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what to expect - the first year

Good for dipping in and out of when you don't have much time to read in depth!

I saw a second hand one in good nick in the Herne Hill Oxfam bookshop for ?3 the other day so if you live near there defo worth popping in...in fact they seem to have loads of recent new mum/new baby books in there due to nappy valley factor...

Ditto, find What to Expect the First Year great reference to dip in and out of.

I didn't buy anything else initially then when I eventually thought about routines I used the Baby Whisperer and used a few tips from that. In my first week the NHS handbook Green and Purple covers were constantly by my side for quick newborn related reference. It was the most information my poor brain could fathom.

Some people are not as confident as others and if you have no family nearby and have never held a baby before, books can be really helpful- as long as you realise there is no ONE way- jsut what suits you-sometimes when you are jsut plain knackered you cant always assess a situation correctly and books are a big help to lots of people.

I think you have to go through the process of reading all the books before you decide to ditch them - by which point you have generally got to know your baby and talked to other mums etc. I still dip into my 'library' of gina ford/baby whisperer/elizabeth pantley (yup - wide ranging!!) when I'm lost and do not know quite how to deal with seemingly irrational toddler.


Often recommended is What Mothers Do - less of a guide, more of a reflection on the bewildering world of new motherhood - gentle and reassuring and helps you see that you are NOT going mad....

'Wonder Weeks' by van de Rijt and Plooij. Lovely lovely book about baby's mental development week by week. Helps you to understand baby's behaviour and developmental leaps and gives suggestions on how to play and stimulate baby. Only bought it now at age of 37 weeks. Wish I had bought it much earlier.
Womanofdulwich - indeed I have shown all the normal worries and concerns of being a new mother and far from being ultra confident (which I'm not) I found that reading the books (Gina etc etc) caused me huge anxieties and instead of going with my natural instincts, I worried/worry constantly that my baby isn't doing what the books say she should be doing. I have suffered awful post natal anxiety and one of the things that helped me to get over it was putting my books away and understanding that all babies are different. I'm not quite sure why you felt the need to criticise me for expressing my opinion, but that is all it is; my opinion. I'm sure that ladyruskin is more than capable of realising that.

Even being a paediatric nurse, I found when it came to having my own baby some help/advice was useful/reassuring.


On recommendation of friends I used the baby whisperer which I have found v helpful and has enabled me to trust my instincts and rather than dictate a routine to me, has allowed me to help identify what would work for Bugglet and me.... and (unlike some books) reassurance/suggestions of what to do when we go 'off piste'!.


Was also v helpful for hubbie when he kept asking me "well why's this happening/what are you trying to do" and with new mum brain I couldn't answer/didn't know... he could look up bits and let me know what it said!

Another vote for Your Baby Week by Week - fantastic bite size weekly chunks covering the first 6 months. I preferred it to 'What to Expect' and I also tried The Baby Whisperer and Gina Ford but neither were for me - I found them both too long winded and too concerned with a selling a philosophy/promoting the authors own brand of baby care.


Only problem with Week by Week is it doesn't cover napping schedules. So maybe worth supplementing with Elizabeth Pantleys the no-cry nap solution.

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