Your Baby's First Year

by American Academy Of Pediatrics, Steven P. Shelov M.D. (Editor)

 
THE ONE GUIDE MOST PEDIATRICIANS RECOMMEND
 
From the American Academy of Pediatrics—the nation’s most trusted name in child care— Your Baby’s First Year is the definitive all-in-one guide to caring for your infant. Revised and updated, including two new chapters on sleep and allergies, Your Baby’s First Year provides authoritative advice on all aspects of infant care, including
 
• expanded sections on raising twins, multiples, and children with autism
• new material on prebiotics, probiotics, and the Tdap vaccine
• a month-to-month guide to your baby’s first year with vital facts on growth, behavior, and development
• a complete health encyclopedia covering illnesses, injuries, and disabilities
• advice on breastfeeding, bottle-feeding, and introducing solids
• guidelines for choosing a child care provider
• safety checks for home and car, including a car safety seat shopping guide
• And much more
 
    Comprehensive, reassuring, and up-to-date, Your Baby’s First Year is an indispensable guide for all parents who want to provide the very best care for their baby.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Reference, Family, Childrens, Medical

816 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Lindsay Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I highly recommend Your Baby's First Year by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Our daughter's pediatrician goes by the American Academy of Pediatrics standards, so I felt it particularly significant to read straight from the source. This was the perfect balance of preparation for our newborn and available reference, when needed. The information within was easily digestible, thorough, and seemingly addressed all angles of a topic to dispel confusion, concern, and misinformation. I much preferred this evidence based text over the more opinionated, What to Expect When You're Expecting books. I specifically enjoyed the digital Kindle version, as I was able to highlight passages I may revisit in the future and will now be able to use the search feature to see exactly what I thought was important from that section. This will be the book I gift to future parents.


* Note: While this is listed as a 2010 publication, I read the revised 2020 edition.

[Maryam Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read, rich in knowledge. I absolutely love that the AAP publishes books/resources like this so I can get the most up to date and accurate information about caring for my child.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was fairly decent (reading it as a new mother). It offered a lot of good information in an easy to read and understand format. One of the best aspects to this book compared to other "first year" books is the explanation of baby's cognitive and emotional development. I loved that persepective and appreciated the tips it offered on encouraging baby's growth in those areas.

I didn't like the format in which they divide the first year. The book is grouped into the first month, months 2-4, 5-8, and 8-12 (or something similar to that). That makes no sense whatsoever!! There is a huge difference in the abilities, concerns, stages, etc. between a two month old and a four month old for example.

One other aspect of this book I didn't like was that some of the advice was old-fashioned and completely unrealistic (ex. use cotton balls to bathe your child instead of washclothes, use wet washclothes to clean up after dirty diapers instead of wipes, start your child on meats first instead of vegetables/fruit). I see the reasoning behind all those suggestions . . . but they just aren't realistic.

* Worth noting * I read this book at the same time as I read What to Expect the First Year. Interestingly, much of the advice contradicts what the other book says.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

My pediatrician gave me this book when my daughter was born last year. I didn't actually read this book from cover to cover but read the sections pertaining to my daughter's growth and development at any given time or when I had questions on something. It's divided into age groups and then other sections for first aid/emergencies, body systems such as respiratory, vision, etc. Most things are dealt with very basically, not a lot of detail, which isn't necessarily a bad thing so as not to overwhelm with too much information, but sometimes I wanted more information. I did like that it includes the growth charts (height, weight, head circumference) so I could have that for my own reference to see where my daughter was at. Overall, it was a very good, basic reference book for parents with a newborn to get through that first year.

[Halah Mansour · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are expecting, this is the most beneficial book ... it covers almost everything you need to know about your baby. it is divided by the baby’s stages and age .. it talks about feeding, basic clothes you may need for the baby, appropriate toys for each stage, signs of consecration, milestones development, hazards and childproofing and much more.

I really recommend this book for every parents and parents to be. It really helped me to understand my LO and to know the right things to do.

