuffed toy was placed next to her for each shot. The photographers had specific photos they wanted to capture in their depiction of infant development. Not all of them worked and there are little blurbs about what they wanted to photograph and why they were babyunable to do so. You will also find dedicated sections on newborn life, the development of the senses, physical and intellectual growth, communication, and personality.

Watch My Baby Grow is a fun and rewarding book.

[Sarah Nelson]

I seem to be writing for ever younger children this year, so this book was a nice resource on (early, early) child development. The writers of this book followed one baby from infancy to her first birthday, tracking growth, learning, triumphs and trials. Packed with gorgeous photos, this book is really an enjoyable way to learn.

[Kevin]

The babies in this book are extremely fat, and there're lots of photos.

[Mirela]

Not useful for a first time parent if wanting to learn information about how to care fo a baby, but helpful overview of baby development and milestones from birth to 1 year.
Laden full of pictures.
Has some facts about how babies are raised around the world.
Nothing groundbreaking, but easy and pleasant read.

[MK]

By photographing one baby for a year and documenting her growth, this book shows the order in which your baby grows up.

Although children's growth varies greatly from person to person, and the speed and timing of growth varies from baby to baby, this book will be helpful to parents.

[Youstina Gergis]

It was not what I expected at all, it has very minimal information about baby development, no parenting tips or hints on how to engage those baby developments. The book was also all over the place addressing development by topic rather than by age and for me that was very confusing! The first portion of the book was completely useless to me, more of a photo album to the baby!
I didn’t have the temperament to finish it, I would rather use the time to read something useful.
I don’t recommend it.

[Deepak]

Lovely book so one can know what to expect.

[WALAA ALHAMEEDI]

Good references for you all mama in the world

[Kate Bryant]

I enjoyed the various research findings mentioned throughout

[Lindsey]

I think this book gave some great ideas of photos to take each month--it also had information about what is going on each month with baby development. I wish there had been more personal antedotes or input from mom instead of the clinical and very general statements like: "mom's scent is...."

[L.K. Chapman]

I bought this not long after my first baby was born, because I wanted a book to tell me about what sort of things I could expect my baby to be starting to do at different ages and to have a bit more information about my baby's development, but without getting a book that was too much like a textbook.

This book works really well for what I wanted as there aren't big, daunting walls of text and there are lots of lovely pictures. I haven't actually read it cover to cover, I'm finding it works really well as a "coffee table book" that I can dip into when I have a spare few minutes.

I'd recommend it to anyone who wants a bit more information about their baby but who doesn't want something very in-depth, just a nice book to pick up and look at every now and again while baby is having a nap!

[Kelly]

By chronicling one baby from birth through her first year, DK succeeds in creating an enjoyable and informative book. Contributing writers and consultants provide developmental information based on recent scientific studies; you learn not only what new skills a baby will be learning when, but why. Text is broken up into basic prose, highlighted facts and figures, and memorable quotes. In true Dorling Kindersley style, almost every page is filled with beautiful photographs of baby Melisa and her family. This is a must read for new parents, but anyone interested in child development will be entertained and educated.

[Ashley]

I found this book interesting enough, and good for picking up and reading for five minutes in between feeding my new son! However I would say there could have been a bit more content and slightly fewer/smaller photos, and the first 48 pages are basically a personal photo album for this baby which I didn't find particularly useful.

[Maria]

DK publishing for the win, as usual. The baby in this book is so cute that I don't even care what the words say. But in case you do, there is some pretty good information in here.

[Shirley]

Super cute baby and easy to understand info about child development. Great book for basic info.

[Erica]

I happened to see this at the library and thought it would be a fun (and apropos) tropic to learn more about.

[Kacey]

I loved that this book is filled with biological explainations for baby's behaviors but also that it emphasizes evolutionary and cultural distinctions.

[Ryan]

Helpful DK book that gathers some developmental anecdotes in an informative, engaging format.