With a baby on the way, I thought I might be able to skip most baby manuals because I'm just a couple years short of being a paediatrician. As the bottles, swaddles, wraps, carseats, and cloth diapers started to show up on our doorstep I realized that there might be some practical aspects of baby maintenance with which I might not be familiar. So I found myself stuck between not wanting to retread ground I'd thoroughly walked over and avoiding some of the non-evidence based nonsense that's out there in the baby publishing world. Luckily, a staff paediatrician at my institution recommended this humorous and to the point guide written by a father-son paediatrician duo.
I loved the format of an instructional manual for a baby written as if they were a new appliance. Borgenicht uses the conceit to comedic effect while also putting the mundane aspects of newborn care into perspective. I think the authors do a great job to highlighting what's normal, what's not, and what needs medical attention. Admittedly, I glossed over the medical conditions, CPR, and normal development sections of the book because, well, it's my job to know that stuff! From what I read the book does a good lay explanation of many common and more serious medical conditions.
What really did it for me was the practical aspects of quotidian baby care. You want to know how to sterilize your bottles? How about helpful charts to document feeds, diaper changes, and weight gain? Maybe you just need to figure out the best way to clothe your babe or need a tutorial on how to turn the thing that looks like a scarf into a baby carrying device? No worries, the Borgenichts got you. They also have some funny and useful infographics that make the book a hit.
My sole complaint, which is really more of a temporal issues, is that the book will likely serve more as a reference guide than it does a read and acquire knowledge text. So, I'm going to save that last star until I've put some of the stuff outlined here to good use. But if you're a new parent looking for an evidence-based guide to newborn to first year care, you're unlikely to find something as concise, easy to read, and funny as this one.