** I have read the 4th edition

[Tim Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like "I'm just glad I finished it before my baby's first year was over." Glad this albatross is now off my neck. It's full of great information, and it's nice to have something endorsed by the AAP. How much will I remember or how much did I apply along the way so far? I'm loath to browse through the book to confirm for fear of getting trapped in its pages again, into my baby's 2nd year. Am I recommending the book? I think so?

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was some great information in the book, but I feel like the positives were outweighed by the huge amount of fear mongering in the book. That's not to say that they are wrong about any of the dangers to babies they talk about, but I felt so stressed out every time I read this book! They could have done a better job of telling you what you need to know without scaring you.

[Halley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent guide for birth to first birthday. Up to date with AAP's recommendations. The first half is chapters about child development month-to-month. The second half is reference. This is more clinical, evidence-based than the "What To Expect..." series.

[Tatiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative

[Minna · Rating 4 out of 5]

For what it IS, it was very helpful. I chose to view this book as a collection of recommendations for new parents from the American Academy of Pediatrics. I did not expect a warm, loving, picture-filled book with suggestions on daily baby care and minutiae. It was like going to the doctor: you get the information that you NEED.
I mean, there are a lot of controversial topics out there, like circumcision, length of breastfeeding, and vaccinating. All they really say on the topics is the consensus that their group has come to on the subject. And that's all I expected. I am an adult, and I can make my own informed decisions.

The sections on what to do in the case of illnesses (such as fevers) I found to be very helpful. The sections on developmental advances were less helpful (8-12 months is a pretty wide range) but that's okay, I have other books and resources to full in the blanks on that topic. After all, the AAP is more concerned with medical care than what games to play with a 9 month old, or so I would assume.

[Ericka Clou · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my favorite baby book. It has the most recent scientific information and no time-wasting personal stories. The first half the book covers pregnancy through the baby's first of year of life. You can either read it all in advance or as the baby grows (though you may not have as much time to do the latter). The second half of the book is not as well organized because it mixes in some sections you should read in advance (like baby-proofing and safety) with other sections that are mostly there just for reference (such as those covering specific genetic diseases). I would suggest carefully selecting which sections you need to read in the second half- it's a very long book and you really shouldn't spend a lot of time reading about things that definitely don't apply to your family.

[Chris Mercado · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of the dozen or so books I read for first-year development, this was the most comprehensive and detailed. Most of it is broken up by months, and there is a also a section in the back that goes over medical and sleep issues that are not specific to a certain point in development. I like how the author did not simply shove those in random months, but placed them in their own section at the end.

Howevever, it is a lot of information, so it may be too much for a new parent who typically does not read a lot--I'm sure this would be overwhelming.

For the standard reader who is a new parent, this book has a lot of good information--newly updated and current and quite detailed.

If you were only going to read one book as a new parent, I would recommend this book.

[jacky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm skipping around in this. As much as I made fun of the cutesy style of the What to Expect ... books, I'm finding this book cold. Its like reading directions for building a bookshelf. Also, I've heard it said that the What to Expect ... books are alarmist; well, I'm finding this book that way so far. It is also lacking on the information I want to know. I'm only continue to look through it because at the moment its the only book I have on after the baby is born. I'm hoping to receive What to Expect the First Year as a shower gift, and since I registered for it, I can't buy it til after the shower.

[Doreen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll admit that I haven't read the entire book, but am digesting it part by relevant part. For a brief primer on what to expect with my newborn, it's been pretty fantastic, though, as with every other manual on the subject, it hedges its bets by only occasionally giving firm guidelines for what's "normal" (which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I'm just a jumpy new mom, is all.) It'll definitely be my go-to guide (it helps that it was given to us free by our pediatrician) for the next year, and will probably get a fresh thumbing over with subsequent children.

[Sofia Villarreal de flores · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es una excelente opción para aquellos padres primerizos como para aquellos que ya tienen hijos. Describe de manera sencilla como se desarrolla el bebe durante su primer año de vida. Ademas de proveer tips sobre alimentación y sobre como lidiar con aquellas opiniones de familiares y amigos con las cuales no estamos muy de acuerdo. Por otra parte, describe algunas de las enfermedades mas frecuentes en este grupo de edad, como prevenirla y cuando es necesario recurrir con el pediatra. Un gran regalo para aquella mami embarazada.

