The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby from Birth to Age Two [Paperback]

The battle of the parenting bible is fierce and the territory becomes more heated as new "gurus" enter the fray (witness the Martin's maternity consultant and her new / old 'let them cry' approach). What is so refreshing about the Sears Baby Book is that, for the most part, they allow that you may not want to follow all their advice all of the time - you don't HAVE to have the baby in bed, they simply offer a number of reasons why it might be a good idea. A previous reviewer has suggested that the book is no help for parents who don't have all the time in the world to parent their children; it seems to me that the Sears are under no illusions that most parents have to work to survive and I found that their child-focused approach REDUCED the amount of colicky crying we had to endure, reduced the number of night wakings and has generally helped to make our child the happy and loving person she is today. The Baby Book also provides a series of excellent activities to encourage your child's physical and mental development as well as practical advice on all the ills and ailments the parents of a young child might expect. Invaluable.

I bought this book about 2 weeks before my, now 3 month old, daughter was born. I didn't get round to reading it before she was born and didn't have much time to read after she was born so I wish I'b bought it sooner.

It covers everything you need to know for the first 2 years of your child's life in an easy to use quick reference style. Also there is some information on preparation for birth, details of attachment parenting (which is the style of parenting introduced by the Sears), and lots of detail about breastfeeding which I've found very useful.

It is very biased towards attachment parenting but they make it clear that this approach can be flexible. For example, whilst co-sleeping is recommended by attachment parenting they clearly state that this doesn't suit everyone (in fact I wanted to co-sleep with my daughter but found that neither of us slept very well so I've opted for a bedside cot as they suggest and this works very well).

The Sears have a wealth of experience in childcare and it is clear in this book that they are caring sentitive people who believe mothers should follow their instincts and 'listen' to their babies.

What I think I like best about this book is that it makes me feel confident that what I am doing naturally isn't wrong. For example, I love holding my baby while she is asleep which seems to be forbidden by many experts. I doubt I'll look back and think 'I wish I'd held her less'. I also love breastfeeding her to sleep, rocking her to sleep and reading this book made me realise that nightime parenting can be a joy rather than a chore (I have certainly had many lovely moments holding my daughter in the middle of the night while the house and neighbourhood was still and dark). I don't feel I have to apologise for having my daughter in bed with us (as so many mums I've met do).

The book has a useful breakdown of you child's development from birth to 2 with details of games etc. to enhance development. There is also a chapter on weaning and details of problems you may encounter in toddlers.

Another book which I've found useful which provides a slightly more balanced and objective approach is 'what to expect in the first year' but this book is definitely one that I will keep coming back to.

My daughter is almost 1 now, and we've followed the basic principles of this book. It's not a set of rules or allocation of time in 10 min slots like some baby books, but gives you the confidence to listen to what your baby tells you he/she needs, and explains how to tell. The section on breast feeding is very informative, but easy to read when you don't get a lot of sleep in the early weeks, but its not preachy and there is a section on bottle feeding if that's what you decide.
My daughter is now nearly one, I still breast feed and she sleeps next to me, (from 7 till 6 when the alarm goes off, so I get a full nights sleep). She's a very happy toddler and not at all clingy.
This is a great book, all the information you need, in easy to understand language, and really comes across as common sense. The authors are parents to 8 children so they really have been there themselves, unlike the baby trainers who get paid to look after other peoples babies for a month at a time, but don't have the experience of loving and bonding with children for life.
Definitely worth reading even if you don't want to follow all the suggestions.