Customer Reviews

First-Time Parent: The honest guide to coping brilliantly and staying sane in your baby's first year: The Honest Guide to Coping Brilliantly and Staying Sane in Your Baby's First Year

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

We were swamped by books on how to bring up our child when expecting a baby; this was the only one that actually sounded like the writer was a mother herself, AND realised that not everyone in the world thought as she did on parenting, or had a child exactly like her own.

Lucy Atkin rounds up all the most common strategies advised where parenting is concerned and offers them with neutrality. She has an honest but non-directional attitude to the great breast v bottle dilemma, she talks with sympathy about women who need to choose childcare early and offers tips on how to spot a good option, and she has some of the most sensible words on diet for toddlers I've ever read. She also recognises that children are simply hard work, as well as exciting, challenging and fantastic. It's such a change to read something that isn't a series of orders, sickly and unrealistic, or depressing. She really conveys what having a first child is like, in all its messy, confusing, glorious excitement, while offering the most down to earth and sensible advice possible. There isn't, anywhere, that depressingly common conviction that anyone whose parenting style is different to the writer's will scar their child for life.

Last but not least, she has listed all the very best resources for new parents - from Mumsnet to Crysis, via the wonderful breast feeding clinic at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.

My husband and I had no previous experience of babies whatsoever and had what I'm sure are the usual million questions. It would be unreasonable to expect all those answers in any one book, but Lucy Atkins gives lots of useful information and tips in a down-to-earth, not at all patronising way (unlike some other authors I've read). My favourite chapters are on Crying and Sleeping where she gives handy tips to try out and generally makes you feel.. well, a bit supported really.
Also, I read her book, 'Blooming Birth' when I was pregnant and would absolutely recommend it to anyone having their first child.

As a currently pregnant woman expecting her first child this book was invaluable.
It put my mind to rest whilst giving me simple straight forward advice that is easy to digest.

Best of all, it understands that a lot of the time things will feel like chaos but that's ok. A really balanced book that I will be keeping within close reach.

Both prior to, and after the birth this book has been of great value to my partner and I. Believe me when I say I knew absolutely nothing about babies when my partner fell pregnant. I devoured this book like a man possessed, driven by my terror at being left in charge of a little persons welfare. The author covers everything you could need and does so without being at all patronising. So now when I'm awake with my daughter at 2am, ear pressed to her chest frantically checking that she's still breathing or panicking that her mild gurgle may lead to all out choking, I have a reference point. It's comforting to know that any concerns I have, be it feeding, sleeping or the inevitable changes to my relationship with my partner, are all explained. Though you'll do well to remember this book is a guide not a miracle worker as all babies are different.
The writing is considered and with real warmth. This book cost me less than a tenner, whilst antenatal classes cost us over £150. I know which one we'll get more use out of as our scary but amazing parental journey continues.

Motherhood comes with a lot of propaganda these days, from the cast-iron sleep routines of Gina Ford to the brick-like tome of authority that is What To Expect When You're Expecting. There are a lot of experts out there ready to tell you everything they know about your baby.

But there is no law - yet, anyway - that says you have to listen to them. I didn't want to be drowned in schedules, rules or timetables. It's not a boot camp, I told myself (then had a slightly worrying vision of the feral children that awaited me).

Then I was lucky enough to come across First-Time Parent. `You may be bonkers, but you're not stupid,' says author and mother-of-three Lucy Atkins, `and in your baby's eyes you're the only expert that matters.' She goes on to cover everything you actually need to know, from what to pack in a nappy bag to how to swaddle a newborn, sprinkled with words of reassurance to the clueless - `your baby doesn't know any better than you do how he should be bathed or fed. The right way, in short, is your fumbling, inept, loving and slowly evolving way.'

I liked the sections on breastfeeding, how to establish a sleep routine from early on, and sixteen things to try if a baby won't stop crying. She also offers sound advice on things like long-haul flights and trips to the supermarket: `shop online. You know it makes sense.' And there's a brilliant chapter on how to keep your relationship with your partner on track: `one word: babysitters'.

In short, if you're after solid advice without the preaching, this is an excellent resource, complete with gorgeous photos of newborns. Like a lot of things, parenting is something you learn by doing, but practical, essential information, conveyed in an adult-to-adult tone, is invaluable.

Easy to read, and full of useful information.
Because some of us do need a step by step photo guide to putting on a nappy.

This is such a useful book. It was refreshing to read something that didn't make you worry about doing it all wrong, and acknowledged that sometimes there isn't a simple answer to everything, was friendly and helpful and had a sense of humour. The author's clearly been through it herself, and it was encouraging to feel that chaos is normal and not something that needs to be curbed and controlled!

There's a really useful chapter on sleeping, and masses of practical information about going back to work, about various resources available and so on. This one is definitely top of my list for book recommendations for pregnant friends.

This book should come free with every baby! I'd give it more than 5 stars if I could.

Having read Lucy Atkins' birth Blooming Birth, I didn't hesitate to buy this book soon after I gave birth to my first child. Both my husband and I read the book in one sitting and can only recommend it to any first time parent. We decided the advice on Crying and Sleeping techniques is the BEST piece of advice anyone could have given us. As first time doting parents, before reading this book, we would pick up our daughter every time she would start crying which made her bed-time routine a long-winded affair. It was an eye-opener to read that babies do cry sometime as part of unwinding at the end of the day and will soothe themselves to sleep more often than not. Now we go by the 5-minute rule as adviced in the book. If our daughter contunies to cry after 5 minutes, we would go through the usual ways of soothing her. She is 11 weeks now and we have used the technique since she was 5 weeks old and she is becoming a pro at self-soothing and has well-established night routine. As a result, she is a happy, content child and we are slowly getting our evenings back.
The book offers well-structured information on everything from breast-/ bottle-feeding, baby development, weaning to common baby health problems. Unlike some other books that promote concerns about how 'normal' your child is, this one offers reassurance that the things your child and you are going through are common. Thoroughly recommended!!

My health visitor advised that all books should be thrown away when your baby is born due to the conflicting information you will get. My advice for any first time parent is that this book is the only one you need to buy. Not only does it give you no nonsense practical advice but it gives complete reassurance that your baby will not break or explode if you make a minor mistake. It emphasises the importance of remembering that both you and your baby are learning here, nobody is instantly the perfect parent so give yourself a break and take it easy, you will get the hang of it.
My daughter is only 9 weeks old and I constantly refer back to this book for guidance and peace of mind. The humour with which it is written also encourages you to laugh at yourself as you relate to the issues it covers.
I love it and have already recommended it to some of my friends who are expecting their first baby!

I bought this book for my daughter who was expecting her first baby. For a young mum I thought it was very informative and an easy friendly read. I particularly liked the emphasis on there being no right or wrong way to look after your baby. The information provided was there to help rather than be a rule book. I would certainly recommend the book to other new mums.