What do you think?
Rate this book
Your Baby Skin to Skin: Learn to trust your baby’s instincts in the first year
Your Baby Skin to Skin gives parents a fresh, empowering approach to parenting. It takes parents on a reassuring and practical journey through your baby's first year. You are invited to contemplate your baby from a different perspective from the usual. One which can bring calm and solace along with many "lightbulb moments" of recognition.
This book has at its heart the delightful truth that your baby is a highly evolved human, pre-set instinctively to survive. You can simply step back and let your baby show you how to parent by understanding the inbuilt reflexes and instinctive cues. Instincts are not learned, need no practice and can never be wrong. After all, no-one taught us to sneeze, we can't get better at sneezing through practice and we can't sneeze "wrong"! Likewise, a newborn baby comes ready-primed to feed, sleep and learn perfectly well and cannot get these things wrong, so turn down your anxiety and learn from your little instinctive expert.
Taken from conversations with thousands of parents over 30 years, Your Baby Skin to Skin speaks about the real baby before your eyes. Not some mythical creature you have yet to meet. It reflects you as a real parent and releases you from the need to wrestle with your baby's nature and instead, allow yourself to sink naturally together into parenthood.
By stepping back, accepting that your baby really can't get the business of being a baby wrong, you can finally rid yourself of the need to teach your newborn the basics of life. Parenting can be about watching evolution unfold before your eyes, safe in the knowledge that there are millions of years of natural selection wrapped up in your child and you ensuring that both of you will respond to each other naturally and correctly.
So, don't panic. All is as it should be. Millions of years of evolution have got us here safely and now you can relax and get to know your baby.
This book has at its heart the delightful truth that your baby is a highly evolved human, pre-set instinctively to survive. You can simply step back and let your baby show you how to parent by understanding the inbuilt reflexes and instinctive cues. Instincts are not learned, need no practice and can never be wrong. After all, no-one taught us to sneeze, we can't get better at sneezing through practice and we can't sneeze "wrong"! Likewise, a newborn baby comes ready-primed to feed, sleep and learn perfectly well and cannot get these things wrong, so turn down your anxiety and learn from your little instinctive expert.
Taken from conversations with thousands of parents over 30 years, Your Baby Skin to Skin speaks about the real baby before your eyes. Not some mythical creature you have yet to meet. It reflects you as a real parent and releases you from the need to wrestle with your baby's nature and instead, allow yourself to sink naturally together into parenthood.
By stepping back, accepting that your baby really can't get the business of being a baby wrong, you can finally rid yourself of the need to teach your newborn the basics of life. Parenting can be about watching evolution unfold before your eyes, safe in the knowledge that there are millions of years of natural selection wrapped up in your child and you ensuring that both of you will respond to each other naturally and correctly.
So, don't panic. All is as it should be. Millions of years of evolution have got us here safely and now you can relax and get to know your baby.
256 pages, Paperback
Published January 9, 2018
4 people are currently reading
11 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 22, 2018
A great parenting book full of information to help new parents through their baby's first year. Thanks to The Book Depository for my free copy of this book.
April 11, 2017
I have nursed multiple babies and this is the best book I have read so far. Now, I don't entirely agree with it, but its about as back to basics as I have seen. I would definitely promote this book to pregnant or new moms, especially with their first child. I do disagree with the part about food not affecting the milk, but other than that this book was spot on in my experience.
Thank you NetGalley for a free copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.
Thank you NetGalley for a free copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.
August 29, 2017
A really interesting and useful read. It goes into lots of detail and includes the actual birthing process. I really wish this book had been available while I was pregnant! The author has so much experience and I really felt secure in what I was reading. She explains why we do skin to skin, co-sleeping, feeding, the baby's general health and the mums. As the author is a midwife, there is a lot of information regarding the anatomy of the baby which I found really useful as none of the other baby books i've read have gone into this detail, for example the belly button and what happens to the cord stump. A great easy and informative read which I will be buying in hard copy for my bookshelf.
May 30, 2019
A brilliant, unique and essential guide to suit all parenting styles. Your Baby: Skin to Skin covers all aspects of caring for your baby during their first year of life and gives sensible advice which is easy to follow, feels natural and makes sense! Thanks to Rachel's approach and advice I have developed the confidence to be the exact kind of parent I wanted to be and can enjoy each moment without stressing about the everyday stuff. I cannot recommend this book enough
July 4, 2021
Back to basics take on the first year with a baby, from that sleep deprived newborn stage to toddler tantrums.
Highly recommend for new mums before buying any of the crap you are told you need.
Highly recommend for new mums before buying any of the crap you are told you need.
May 19, 2017
ARC provided for an honest review.
A fun read, but not my cup of tea. The hero felt too forced, and was the epitome of negative stereotypes which heroes always seem to follow in YA novels.
A fun read, but not my cup of tea. The hero felt too forced, and was the epitome of negative stereotypes which heroes always seem to follow in YA novels.
May 22, 2017
I'm not a mom, I'm not a wife, and I'm not pregnant so I thought this book will be boring, but I really LOVE it and I will recommend it for all women. It gives me a lot of good and useful information. The writer has worked for 30 years as a midwife, she has a lot of personal experiences in the parent-baby relationship. A truly inspirational book!
Thank you NetGalley for a free copy of this book.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews