Infant-and-Newborn-Care Books

I am a nursing student and purchased this for my pediatric/OB semester to help out with care plans. It is worth the purchase for sure although I recommend flipping around in it before using the index because it's a little hard to find what you want. For example, if your client has Gestational Diabetes you can't just find that in the index, you have to look up "nutrition" or other key problems. Also, one care plan may be used for several different problems. The biggest issue I could find with the book is when you go to the page number you want referenced in the index, it will say "See Altered Nutrition" but you have to flip pages trying to find it since there is no clue where the full care plan is. I finally figured out how to use it at the end of the semester and then found out it is on statref! if you already have access to that.

Bottom line is, it's the best and maybe even only option out there. It is worth the price since it saves time with your care planning.

I liked this book and the material was relevant and essential for entering into the NICU. The book focused on many issues that are prevalent in the NICU such as stresses to the infants( ex. environmental) or issues that involve family-centered participation in the NICU.

This is an excellent reference text for the beginner or experienced practitioner. It is well organized and offers quick and concise information.The self-assessment sections at the end of each chapter are particulaly useful for the student and when preparing for examinations.

If you have a baby who cries persistently, day after day, and you've tried everything to calm him, but nothing has worked, buy this book and try Ayllon's comfort training program. Read the book from cover to cover. Find a psychologist to help you through the program.. It can work. Ayllon shows you how music can be used to calm the beast within your infant.

this book represents a straightforward way to get your baby to sleep through the night

I bought this book when I was still pregnant based on the reviews. I am glad I did. It has a lot of useful information in it. I didn't follow it exactly but my son was still sleeping about 12 hours by 12 weeks. At the time, we didn't know anyone else with a baby that age sleeping through the night, let alone 12 hours a night. He is now 6 months old and still has excellent sleeping habits. Other mothers with kids my son's age are constantly commenting on how "lucky" I am. I don't believe it's luck, I believe it's largely because of things I learned in this book and Babywise. I highly recommend this book.

I am happy that I bought this book. It helped me a lot. I can't follow exactly what the book says to do. It is better for formula feed babies and babies of average size. My baby is really big and breastfed only. But by 3 months old he was sleeping 8-12 hours per night.

This book is great!!! A must have! I tell everyone I know about this and give it to all expecting moms as a gift. My son has been sleeping 12 hours a night since 7 weeks - I did the sleep training for 1 week. He is 7 months old now and he has gotten up once in the middle of the night since 7 weeks. Yes, you read that correctly only ONCE.
Sleeping baby = Happy, Sane Parents!

An update to this review: we have followed the program (our own adapted not quite as strict version) for 4 weeks now, and our 12 week baby (exclusively breast fed) now sleeps 10-11 hours at night and another 3-4 during the day, is eating ~32 ounces every 24 hours, and is thriving and smiling most of the time!

A major concept of the book is feed less often during the day so they eat more at each feeding and can last longer at night. I started "the schedule" when my baby was 8 weeks. Within a few days she went from eating randomly every 2-3 hours to eating only 4 times a day and once a night. This alone has brought me (and my baby!) much more comfort and ease during the day. It wasn't easy "stretching" her to these scheduled feeding times at first, but now it barely dazes her. Because I exclusively breast feed, I started pumping and feeding for some of her meals (particularly the 1 in the middle of the night) so I could see how much she was actually getting - this basically makes twice the work, but is worth it I think, especially if you have a husband willing to help with the bottle sometimes!

In the last few days we have been able to eliminate her nightly feed as well so she now eats about 8-9 ounces at each of the 4 daytime feedings and nothing during the night and she is gaining weight like crazy - I am pretty sure she's not starving!

As far as the nightime goes, at almost 11 weeks, she is now able to sleep 8 hours at a time. Sometimes we will have to help her get back to sleep if she wakes up once or twice in the middle, but she seems to be getting better and better at just staying asleep those 8 hours. So now we are trying to figure out how to make her sleep more than the 8 hours at night... it doesn't seem like 12 hours is ever going to happen, at least not for our baby - 12 hours in the crib at night is also unrealistic for us because our baby takes a long time to eat (over an hour if nursing), especially now that she eats at least 8 ounces at a time - thus, we will never have the baby in the crib for 12 hours (she eats her first meal at 7:30am and her last at 7:30pm, but isn't finished with it and ready for bed until at least 9PM)

But compared to how it was before, I am not complaining about 8 hours a night!!

During the day, I can usually get her to sleep during the morning and afternoon nap, however, it is very difficult to get her to sleep in her crib. After 30+ minutes of trying, I typically move her to her bouncer chair or stroller and let her nap there. This goes against the book recommendations, but in my opinion daytime sleep wherever is better than none at all!

My only complaints about this book is that it is lacking a more in depth answer section on what to do when...

For example, what do you do when your baby only seems to need 11 hours of sleep every 24 hours, instead of the 15 total hours this book suggests? Is there a way to get your baby to sleep more or do some babies just need much less sleep?

What do you do when you can not soothe the baby even for a minute in the crib during nap time, after trying at least 20 minutes?

If the baby "oversleeps" during her afternoon nap, and she didn't get much sleep during her morning nap, should you really wake her up??

What do you do when your baby takes over an hour to nurse (versus doing it under 30 minutes like the book recommends)?

In summary, I don't believe (at least not yet) the book's promise that EVERY baby can be quietly in the crib for 12 hours a night and 3 hours a day, BUT, (although it was very tough that first week) I do now have 8 hours a night by 11 weeks, and hoping for a little bit more by 12 weeks, not to mention a schedule I can plan around!

In my opinion, the concepts and scheduling ideas offered in this book make sense and are certainly worth reading!

I liked the way this book was organized, and found the illustrations useful. Joe Frost's no-nonsense approach to child care makes her a favorite in this family, and I gave her book to my daughter who is expecting her first child in December.

I gifted this book to my sister, Aimee' (first time mom), and not only did it arrive the next day when I only paid for regular shipping, but it made all of baby's sleeping problems go away. Aimee' can now sleep through the night EVERY night. Using techniques in this book is like taking a sleeping pill... definitely a good thing for any mom out there!

I'm having my first baby in two months so I've been reading quite a bit of books. Got this book and read it maybe half way there, nothing was interesting enough to keep reading it. It's not a bad book it's just not good. There are a ton of better books out there, skip this one if you can.

I was very disappointed in this book. For one there were several typos. Also her views on breastfeeding aren't very accurate. I think she is a great nanny but she hasn't been a Mom and that is very evident in this book.

I read a lot of baby books. I am a Postpartum Doula and like to keep up on new literature. I really found nothing new or special that would set this book apart from others. There are a lot better written books for the new mom out there.

The author who wrote this book did a very good job on keeping it entertaining all through-out. I read some other baby care books that it was literally hard to stay awake for, but this one kept me turning the pages. Answers most questions new mothers would have. It even has convenient shopping lists at the end of the book so you know what to get and what not to waste your money on. She even included a diary of a new mother's first 30 days with her little newborn at the end of the book so that you can get a glimpse of what your new motherhood will be like.

I can't see quite why so many people gave this such terrible reviews. It is a small book written about the first six weeks of having a newborn at home. The author bottle-fed and circumcised her baby boy so if you have made those choices you might feel more comfortable with her book (she still gives information about breastfeeding, which I found to be accurate and I was grateful for) than others. It isn't really meant to be comprehensive, just short chapters about what you really need to have ready when the baby comes home, and a diary of what it is like for the first six weeks. I found it tremendously useful in trimming down the loads of information in other books into something I could wrap my head around. I had zero experience with babies before I had my daughter, and this book was very straightforward and helpful. Because of its small size and basic information, I was even able to get my husband to read it (he thought he'd just figure it out as he went along before he read the book). Quibbles about pet euthanasia (I wouldn't have put my pets down) have nothing to do with the information she presents. I would and have recommended this book for people with little or no experience with babies. If you are familiar with newborn care and lots of people around you ready to give you advice about newborns, this book might not be necessary or seem too basic.

In the chapter on Pets, Zahn lists "euthanizing your companion" as an option if "Fido or Kitty will not take kindly- ever- to your baby." (p103)

This struck me as rather compassionless, especially for a book about parenting. She could have mentioned the possibility that some pet owners may have to find new homes for their companions, and left it at that.

In the chapter on Pets, Zahn lists "euthanizing your companion" as an option if "Fido or Kitty will not take kindly- ever- to your baby." (p103)

This struck me as rather compassionless, especially for a book about parenting. She could have mentioned the possibility that some pet owners may have to find new homes for their companions, and left it at that.

If you've read anything else, don't get this book. The information in here is SO general that it could be applied to just about anything. The book lists quick explanations of what will happen, but no information on how to respond to what you'll experience. Additionally, there were frightening statements in this book letting me know the author was no expert on the subject of baby rearing. I was exasperated to read her thought that babies should usually be placed in the backseat of the car. I think that everyone knows that is the ONLY place to put a baby in the car. Though, I'm afraid unknowledgeable people will read this book and think it's ok to do such things as put a baby in the front seat of the car.

If you've read ANYTHING else, you don't need this book. In fact, if you haven't read anything else, you still don't need this book. Don't waste your time or money.

I totally agree with the reader from Reading, MA. I bought this hoping it would have more updated information than the latest edition of Baby Bargains (which I ended up purchasing anyway.) Baby Bargains is a must-have guide for new parents. I take it with me to every baby store.

I found this book to be aesthetically pleasing due to its format and the photos of the items. I did however find the title misleading. I assumed that it was a more up to date Consumer-guide book. I would still suggest that you purchase Baby Bargains by Denise and Alan Fields and utilize this book for the pictures and more "filler" type of information. There are many original products that are not your basic baby items, which gave me some interesting nursery ideas.

A thoughtful, well written book that gets you in a mind set towards logically thinking about how to deal with some of the material issues of parenting. I would think that this "un-preachy" guide will be of great use to a wide spectrum of parents-to-be, as well as grandparents and friends of the aforementioned. As a guide of products it's excellent, and restrained - but its great strength is as a giver of excellent and reassuring advice and thoughts for new parents, tying it in with the guide - in that regard, the Best of Everything For Your Baby is a quality standout in this field (and we have every book we could find in this category). Hopefully this will be updated regularly.

Compared to Baby Bargains, I thought this book was a total waste of time. It does not provide the depth of objective information i was looking for (and that Baby Bargains contains) such as comparisons to Consumer Reports and pointed feedback from a large cross section of parents, applicability of products to various lifestyles (city vs. suburban), or good options based on varying budget levels. It also does not provide the same level of information on where to find the products mentioned or alternatives for finding the same products at better prices. In my opinion, this "definitive one-stop" guide is a huge disappointment!

This is a great book - it's about an attitude - looking at all of the many products out there you can buy for your baby in different ways - the book allows you to look at things if you are budget conscious, or designer conscious or maybe you just want to look at items in multi-faceted ways. Each chapter has a great, thorough and informational section which preceeds the best of's. I like this book far more than baby bargains because I am looking for more than just a bargain - I am looking for the best I can affford for my child. This book really helps.

While this book has many merits in several sections, the part about putting a baby down to sleep is dangerously wrong. The American Academy of Pediatrics has revised its recommendations to avoid Sudden Infant Death syndrome (SIDS) and now recommends putting babies down to sleep only on their backs, not their sides, as this book suggests. The AAP also strongly discourages the use of blankets or soft bedding to avoid smothering, particularly with newborns and infants, and this book tells readers to cover the baby with "a variable number of light blankets."
This author/publisher really should revise this book in future editions; it's negligent to market this as reliable medical advice.