[Vini Oktorina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read book for new mommy like mee :P
Read this after giving birth to my adorable baby.

Clear explanation, no hoax, trustworthy. Written by American Academy of Pediatrics.

As an Indonesian, there are tons of myths and hoax related to pregnancy, giving birth, and caring baby.
Sometimes, some of them are nonsense.
So, I question every suggestion I received.
I trust this book because there is an explanation on every thing they write.

Long live American Pediatrics.
Thanks for taking care of my baby and writing this book.

[Khinna · Rating 5 out of 5]

My mother purchase this in a thrift store, and I was skeptical that it would not be updated. However, the book is very in depth, provides great, easy-to-process information and pretty much has answered any questions I've had so far. It written informatively but not preachy and gives you what you want to know without giving too much or too little info. I think this should be a staple purchase for any new parent.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best baby book I have read yet. We got this from our pediatrician. I started reading it right away. It has great detail on ages 0 - 6 months, then strangely lumps months 6-12 together. Would have liked the same detail in those months as the first 6. The last third of the book is all the depressing diseases and illnesses that babies get. Good book to keep as a resource if any of those things should happen. *knocks on wood*.

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

A fine overview, though there are a lot of conditionals--a lot of "never" and "always" and leans toward the traditional without exploring. This came free in a bag of coupons and magazines our hospital gives out at prenatal classes, so I'm content to read and pass on to another new parent. Nice for surface reference--meant for the parent who might not keep the nightstand weighted with parenting books.

[Lena · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was not very impressed with this one. There's some good information here but it's very poorly organized and very very hard to use as a reference, since it's nearly impossible to hunt down a particular topic. The growth chart in the back is so poorly printed as to be utterly unusable. And the useful information is everywhere diluted by long preachy blurbs on the safety practices espoused by the APA. It's more a manual of APA official recommendations than actually useful baby-care info.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was given to me by my son's pediatrician. Since he has been born, I have been reading this and looking up any issues we've had as we go along. I don't necessarily like the way this book is organized and indexed, but it has a lot of information and while they strongly recommend some things, they don't tell you that you have to do them.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got this as part of the welcome package at the pediatrician's office. Has some great information, but organized in such a way that using the index is a must. Really irritating that the first index listing for bottle feeding takes you to a chapter on breast feeding and why it is better than bottle feeding - wastes time while also laying on a layer totally unnecessary guilt.

[Lytton Bell · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is like trying to provide an instruction manual for an epileptic octopus, or a Sith DeathStar, or Godzilla. All you can really tell people is: good luck, sucker! Your life as you once knew it is over. Welcome to diapers, love, despair, pride, defeat, joy and vomit. You will never sleep again.

[Tammy Sadorus · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was decent - basic, but decent. It doesn't go into much detail on its subjects but its a good book to get general information out of. I found it useful for bouncing off other information found in other books.

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't read every word, but I have read the sections on age-dependent activities and development. As a new mom, I really appreciated the detailed descriptions of how best to take care of a baby. I have consulted this book regularly as a reference.

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be a very helpful guide to my baby's first year. It includes interesting information on development, physical, and emotional milestones by age. There is also an overwhelming about of medical information that I did not find a need to read much of.

[Mercedes Cordero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very, very informative, right on target. Answers most of the questions I've had during this first year of my son, about development, sleeping patterns, milestones, breastfeeding, feeding, among many other things. Very good.

[Karl Goodwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, thorough book about your babies first year. Although this is written by hundreds of doctors and therefore they all have to agree on everything to sign their names to it. That means you should follow most of it, but realize that each child is unique and so is the way you raise your child.

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Very informative and in a concise presentation (in comparison to " what to expect in the first year" book). I'll consult it many times I'm sure when baby is here. Can't wait! ( about the baby not really about having to refer to the book!)

[Alissa]

I have been referencing this book as needed. I received a copy as a gift, and there is a copy in the Mother's Room at work, so I have been reading this one constantly. It has relevant guidance for development, it has been very helpful as my son has gotten older.