Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsExcellent physical quality. Organized, clear, & engaging guide to EVERYTHING parent should know
Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2020
I loved this book and was SO surprised by the quality of it physically! Since it said paper back and by the photo, I expected it to look flimsy (like my childhood paperback reads) with paper-y like pages. Instead the pages are thick and smooth and not ripp-able looking like some paper backs. The cover has a nice feel to it as well . the graphics in the advertising photos online almost looked old school and out of date. But when you see it in person, they are REALLY engaging graphics with the colors and art. It is REALLY eye catching and ads to making the information inside of the book easier to understand- it adds to the clarity. t has a very "manual-like" look to it that I think men will find more engaging than a book that just goes on and on in endless paragraphs and chapters.
The book is VERY ORGANIZED. It is divided by months old.
The chapter (each month is a chapte4) starts with a little chart of simple things-- like the size of the baby and a real-object comparison of that weight! Then there is a little short 1-2 page description of the narrator narrating the overal of what happens this month. It's cute and engaging and as if the dad is really talking to you. It makes you feel like he understands all the little nuances of what you just went through and what you will go through (with very REAL, in-your-face truths that men will appreciate, like "the moments you hold your baby in the hospital" ...and how he was thinking something like: "how in the world do I take care of this fragile little thing? I cant believe they just let me take this home!!" Where's the manual?! ....his fears are easy to relate to as a man AND woman. I'm sure my husband will appreciate the specific worries a man will have-- like when the author said he is worried that his wife will take over alot of the rearing at first because she is nursing, and he wants to find ways to be involved too as a dad!!!
Anyway,after that little description he gives , the chapter leads into a chart of: "STATS" .
Each STAT is:
"MOM STATS" "BABY STATS" and then "APPOINTMENTS ".
Each "STAT" has a bulleted list of what the mom or baby is going through during that month and things they may need.
(Example MOM STAT: " if baby begins rejecting the breast, mom will want to pay close attention to what she might be wearing that's disagreeing worry baby. Spicy foods...." )
( BABY STAT:
Example 1) " baby has been sleeping more soundly, between 14 and 16 hours in a 24 hour period. But just when you've got the sleep schedule dialed in, you're about to embark on the exhuasting 4-month sleep regression. This is when your baby suddenly goes back to a more mewborn-style sleep pattern,waking very frequently at night."
Example 2) " baby is likely beginning to suck on her fingers and hands."
Example 3) "strength and motor skills may be:...." and "sensory development strides may enable baby to >study and explore small items" (and there continues a bulleted small list of more examples of development for the baby).
APPOINTMENT STATS:
Example 1) " 4 month appointment: compare stats from last appointment. Tell the doc what baby's doing....the pediatrician will be depending on your observations of these things..." ( this book FYI helps tell you what to observe in each APPOINTMENT STATS" section :) ) .
Example 2) "Suggestied immunizations could include...> dTAP, HIB..." (continues small bulleted list)
After the STATS chart, the chapter sometimes includes a little "note"page. Just something interesting to keep in mind.
Here's an example in month 4:
"A NOTE ON INTIMACY: my wife sometimes wasnt ready for sex....her body had been through a lot and she was recovering, bonding with the baby, and trying to find her way again in a new body....I made sure she knew I found her incredibly over the top sexy...but I did not try to pressure her....she was uncomfortable with her brrasts and the role they had always played in our sex life. She felt like they were, temporarily, there for the baby...."
After a short note, the chapter ends with GOALS page. Each category of goals is listed in the color orange.
(Example category "Health and Wellness" or another category: "Bonding time").
The specific goals in that category are in bolded lettering, and a brief explanation follows
( example under the " Bonding time" category of goals.
Specific goal: "TAKE A DAY TRIP: one of my favorite pictures is me carrying my son....stepping away and doing something adventurous makes for great memories.")
(Example under the "Health and wellness" category of goals.
Specific goal: "TREAT A TEETHER: if your baby is chewing on his fingers a ron or may be a sign a tooth is making it's way to the surface....odder a chilled teething ring....there are also teething mitts....this is a great idea to help teach baby to self-sooth." )
So, that's what each chapter looks like!!!
Here is one last part of the organization of the book, that I should mention..The coolest part of the book is that every 3 months, the book pauses and has a chapter JUST devoted to every 3 months and summarizing what is most important during those 3 months!!! For example, before months 1-3 there is a chapter called "MONTHS 1-3". Then there is a chapter called "MONTHS 4-6" etc, etc (you get the idea!!!)...
The every-3-months chapter is one of the most helpful parts of the book! Within this chapter, you find checklists, tutorials, and more.
The chapter FIRST starts with a page of CHECKLISTS, with the catergoeis:
"HOME, MOM, BABY, APPPINTMENTS, EVENTS"
(Example:
" 4 TO 6 MONTH CHECKLIST:
HOME:
> baby proof all outlets
> install baby locks"
etc etc....