This book is extremely helpful, especially for first time parents. The illustrations are great and this book really answers a lot of questions about parenting a newborn. This is very worthwhile and I do recommend it.

I really liked this little, spiral bound book. First of all, the cover is built so that it will prop the book up at an angle that allows you to see the pages while you "work" on the baby. While this book doesn't go into extreme depth on subjects, it gives step-by-step guides to normal baby care. The pictures are wonderful and there are lots of them, so you'll know what they're talking about in the instructions. I really liked it!

As a childbirth educator I have reviewed numerous books on birth and can only strongly recommend this book for my students/clients carrying multiples. While every other developed country in the world knows the benefits of hormone-free meats and animal products and evidence-based maternity care, we Americans still suffer under our unrestrained capitalistic model of care. Yes, the author, Eliz. Noble, recommends organic and natural foods and yes, vegetarianism. Food corporations began giving them to animals in the 70's--not for our benefit--but for their's. Faster growth and more production. The American Cancer Society recognizes that vegetarianism is the most effective way to avoid most cancers. But Noble says if vegetarianism isn't for you--go organic. It is also the TRUTH that our bodies have not changed in the last 35 years, but how OBs treat women certainly have. What mainstream Americans consider "in their best interest" advice from their OBs is often actually "liability-risk care" and not "evidence-based care". Noble cites studies and evidence-based care and this is simply too difficult for most mainstream Americans to hear. That's why, out of the 26 placings of developed countries, we rank #25 in maternal mortality and #21 in infant mortality. That's bad, very, very, very bad. For the truth that other developed countries know, read this book.

I really appreciated the author's views on protecting children. I found her to be progressive and well-informed when it came to such issues as circumcision. There is a great deal of medical research which shows that circumcision is harmful and traumatizing to the child, and this author tells it like it is.

I bought this book because it seemed to be highly regarded by other parents of multiples. However, I have been disappointed in the overall content. While Elizabeth Noble does a fine job of pointing out that carrying and delivering multiples is often risky (which I knew -- that's why I wanted a book!), she inserts a lot of personal bias and commentary into passages that are presumably meant to be factual/informational. Those of us who are not strongly interested in an organic, vegetarian/vegan diet, and those of us who are NOT REMOTELY interested in childbirth without pain meds, might find the tone of the book off-putting.

The many cross-references could be valuable resources for the reader, but the references and information do tend to be older. The first edition of the book was published in the early 1980s; subsequent editing has not addressed Ms. Noble's reliance on studies from the 1970s. Without more recent information on twin mortality and complications, it is difficult for the reader to determine what is REALLY worrisome or advisable.

My biggest concern about this book is its focus on all the things that could go wrong. It's true that expectant mothers need to be informed, but we also need to be supported and reminded that the vast majority of twin pregnancies result in two perfectly healthy babies. FWIW, *most* resources that I've seen focus on the scary side -- but the fact that they all do it doesn't make it ideal.

I plan to buy another, more recent book to get me (and my babies!) through my twin pregnancy.

I've read most of this book and the more I've read the more bizarre it is. Noble claims that hypertension, anemia, and gestational diabetes are natural aspects of pregnancy that can be harmful if treated. She says bedrest is actually harmful, that ultrasounds increase fetal mortality and left-handedness (???) and a host of other claims. She implies that those carrying multiples many years ago gave birth to healthy 7-lb each infants with none of the problems that some of us having multiples face today. She is an advocate for veganism, water births, home births, doulas and midwives and avoiding pain meds. Though my twins are big and healthy I certainly didn't take the advice in this book.

This is not medically sound advice nor is it objective or open-minded. It is a book of extreme views.

This was the first book that I bought when I found out that I was expecting twins and I found it to be outdated and full of a lot of biased information. The author has her own thoughts about what type of diet you should eat and advocates natural childbirth but doesn't provide a very comprehensive point of view to assist those that may not want to experience childbirth the way that she has. If you share her views then this book will be very helpful to you.

I also tried contacting a lot of resources at the back of the book and found most of the numbers to be disconnected.