What to Expect the First Year - Arlene Eisenberg

'Baby and Child' by Penelope Leach was my first baby bible. I liked it for all sorts of reasons which I will not elaborate here, just mentioning it to say that Leach's book is my benchmark for a close-to-ideal baby care manual. However, when my friend thrust her spare copy of 'What to Expect in the First Year' I accepted as there is no harm in having another book, is there? 'What to Expect in the First Year' follows in the footsteps of mega-best-selling 'What to Expect when You are Expecting' and is headed by the same authors as well as following the same rough pattern and sharing a lot of the same advantages and disadvantages. The ...

Although helpful I didn't find this book anywhere near as helpful as what to expect when you are expecting. A year is a long time and especially a babys first one and this resulted in the chapters being too short with only limited information on a large number of subjects. A large part of the book is set out in question and answer style which is great if your question should happen to be the one asked but confusing if not. The sections on breastfeeding were of great comfort and did help me through what I found a very hard experience. It covers what milestones your baby should reach or may reach at each stage of his/her development. The of special ...

Becoming parents for the first time is extremely daunting - there are so many new things to learn, new responsibilities and new things to get you worrying. As a born worrier, I wanted a reference book that could help me through those first few months as a parent. What to Expect - The First Year is exactly what I was looking for and it's become a bit of a baby bible in our house. There are chapters for each month of a baby's first year, as well as chapters on becoming a mum, becoming a dad, illness and special needs, plus many others. Although nothing is covered in immense detail, the wealth of information, advice and firsthand experience contained in the book makes ...