BABY: (continue checklist of what to do for baby"
>
>
MOM: (checklist of what mom needs and what dad can do for mom)
>
>
After the checklist that highlights the most important things that will be talked about in the next 3 months in the book, is a "TIPS AND TUTORIALS" page. The main sections are in green and are:
"EAT, SOOTHE, SLEEP,LEARN AND PLAY, CLEAN, PEDIATRIC ( like common illnesses and other medical related things), BABY PROOF "
Then there is a page called: BABY GEAR. The main sections are in green and are:
"MUST HAVE, NICE TO HAVE, PASS"
Which describes items you may or may not need for those 3 months.
Within the TUTORIALS page and the BABY GEAR pagre cool and simple charts . There is ALWAYS a chart in the Foods Section that lists solid foods the baby can have in the 3 month -period of time the chapter covers. This chart is divided up by: LIQUIDS GRAINS, VEGGIES, FRUIT". It makes it SO simple to visually see!!
There's also little tutorial drawings like drawings of how to swaddle the baby, burp the baby, etc!!!
Within the tutorials is lots and lots of bulleted points/lists. You ARE NOT reading long paragraphs. It is simplified SO well. That makes this book an easy REFERENCE guide.
For example, if my baby is 5 months old and I want to know how I can get my baby to eat more solid foods, I can go to the "4-6 months chapter", go to the "TIPS ANS TUTORIALS" section which is right after the "CHECLIST" section.
I will pick the: "EAT" tutorial.
Then I see many points (in grey color) under the EAT tutorial, (like how to prepare the babys food, how a chart of starter foods, etc). One point , in grey color, is called " HOW TO EXPAND TO FINGER FOODS". Bingo! That's what I want!
There, is a list of finger foods that are good for transitioning a baby to solid finger foods, along with a few other tips (headed in orange color) of how to expand a baby's eating!!
Even if my explanation sounds confusing, I promise when you open it to read it, it makes perfect sense and isnt complicated at all. Look at my photos first and it will maybe add some clarity to how I broke down the organization of the book!!
I think this book is supposed to be just a simple layout for dads! My husband LOVES anything that has a checklist. I found when we were buying baby items, there was a colored checklist categorized by each stage of development and what the baby would need, and how much, with included graphics and little important key notes about a few items/about saftey. He REALLY found that type of layout engaging. So when I saw this book online I expected it to be in that type of style or format. And it IS!! It's not overwhelming whatsoever. The information is put in a way that someone is talking to you (conversational, the author even cusses a few times :D). You MAY find it overwhelming if you try to read it all at once. But that's because your baby has no hit those stages yet so your brain may not even be able to wrap around the idea of what your baby will need in 8 months from now. But when 8 months DOES happen, you can look at that chapter and find lots of good lists and information that will be more personable to you then!
I still found it helpful to flip through and read some ahead of time, just to give myself an idea of some important things. Like some sleep tutorials and eating tutorials were important and interesting to keep in mind as the baby grows.
MORE POSITIVES:
The author also really impresses on the point that being the dad /partner who ISNT carrying the baby can be difficult emotionally and how he felt he had to put his emotions aside to take care of the wife. How at the doctor's office they always look at the wife and say "and how are YOU doing, mom?" which he totally understands the woman under goes more. But he is also SO right that many times a man and dad really WANTS to be involved and NOT just be the "side help". This dad wanted to knoe AS MUCH as the mother and be 100% active in his child's life- and he felt pregnancy/child rearing guides focused more on what the mother does, whereas his book focuses more on BOTH partners and especially how the husband can support his wife even though he ISNT the one doing the breast feeding and undergoing the procedures (c section, epidural, epistomatomy, and anything else involved with having a baby before and after).
This book did a good job of giving SIMPLE but CLEAR tips and how-to's of how a father/the man CAN be just as involved even though it may seem in society that the man doesn't need to play as big of a role because he isn't the one whose body has changed/or is undergoing procedures and birth.
From a woman's perspective, this book opened my eyes to ways that my husband CAN be there 100% as I am, he doesnt have to be a "side peice" just listening to my instructions and picking up my slack while I "take the lead". I assumed since i would be doing the nursing i would be sleeping next to the baby (baby in bassinet) most of the time and dad would just trade shifts with me when i get too tierd, clean up after us, etc. But there are so many ways the man can be just as active as the woman in caring for the infant.
As a woman, I really love how the book brings up so many parts of how to take care of the female when she undergoes something. For example, there was a page with a little box and a few paragraphs describing what the mom will do during nursing (which a father may think he really doesnt need to know about), and then a list of empty check- boxes with "how-tos" of how the man can help support in the nursing.
Overal, this book was good if you just want a sort of quick layout reference guide of how to take care of an infant for the first year. I'm sure there's sooo much endless information out there that could get even more scientific or detailed, that the author could have included but he did a good job of sticking to the basics, with the book still being very helpful AND also including important details.
******He also did a good job of including information that you CANNOT just find online on a google search or even from your doctors- there is REAL LIFE experience in there that offers alot of insight into caring for your wife and your baby that google just cannot give you.****** He really seems to have some good points about the real "ins-and- outs" of the "daily life" of caring for a child with a spouse or partner, and the hectic-ness and confusion that comes with it, and tips of how to overcome it while also raising a safe, healthy, child.
